Why do posters have disabled profiles, especially long-timers?

[raccoon]

If they aren't long-timers, it makes me a little suspicious.

It's not like you have to put your address and social security number on it. You can be as specific, or as vague, as you like.

So, what gives?

[devilgrrl]

1. I guess they just don't want one...

:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

2. My opinion: people's personal info is nobody's goddamn business.

[nebenaube]

6. no doubt!

I see plenty of "Agents" with 1000+ post counts. Sure they don't act like trolls until there's something that someone wants discredited.

[riverdale]

22. You all are too paranoid.

Why would a Republican seriously post for a period of years over 1000x on a site they disagree with, pretending to be a liberal? Because they know that the payoff is that sometime in the future they can slam on Hillary or whatever in a web forum and get by with it? Would that be worth all that effort?! Come on. I give credit to 99.9% of all people for having more of a life than that.
I suspect it is more likely that a person genuinely doesn't have all of their views in agreement with the official Democratic guidelines. It happens.

[BlooInBloo]

24. Fuck anyone who infers spy based upon no info.... It's just none of your fuckin McCarthyist business

[Cerridwen]

28. Hi, riverdale.

Welcome to DU.

:hi:

It actually has happened that we've had long time posters, including former mods and some who have donated to the site, who've come out as rabidly hating the "liberal agenda" and all "liberals."

So, it happens and so, some of us are skeptical at times. We look for patterns and sometimes, a disabled profile is part of the pattern.

I don't get their motivation, either. It seems to me as a lot of wasted time. But, it does happen.

[wicket]

34. Sorry, but you weren't here during the 2004 election

When what you described ACTUALLY happened.

Welcome to DU.

[nebenaube]

52. Because it's part of "total spectrum dominance"

Or haven't you been paying attention?

[Buzz Clik]

19. I never post any personal information at a place like this. Ever.

[crim son]

3. I think some people are just a little paranoid, and some

probably correctly presume that no matter what they put in their profile, it will be used to analyze them. However when I see a newish poster with a disabled profile, I always watch them to see how long they are permitted to stick around.

[BlackVelvet04]

4. Some people have been stalked on the internet

and don't want any personal information known. I have personally been stalked and am very careful what information I give.

[LiberalFighter]

27. I've been stalking you for years.

[BlackVelvet04]

32. and I'm supposed to take that.....

how?

[HEyHEY]

50. I suggest seeing a proctologist.

[mmonk]

5. anonymity.

[havocmom]

7. ever google your own screen name?

Might be surprised to see how many people follow and post about DU posters. Sometimes it is good to err on the side of caution.

[devilgrrl]

17. Yes, I have...

thankfully I'm one of MANY - can't tell which

[sniffa]

8. mark of a troLL

[azurnoir]

9. Don't know

Privacy maybe, there really is not enough info on the profile to give away who the person is, not to mention being it is the net the info is not necessarily 100% correct, literally anyone can be anyone they please.
On this particular board the one I've always found funny was the gender question, to me undeclared is 99% of the time code for female, most males say they are males whether it's a profile like the one here or the phone book, in this society women tend to do that more.
On edit- this bord by and large is very open but one thing that I have seen here that does seem to have potential danger is some people have posted pictures of their kids, that is something U would never ever do, and the first rule we gave our kids about the net was NO pictures of yourself anywhere ever.

[porphyrian]

10. Mine's off because my personal info is nobody's fucking business.

I'm an opinionated asshole, I'm unapologetic about it, and the last thing I need in my shitty life right now is some crazy freak using my personal information against me. How's that?

[BoneDaddy]

13. Absolutely

I got one death threat from some asshole on FR and I never put my info on again.

[porphyrian]

18. Not that freepers are actually scary or anything, but you have to take death threats seriously.

It's insane not to err on the side of caution. And, when you have a tendency to make enemies with your opinions (and manner of expressing them) like I do, caution is mandatory. If someone really wants to get my personal info, it's possible, but why make it easy?

[mainer]

11. Help me I'm clueless -- how do I even post my profile?

What do I click on? I got accused once of being a fake DUer because I had no profile. But I don't even know how to post one.

[Breeze54]

15. Click on Options...

;)

View Profile--->

Choose from following functions:

* Edit account information - Use this option to change your name and email address.
* Change your password - Use this option to change your password
* Edit your profile - Use this option to make changes to your profile
* Edit your preferences - Use this option to set your forum preferences
* View your bookmarks - View and manage your bookmark links
* Inbox - Read and send private messages
* Buddy list - List of your buddies

[mainer]

38. Thank you! I never thought of clicking on Options.

[ellacott]

16. I'm clueless also

I got accused of being a troll because I didn't have a profile.

[BoneDaddy]

12. Why do you care?

I have never even read someone else's profile. I come here for news and at times, debate. I don't come for any other reason and if you think you are suspicious, I am even more suspicious of putting my personal information down so just "anyone" can read it.

[cgrindley]

14. A lot of people don't play fair

I have only recently turned my profile on just enough to give my state and sex and time on the board. There are people who routinely make threats or post creepy stalker stuff. The mods are usually good at immediately deleting it, but it still happens.

[JNelson6563]

20. why I miss the ATA forum

*sigh*

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

21. I'd Say Your Thread Right Here Is One Huge Reason Why.

I've always felt that one big reason why is because some here are so narrow-minded that they judge content based on seniority or longevity. Totally pathetic practice in my opinion, since there are literally SO MANY newer posters who blow the pants off of some old timers. Join date and post count means just about nothing, so I'd think that some of them block their profiles to thwart the limited minded people that would use the information in it against them.

I'd say a second big reason is simply because some feel the information is none of anyone's fuckin business LOL

[ProfessorGAC]

43. Well, My Pants Are Still On

So, i'm one of the oldsters who haven't had their pants blown off.

Funny line, OMC.
The Professor

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

48. Nah, You're Pretty Good Actually.

I may not always agree with you, but you are a damn capable poster.

[blm]

23. Quite some time ago we had this discussion - more than a few of us

have been cyber-stalked and it is not fun.

Back when I would do CU-SeeMe, I learned that lesson.

And try having someone stalk your SPOUSE at his workplace because they tracked your postings and figured out where he worked.

[raccoon]

33. !!!!!

"your SPOUSE at his workplace because they tracked your postings and figured out where he worked."

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. To drive wannabe Inspector Clouseaus crazy.

[bridgit]

26. dunno, each to his/her own i guess...

:shrug:

[chefgirl]

29. Hmmm..

Well, my question is, why are there so many recent posts questioning peoples' motives around here?

I have been a member here since day one, and for the first year or two, my profile was disabled. My personal info is just that, PERSONAL and MINE.

After a while, I decided to enable my profile, dont really remember why, but I have very little information on it still.

Im no troll, but if I were, I would think the best way to try and throw people off my track would be to posture and grouse about how many trolls there are here, and suggest that they probably use this tactic or that, no?

Besides which, I say, who gives a shit? If you know what you believe, then no one is going to be able to turn your mind, and if you personallly encounter someone you think is a troll, alert the mods. Problem solved. I mean, really...whether there are trolls here or not, things are going to shake out the way they're going to shake out, regardless.

Its nice that there is a rule against them, and the mods do keep their eyes open for disruptors, and yes, there certainly have been plenty, but jeez, why all the paranoia?

Makes a person wonder.

-chef-

[Blackhatjack]

30. What makes you think you are entitled to that information? Disrupts Data Collection...

I prefer to gauge comments here on their merits rather than by looking at a 'profile' someone put up.

BTW what makes you think anything in a 'profile' is accurate anyway. I have found some people use their profile information to give a totally different view than their posts would appear to support.

I have been accused being not credible because I do not post a profile, but in most of those cases 'longtimers' dismiss such lame allegations.

[riverdeep]

31. Same way IRL

I'm the same way in real life. I'm a privacy advocate and am amazed how easily and willingly people give away their personal info, like when stores ask for telephone numbers to make a simple purchase! Yeah, I got your number right here...

[City Lights]

35. I don't get it either. Users can leave out personal information w/o

disabling their profiles.

What's the big deal allowing others to see the number of posts and undeclared gender? :shrug:

[Catherine Vincent]

36. I don't know why they would disable their profile.

Most people make up stuff on there anyway.

[Beelzebud]

37. Because my personal info is no one's business.

[Blackhatjack]

39. Endless cycle: "I don't know why...Because its personal" ... n/t

[City Lights]

41. It's only as personal as you make it.

It's not like all those fields are required. The only required field is "gender," and you can set it to "undeclared."

on edit - post count and start date will also show if profile is enabled.

[Blackhatjack]

40. How can people learn your start date here if your profile is turned off...

I had a poster accuse me of being a troll, gave me my start date and my posts number. Where did that information come from if my profile was turned off.

[City Lights]

42. I hope you alerted the mods on that... eom

[Blackhatjack]

44. I did not, but will in the future....

If you spend enough time here, you start to notice certain posters show up at similar threads and post their same unsupported criticism without providing proof. I asked one to provide proof to back up their same criticism they posted at multiple threads, and got accused instead by them of 'stalking' them.

THis is not the perfect place to expect people to post evidence to support their allegations. However, be aware that you can be accused of misconduct by such posters if you encourage them to do so.

[hyphenate]

45. I check out profiles

when I want to find out ONE thing: is the poster male or female? Sometimes when you're in a thread it simply makes a difference to know how the other poster might have come to a particular conclusion--men will usually post one way, and women another.

I've been online since 1988 (which makes me mostly an old-timer) and never been stalked--I did have to handle a stalker once, who was sending incoherent messages to a friend online, and I had to call the FBI in his neighborhood to get him to discontinue. The guy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and was paranoid and likely schizophrenic, as he believed certain people in his real life, as well as some TV producers had it in for him.

However, there are a couple of main things I would say to those who don't know how to edit their profile, and others who think activating their profile can be unnerving.

It's already been said here about finding and editing your profile. You don't have to fill on a whole lot on the profile--in fact, having a profile does increase the trust factor, especially if you are new. Simply activating it and not contributing to it will simply show how long you have been at DU, and that's fine. If you do decide to put information, you can just edit things like gender, state and a quote significant to you. You don't need to tell the world the longitude and latitude of where you were born. You don't need to let the world know that one of your hobbies is necrophila, and you don't have to tell anyone that you live in a mansion with 20 rooms. When I was on AOL a while back, we used to have fun with the profiles and make up some fun stuff to put on it. If you have a good sense of humor, you can actually enjoy doing the profile and show how creative you can be. I think having fun with the profile can be something others will enjoy as well.

[Pathwalker]

46. I was stalked. That did it for me.

I've been here a very long time, so if you're suspicious of me, you're too paranoid.

[Kurovski]

47. In the past I had some problems due to LTTE

some folks didn't like, so for years my profile was disabled out of caution.

[jobycom]

49. Lot of reasons. Some don't believe a poster should be judged on anything but their post

thus they hide their profiles, including post totals and DU anniversary date. Some long-timers feel they are supporting newbies and supporting the spirit of DU and the Internet in general by hiding their details, so people can only judge them on the quality and content of their post.

I hide my gender. Most people know it, but I still like to go into a discussion with all things being equal, or as many things as possible. I would probably disable my profile if I were just starting out.

Also, others have mentioned being stalked, and I've known a couple who have had that problem.

[Redneck Socialist]

51. Disabling it is suspicious, not filling it out is not.

Trollish behavior IMO.

[Bridget Burke]

53. Lack of imagination.

The DU moderators didn't ask me if I'm really a female who lives in Houston. Perhaps I'm really a lumberjack in British Columbia!

True trolls & disruptors tend to reveal themselves in their messages.