Posted by Tamar on August 25, 2005, at 18:40:51
In reply to Re: And another issue - post deletion » Tamar, posted by rainbowbrite on August 25, 2005, at 14:05:10
> My thinking goes along the lines of someone getting access to you screen name, someone you dont want to have it. Then that person has the ability to read everything about you. SO where I have the problem is with things I dont ever say IRL being up here, things I really dont want people to know. I think at that point your idenity has been revealled and we have a right to protect ourselves by (via Dr Bob) deleting, whether its a post or a word or a thread. I think there should be room for this in the rules.
> And then there is the whole issue about revealing personal info....I just want the option :-(I guess if you ONLY say things at Babble that you don't say IRL there's no problem because people can't connect those things with you. Perhaps the problem comes when there's a mix of stuff that people know about you AND stuff you want to keep private.
It's a tough issue, and it bothers me a bit too. I try to reassure myself that (a) I use a false name; (b) it's unlikely that people who know me will come here; and (c) if people who know me did come here they probably wouldn't recognise me unles they were specifically looking for me. I think the only person who might recognise me is my ex-therapist, and I doubt he has time to read here.
I suppose I'm confident enough that my life story isn't so unique as to be recognisable to a casual observer. My best friends would recognise my writing style, but I don't think mere acquaintances would ever guess my identity. Unless you were to post some very identifiable things you're probably anonymous to those who know you IRL.
I dunno... I have felt some anxiety about some of the things I've posted, but I still think that deleting posts isn't the ideal solution. Though as you say, sometimes people could be in a bit of a difficult place and post things they regret later. Perhaps posts could be deleted if people felt their safety was compromised (e.g. if they feared an abusive partner)...
I think the ideal solution would be to have a board that wasn't public so that people could post private things (Babblemail isn't quite the same, as you can't have the same open discussion via Babblemail.) But that's just my view.
And speaking of regrets: apologies for my double post above. I was using a different computer and didn't get the confirmation message so I kept trying! Apparently two of my posts made it through, though I couldn't see them when I refreshed the screen.... And computers are supposed to be our friends!
poster:Tamar
thread:546422
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050823/msgs/546653.html