Do those who choose to use anonymous to post a thread realise that noone will know who they are if they use a username that is nowhere near their real name? It is sometimes obvious though who is posting anonymously by the words they use and the way in which they write.
I try and help whenever I can with genuine posts but just lately I’m becoming very wary of anonymous as it is obvious to me and others I’m sure that this part of the forum is being abused, not by all so don’t get me wrong, but by some.
im new to this forum and posted anonymously because what I posted narrows me down to being only one person in my county, and I’m not in a happy place at the moment.
Ive used a much larger forum extensively and people forget that everything we write is googlible. Everything we post builds a profile that can end up being identifiable. On the forum I used to post on it resulted in people being identified in RL with significant ramifications.
I have no intention in remaining anonymous, and I completely understand your suspicion if this forum is being abused, but it for that very reason that as a new poster, I held back. I can’t speak for everyone though.
If the anonymous system is being abused disable it…but on the other forum trolling took place through name changing and private messaging. Sadly every system is open to abuse.
Hi I’m new here. I’m sorry I posted anon. It was because what I posted meant I could only be one of a small handful of people. I appreciate anon’s make people uncomfortable, but I used to use a v large forum and this discussed numerous times. Everything we write is googlible. Multiple posting build up a picture of that person and has resulted in people being identified in real life - and this is a much smaller forum. If the anon system is being abused, disable it, but the other forum I was on trolling took place through name changing, sock puppets and private messaging. It is a public forum, and open to abuse. It is so sad, as people come looking for support, empathy and advice and yet still get targeted by internetloons.
As these replies (and replies on a related recent thread) have said, people have all sorts of perfectly good reasons for posting anon, and I respect that.
Shazzie I’m not sure what you mean by “this part of the forum is being abused”? I don’t recall seeing anon posters making troublesome comments.
I have previously posted Anon, if people can remember I pointed out that my Anon thread actually showed my name, I then brought it to everyone’s attention so that people who were posting Anon knew it wasn’t always working at that time. There is the facility to post anon therefore some people on occasion choose to use it.
The only reason I can see to object to its use is if it was being used inappropriately. Someone may use It to disagree with a comment, fair enough as long as they were not being rude or offensive. I don’t know but I assume that the people who run this site will know who posts Anon and would be able to deal with any troublemakers.
Thanks for sharing your opinions everyone. The MS Society (and long time users of this forum) have no greater wish than for this space to be a welcoming, sometimes lively, safe and informative space for people affected by MS.
As Val has pointed out- if you’re unhappy about an anonymous post- or any other threads or replies, that for any reason make you feel uncomfortable, please use the report function- that way it is logged and gets our immediate attention.
The Forums are a community space and as such, we rely on your contributions and observations to help keep this space the best it can be.
Thanks Stewart and Val. I know you do your best to keep us all safe but as a user of this forum for the past 8 years I have noticed that it is not as safe as it was in th good old days. I know you will be keeping a close eye on things and I will of course report any threads/nasty PMs that are inappropriate.