If this should be in the off-topic forum, please move it, but anyway- if anyone here is part of any "social networking" site, be very wary of messages in your email box that are designed to look like: a shy person you recently re-connected with, or added as a friend, who you haven't spoken to, or seen, recently or ever.
Two days since I left a comment for, and got added as a friend by, an old schoolmate who i used to have a crush on, i get this sort of message. The details in the message told me that a human had to be looking through the site she and i have in common, b/c knowledge that *could only be inferred through a pic* was in the spammer's message/linked site. This shouldn't have any bearing on anonymity insofar as MS, but I had to check the original sender's profile (which of course had no pic or other info at all), and take another look at the language used, which at first i thought was playful, but was clearly a non-English speaker/writer attempting to be generically inviting/interested.
I sent an embarassed PM to the woman in question, in case the reverse had been attempted, or other mutual sitemembers were experiencing the same thing. Again, this should NOT ever be a concern here, but for those of you on other networks, keep an eye out; they're getting slicker every day...

PS if a mod/admin is more curious as to the kind of detail that would have a paranoid guy like me sniff curiously, PM me and ill be happy to discuss it further. I consider this a safety/boundary issue relevant to survivors, but again UNRELATED TO THIS SITE- MS has very good anonymity policies, we're as safe as we choose to be here.

Dude, what the hell are you talking about?

Am i on crack? No. Is the post in English? Yes.
Here's the simple version: "I got freaked out by having someone successfully mess w/ my head, if only briefly, by prowling around a site which forces use of real names. Be careful w/ social networking sites if you're on them."

Sorry gang, maybe it's just more baggage rising to the surface lately. But I've noticed myself becoming both more socially outgoing, yet also more "feisty". If feeling like this is familiar to anyone, as part of newly ID'ing as a CSA survivor, chime in please- I'm honestly not trying to come off as shrill, or as being snarky or nasty. But Hauser, do you know how many times someone's asked me "What's going on?" and after half an hour of convoluted rambling as I get more and more self-conscious, I hear, "Dude- What the hell are you talking about?"
usually followed by "Pff- whatever, OK? You got serious f-n' problems, man."
Tired n' touchy i guess- my apologies, pleease don't get all disgusted or pissed. I guess typing instead of talking doesn't always guarantee less emotion and more reason, idk. Didn't mean to be so sarcastic or nasty, just had an invisible (to others) button pushed. I've had better days.

Ahhh I get it now.

Yeah.....I put myself on myspace once a year or so ago, for a bit, just so that people that used to know me can get ahold of me. I keep my personal information to myself though.

It was possible for me to do this AND be anonymous with my personal info by linking myself to my home school and year of graduation. And the only way anyone could PM me was if they knew my last name or my email address.

The most UNEXPECTED people responded, but it was cool to hear from them.

Okay guys. I am new here and just five minutes ago my wife asked me if this thing is safe for me. I confidently reassured he that this site is okay. Is it okay?! How to I keep myself safe on this thing?

River...its safe....the mods here are great and do their job quite effectively. The people in this place have been screwed over enough so the mods weed out the suspicious people and those trying to victimize us again.

And D, I think its quite normal to think like that...whether its due to the experiences or not..I am quite suspicious of things like that and of people in general...even people on here (no offense to anyone)I stay guarded. I always wonder...is what they are saying true or are they out to get something from me?

River-
This site appaently had a few trolls at one point, but I feel safe saying that 99% of the people are completely on the level.
MS keeps safety and anonymity a priority, but they have no control over people volunteering personal information- just stay anonymous, and if anyone starts harassing you or appears a little too interested in personal info (the view from your front window, what kind of pet you have, how many in your immediate family, etc.) then tell them politely to back off, and let a moderator/admin know immediately by sending the mod a PM. If a PM or chat seems inappropriate or makes you uncomfortable, don't feed into it, just report it to a mod. Most of us are highly sensitive to privacy and trust issues, and would be mortified at the idea of scaring off someone new to the site. If you report someone and it turns out to be a misunderstanding, no big deal- the person will never know that you reported them. The site is OK, it's as safe as YOU make it. Just use common sense, don't let fear get in the way of participating- my story is long and detailed as submitted, but nothing in it could be used to ID me.
Welcome, and thanks for having the courage to sign up!

Thanks guys. Quick question. Can anyone without a user name and password get on this website and read our posts?

On the Public side - yes. On the Members side - no. You have to be a registered, dues-paying member to see anything on the Members side. Anyone can read the Public side, but only registered members can actually post on the Public side.