Re: I'd like to see you....

I'm really at a loss as to why you people are so bloody frightened of taking a photo of yourselves?! You paranoid individuals. What on earth is wrong with you all? Are you really that brainwashed that you think your identity will be stolen?

Re: I'd like to see you....

Have you not read any of the posts Floydy? It might be worth going back and reading again if you're at a loss.

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That's ok if you feel that way and perhaps if I were retired I'd think differently. But I am not and I certainly don't want to leave a virtual footprint that can be traced back to me.

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It's weird that you think it's so important.

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Yes of course I have read all of the posts, Annie. It's people like you that just do not see reason. I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to educate you that a photo of yourself on this forum will not infiltrate your lifestyle or steal your worldly belongings but you cannot grasp the situation.
Where is your common sense?!!

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Come on now Floydy, that's not nice.
Sometimes you just have to let folk decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with.
I like the variety of avatars!

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Yes I Know, Ruthio (and I apologise Annie ) but people cannot just see simple reason can they? It's NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT IS IT?!
God give me strength!!
I'm off to bed just to get away for a while
Sleep on it folks - you know it makes sense!

Re: I'd like to see you....

I completely understand what you are saying Annie.
One of the joys of posting incognito is that you can post about problems you might be having with family or friends without any backlash. It’s far safer and Is more respectful being incognito. You don’t have to feel any shame or guilt about feeling disloyal.Some people sign up to talk about serious stuff

Yes other members here might view Annie as more honest and believable posting such vulnerable stuff but the people she’s posting about might not. When I first started posting on these senior forums I stayed incognito and I posted about serious parental abuse and living in a dysfunctional family. Since these parents are in their last stages of life I needed to ask whether helping them at this point would be a good idea. It was some really tough stuff to talk about and nobody needed to feel any shame or guilt. Once I added pictures of myself , people knew who I was and anyone connected to the situation might not be too happy about it even if it’s all truthful.
I agree completely. They have the freedom to do so.

You probably feel this way because you are a big tough man who doesn’t worry too much about being attacked in real life.
You probably have never been raped or felt the need to share any dangerously personal stories so can’t possibly relate to any reasoning that differs from your perspective.
You have no such fears to worry about and it must be so liberating. One of the greatest privileges of these forums is the ability to share painful experiences or difficult decisions that need making with others and get helpful feedback. When I shared I did.

Sharing painful freightening experiences can be an important form of therapy and closure for some.
EXACTLY! Some members might want to discuss the sister in law who snubs them every chance they can or the husband who is having an affair with the neighbour. ( not my situation personally ) . Adding a photo makes it much more complicated.
It’s not only an avatar, our face. It’s about safety and security and to be honest Floydy I don’t understand why you don’t get this and you aren’t a stupid man. You’re smart. I still think the main reason is that you are a big guy who hasn’t had too many horrific experiences in your life that you’ve discussed online which you need to worry about so can’t possibly relate.
Facebook is completely different. I’m not on Facebook so had no idea how it worked but do now.
And THIS RIGHT here is why you aren’t worried. You haven’t shared anything you need to worry about.
Yes you really ARE at a loss Floydy and I hope you do understand the reason why others feel the need to consider their safety first.

In reading your posts I’ve never quite seen you lose it on something so relatively important as people’s safety and sense of comfort. No amount of sleep would suddenly make me understand your point of view and frankly I’m not sure why you’ve gotten so explosive in your responses.
Pushing your point of view most certainly isn’t going to change anyone’s mind. The content of what people post will always be FAR more important than what they look like and thank goodness for that.

Re: I'd like to see you....

Thank you for summarising an appalling collection of posts from a particular poster who subjected other forum members to, IMO, an unacceptable level of abuse.

Re: I'd like to see you....

Actually thinking about it I think it's true showing your face here does inhibit what you say and how much you share about your personal life. I never really thought about it in those terms before.

Too late for me now as I've had photos up for years.....maybe I should close this account and come back as someone completely different....a keyboard warrior maybe.....be afraid be very afraid