Do you prefer to be anonymous here?

daniwilford

I started MFP because a family member told me about it. I have an equal number of friends I knew before and after MFP. I try not to be duplicitous. I don't plan to post near naked pictures or give out my home address.

Liftng4Lis

Don't you recognize my gun???

Alatariel75

I stay relatively anonymous. I did have one time though when someone asked a question, I answered it with a story as an example, she recognised the story and it turned out we were sitting 3 cubicles away from eachother and had had lunch together earlier that week. Neither of us knew the other was on MFP.
I really only stay anonymous because I may tell stories which involve people in my life and I'd feel weird if I knew someone I knew was talking about me on the internet, so I figure anonyminity is for the best in general. I'm also more honest when anonymous, and I also have a job which may lead to me being Googled a fair bit, so I like to keep this stuff seperate.

However, my oldest and closest friends I've met through online forums, so I'm not adverse to making 'real' friends on here.

Sabine_Stroehm

I'm old school. Back from the "usenet" days. Hubs knows I'm here, knows my handle etc. but yeah, like all "news groups" I prefer to stay relatively anonymous. I like to keep my personal and professional lives relatively separate. And these days, that's tough.

DKG28

yes, prefer anonymity, so no picture. makes it easier to be frank about body issues. okay, fine, i'll admit it, I'm anonymous because I feared I wouldn't succeed or make progress, and would give up. I didn't want to run into friends here and then have it be painfully obvious if I bombed this attempt at lifestyle change. My IRL friends don't know my weight, and i like being able to state the number and not be ashamed of it here.

Glinda1971

The only person in my real life who knows the handle I use is my sister who joined and I really thought hard about friending her.

But I'd rather support her.

But other than that there is a reason my avatar is Glinda or sometimes Red Fraggle.

juggernaut1974

I'm actually Tom Brady but prefer to use this dude's ugly mug as my avatar to maintain my anonymity

Wiseandcurious

deksgrl wrote: »

JPW1990 wrote: »

It has nothing to do with who I know irl, and everything to do with the complete strangers who may or may not be mentally stable. I have dealt with a cyberstalking incident before, severe enough that law enforcement was involved, and it started with someone who wasn't taking meds they should've been taking. IMO the safety of myself and my family > showing my face.

^^This. I have seen a lot of crazy stuff happen on the internet. The fact that this forum is visible to anyone on the internet, not just members, causes me to be cautious.

For me it's the same. I don't mind at all identifying myself to pople on MFP I may recognise from life, or giving my MFP username to IRL friends. I do mind very much leaving a host of personal information online. I never link accounts in different places if I can help it either. Of course, over the last years a lot of individual privacy online has gone out the window, but still... I want to control the damage at least where I can.

TimothyFish

I use my real name so I won't say anything on here that I wouldn't say to someone in person.

laoryn

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I like to keep my personal and professional lives relatively separate. And these days, that's tough.

True that.
I don't need to release my PII in order to offer support to others and in turn be inspired by them.
The only person in RL who knows about my weight loss journey is my husband. RL friends would say things like "you don't need to lose weight" or "you shouldn't count calories." Meanwhile, with the support of MFP, I have over the past 4 months brought my BMI to a much happier, saucier place.

Really, I rarely take photos, especially of myself. I barely have a working device with which to take photos and upload them. (I'm such a luddite.) I might want to take a headless photo in shorts and sports bra to show off my progress. Maybe I should have been taking progress photos for my own private use all along, .... but... meh, dealing with the technology is too much of a hassle.

LBuehrle8

ceoverturf wrote: »

I'm actually Tom Brady but prefer to use this dude's ugly mug as my avatar to maintain my anonymity

Bahaha yes and I'm actually Gisele Bundchen- the picture is my personal assistants daughter so I can remain anonymous

terar21

I don't care about anonymity but I'd prefer out not have people I know on here just because we'd end up disagreeing on stuff. I can bite my tongue when I hear bad info every once in a while irl. I bite it when my sister in law insists you must eat 6 small meals. I bite it when a coworker goes on about carbs. I bite it when a family member warns about eating eggs and cholesterol. But hearing it daily on here would be very annoying. I keep my fitness and diet talk to a bare minimum irl because no one wants to here "eat what you want but count those calories."

jaga13

terar21 wrote: »

I don't care about anonymity but I'd prefer out not have people I know on here just because we'd end up disagreeing on stuff. I can bite my tongue when I hear bad info every once in a while irl. I bite it when my sister in law insists you must eat 6 small meals. I bite it when a coworker goes on about carbs. I bite it when a family member warns about eating eggs and cholesterol. But hearing it daily on here would be very annoying. I keep my fitness and diet talk to a bare minimum irl because no one wants to here "eat what you want but count those calories."

Really good point!

Alatariel75

actually, one of the main reasonsa I'm anonymous on here is that aside from my husband, I don't talk to anyone about trying to lose weight or get fitter. Not that they would judge me or anything, I just don't see the point. If people IRL knew I was actively trying to lose weight, they might want to talk to me about it, and I don't want to discuss it.

BeautifulLoser1985

Jesus... This post just convinced me to switch my profile pic

MoiAussi93

Definitely anonymous. As noted by others, there are too many crazy and/or malicious people out there to take a chance on somebody finding me in real life and causing problems. I have also seen very bad things happen when somebody takes an Internet grudge to the real world.

I use this username on no other site and I will never post a picture or say where I work, etc. It's just not worth the risk.

pili90

I'm not sure I'm anonymous here, I wouldn't mind if people knew me.... but it is unlikely, as I live in Chile. I haven't met anyone here from my country. I like the way this site works, I like the people I find, and I love the fact that although people are contients away sometimes, they still care....I think some people work better "undercover", less preassure. People you know in real life always have an opinion, here you can just ignore them.

tiffboutin123

Idk anyone here

juggernaut1974

LBuehrle8 wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

I'm actually Tom Brady but prefer to use this dude's ugly mug as my avatar to maintain my anonymity

Bahaha yes and I'm actually Gisele Bundchen- the picture is my personal assistants daughter so I can remain anonymous

Evening dear. Did you put the kids to bed or should I go tuck them in?

azulvioleta6

970Mikaela1 wrote: »

I'm really a beer can.or maybe I'm the water can? Can't remember which.......

If you can't remember, then you are probably the beer can.

azulvioleta6

I usually try to stay a little anonymous, but at some point I put up a picture of myself from the front (usually use the back of my head) and that kind of went out the window.

I have some people on my friends list who I know from another online community. These are people who are also Facebook friends and we have each other's home addresses, so there is a level of trust. We've know each other online for 7 or 8 years. I've met one person here who has my real name and some of my contact information. A few people are FitBit friends, so they probably have enough information to track me down if they wanted to do so. There are several people on my friends list who I would love to hang out with in real life and I wouldn't worry at all about giving them my information.

At some point, I think that you have to use your instincts. Sometimes you get to know people well enough from these interactions that letting them know a little bit about who you are does not feel uncomfortable...at least for me.

Dani9585

I'm anonymous because I feel embarassed that I am trying to become healthier. Weird, right? Isn't everyone trying to be healthier, however they define "healthy." I struggle with severe social anxiety though, so this allows for me to participate freely, without sharing who I am. With that said, while my name isn't Dani, the letters are parts of my name. I used this handle anywhere I need to feel hidden.

Also, you can call me Dani. I'll answer to it

jaga13

Dani9585 wrote: »

I'm anonymous because I feel embarassed that I am trying to become healthier. Weird, right? Isn't everyone trying to be healthier, however they define "healthy." I struggle with severe social anxiety though, so this allows for me to participate freely, without sharing who I am. With that said, while my name isn't Dani, the letters are parts of my name. I used this handle anywhere I need to feel hidden.

Also, you can call me Dani. I'll answer to it

Culturally, it seems the acceptable norm is usually overeating and indulgence. It IS weird that any of us might feel embarrassed about healthy habits. I have found myself getting over some of it (out of necessity). I might not talk about it in public (unless asked), but now everyone in our work building can identify me as the woman who walks a lot in and around the building. Still, I am a work in progress and continue to work on doing what's best for me without feeling the need to explain it.

LBuehrle8

I have no shame.