I never created another account on straight dope forums to ask questions that I wouldn’t be able to ask on my current account. Some people know which username have on this forum. My privacy would be invaded to a certain degree if I consulted this forum about something that is too private. I thought about creating one but I wouldn’t do it without getting a permission from the administration.
Would you create a secondary account or a throw-away account to ask questions that you couldn’t ask with your main account on any online platform on the internet? Or do you always stick to your main account no matter what?
and yeah, this place routinely refers to secondary accounts by the derogatory term “socks” even if that isn’t the point of the secondary account.
But. I guess to answer the broader question, I have used more than one identity on-line. I have had various reasons to want to keep identities separate. I’ve never used multiple identities as sock puppets, because that’s obnoxious and dishonest.
I have long wished there was a way we could do that here - somehow register for a one-topic-use login for things that are too personal or identifying or whatever. I figure it’s probably too much of a hassle for the administration (such as it is). But it would be great if there was a way.
Alts are very common on Twitter. That wouldn’t work on the SDMB. It’s perfectly normal here to have a Game Room thread on football and an Elections thread on Bernie Sanders. No one is gonna see both unless they wander into both forums.
Twitter is a bit different. If I follow you, I’ll see your entire timeline
Once upon a time, someone did a tell-a-secret thread. I think they had it open by e-mail or PM and then post the secrets anonymously. That user (Zebra?) was able to see whose secrets were whose if they were sent via PM or if the e-mail was identifying, but nobody else. Might be interesting to do again or to have an “asking for a friend” thread where someone posts anonymous questions submitted by other people. Might be kind of cumbersome if there are follow-up questions or responses are required/useful, but not impossible.
I have no clue. I certainly wouldn’t want to. TBH I probably shouldn’t have posted it- it was more of an idle thought/brainstorm than anything and I think my post comes off more like it’s something I’m enthusiastically advocating for and might possibly be willing to organize.
Mostly, I just like to come up with wild ideas and pretend that they’re solutions to problems. Then waltz off and be like “You’re welcome!” while you’re still going “Wait, but how would that even work? Come back! There are still a lot of problems with that idea!” … Makes me feel useful without having to actually do anything.
I have often resisted responding on controversial topics, because there are people here who would dig out your view on one topic to torpedo your credibility on another. Like, "Sez the guy who thinks . . . "
If anybody has an unpostable question, you can ask me and I’ll post it for you.
No, I don’t really mean it, but I would if this were real life. I’ve done it numerous times before in various situations (school, army, office, wedding party, you name it).
There’s been a topic or two, over the years, that I might have broached here, if I were able to do it with an account that wasn’t clearly me. But, knowing that doing so is expressly forbidden (and a bannable offense), I’ve not actually done so.
What would you do in this highly personal marital relationship situation? Asking for a friend!
Have you ever heard of anyone who had successful treatment of this vaginal condition? Asking for a friend!
There are lots of situations where outside advice would be illuminating, but we just don’t want to reveal that much about ourselves online.
Some of us aren’t as private about our online personas as others are. There are numerous prominent posters who are okay with other people knowing who they are in real life, and that benefits the board overall in their expertise. But what if one of them wants to hit the group up for advice in a more personal arena? Why can’t there be a way for anyone to use an anonymous persona for those rare times?
There are a couple of topics that I would be interested in exploring, but I think I lack the writing skills it would take to articulate my musings without giving other posters the impression that I hold certain unsavory values or viewpoints. Maybe some day, when I become a little braver. The ability to pose such questions anonymously would be handy in those circumstances.
I’m Ms.TMI, usually. But there are subjects I wouldn’t discuss on here.
I classify them under the headline: ‘Questions you should never ask your Mother in law’