Something occurred to me yesterday and I just wanted to share it with you guys
and get your input. I have been fairly open about posting pictures of myself here
because I really know that people in my life would not recognize me with makeup on,
I look that different.
But then it occurred to me that those pictures will in a fairly short period of time
be what I look like(or hopefully much better) on a daily basis. I'm kinda dumb
sometimes and I never thought about that side of it. I don't know how stealth I'll
be or if I'll even care I have pictures here but it made me think I need to be
more careful.
But my question is, has anyone found that to be a problem, where someone has found
a picture of you? Or is Susan's pretty much a stop only if you are TG/TS?
Amanda
Exactly the reason I don't post pictures. (that and the net is the only place I don't look like a girl, so I prefer not having a face in cyberspace).
TG or no - peeps have fetishes or they get curious and look stuff up. Especially after this Tom Beattie thing. Probably a lot of peeps typing 'transsexual' into their search engines. This is one of the first sites to come up.
Posting things in the 'Just for Us' board screens out the curious passers-by, cause you have to have at least 15 posts to view it.
Not fool-proof of course, but if you're going to post personal stuff, put it there.
On closed forums(forum is not visible to non-members) with a more guarded membership, you're probably pretty safe posting pictures or personally identifiable information.
But it's safest to never assume that the internet is an anonymous place.
I with Nero on this one, out side of here no one knows (well a very small population). I'm also wondering if people who have posted pictures do they ever worry about 5 - 10 years down the road, sure the pictures might be gone from Susan's, but the internet is like the perfect archiving tool. If you put it on the internet it's going to be around for ever.
I don't really mind, I have nothing to hide and it's not like i'll ever be in a position where i'll have to defend my credibility.
If you are afraid of being ID'ed then by all means don't put your picture or your name on the internet. It can be found by someone. I don't really care if they ID me, cause if they want to know something about me they can ask me as I will tell them. I'm happy to be alive and I'm happy to be me. I'm not ashamed of what I had to go through to be who I am today. No secrets here, done with the secrets. I am no longer in the closet.
Sheila
I have nothing to hide and am quite happy to post my picture... :)
Ditto for what Sheila said.
No more secrets
Beni
Quotedo they ever worry about 5 - 10 years down the road, sure the pictures might be gone from Susan's
Yea.. I guess that's it... I worry that in the future I could be embarrassed if I'm stealth. I have no
idea if I will be... just thinking ahead.
Amanda
I host my pictures on sites where I can delete them. So if for whatever reason I worry about having a pic online I can delete it and all images linked on boards won't be viewable.
Why should I care who sees my pictures? I'm not hiding anything, including my real name.
I typically avoid posting any pictures, real names, or pretty much anything else that I deem "too personal". Things have a way of coming back to haunt, and as much as it feels like we are anonymous on the net, the truth is we are not, and we are becoming less so every day. These days, ISPs and governments and corporations of all sorts are snooping through what's on the net, personally identifiable information gets leaked when sites get hacked or site owners decide to sell your information, and yes, as others have said, there's a lot of really freaky people out there that may be just "curious", or may be a little "too curious".
I guess it's an individual thing: weigh the balance and decide how much information you want to divulge and how much of it you think could come back to bite you later. It's best to err on the side of caution...
Thanks Sis... I think I tend to agree with what you said. I guess I never even
thought about stalkers and "freaky people" as you called them. Has anyone had
a problem with that?
Amanda
Quote from: Nero on April 18, 2008, 05:41:28 PM
Exactly the reason I don't post pictures. (that and the net is the only place I don't look like a girl, so I prefer not having a face in cyberspace).
And you made me put up my picture! I'm going to kick your ass.
You better eat more bacon, I don't want to miss.
Posted on: April 18, 2008, 11:32:21 PM
Quote from: Sister Seagull on April 18, 2008, 11:21:56 PM
These days, ISPs and governments and corporations of all sorts are snooping through what's on the net, personally identifiable information gets leaked when sites get hacked or site owners decide to sell your information, and yes, as others have said, there's a lot of really freaky people out there that may be just "curious", or may be a little "too curious".
ISPs and governments and corporations can all bite me.
Quote from: AlwaysAmanda on April 18, 2008, 11:26:26 PM
Thanks Sis... I think I tend to agree with what you said. I guess I never even
thought about stalkers and "freaky people" as you called them. Has anyone had
a problem with that?
Amanda
Again, I'm going to be cautious and not give away details, but the short and sweet answer: yes. And it's not fun... in fact, it's downright creepy. It's one of the reasons I'm so cautious now...
QuoteOr is Susan's pretty much a stop only if you are TG/TS?
No, some people just find it by accident like I did. But I don't think the pictures are the problem. I think real names are a risk. But you have to consider your own future plans. If you think you might be trying to conceal your status at some time in the future then let prudence be your guide. Always opt for safety.
QuoteAgain, I'm going to be cautious and not give away details, but the short and sweet answer: yes. And it's not fun... in fact, it's downright creepy. It's one of the reasons I'm so cautious now...
Great... one more thing to look forward too... LOL
QuoteAnd you made me put up my picture! I'm going to kick your ass.
I'd like to see that... the ass kicking... not your picture LOL.
Amanda
Quote
Great... one more thing to look forward too... LOL
Ok, I don't mean to scare you away from anything :) These things don't happen
that often. It's really just a matter of common sense: be careful what you post.
Now... back to my dinner :)
I am a very private person and having been stalked by an young army guy for over a year does make you more careful, and now the internet brings them a little closer if they can contact you in real life.
I am currently moving and I have the neighbour from hell here and I would hate for him to find out anymore about me than he already knows/or thinks he knows! Believe me, once they get the binoculars out, shine torches through your bedroom window and watch your every move, just imagine what they will do with internet images and info. It's not nice. :(
I very rarely post pictures of myself online. If I do they are typically like my avatar, just a little more light and distortion than a regular picture or I take them down after like 48 hours. I only post them in "Just For Us" sections and only on Susan's and Livejournal (where my posts are locked so only people I accept as friends can see). Why?
It doesn't have anything to do with creating a false persona of myself or anything other than protecting myself. There are many, many ways of tracking someone down and finding out where they live. I purposely keep my online information private including the city and specific area I live in, my friends' real names, details about my family, etc. I don't think anyone specific is after me, but I have friends that have had stalkers and just people who want to prove that they can mess with you. I don't want that. So, as much as I'd like to post a bunch of pictures and details, I just don't. Why risk it?
Some people say "hey, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. They'll find you." Um, no they won't. I don't have this tied to my real name and there's just not much of a way to track me down. I don't know what I'll be doing a year from now, five years from now, I don't need the aggravation of posting stuff that somehow, someway comes back to haunt me somehow. I like going to sleep feeling safe and secure :)
Amanda, I would recommend just being careful. Most people don't think about it until it's too late to do anything about it, you know? Meghan
The same could be said for My Space, Facebook, Yahoo and all the other personal pages on the internet....so it's not just limited to gender dusphoria sufferers...
Quote from: AlwaysAmanda on April 18, 2008, 11:26:26 PM
Thanks Sis... I think I tend to agree with what you said. I guess I never even
thought about stalkers and "freaky people" as you called them. Has anyone had
a problem with that?
Amanda
I had a scary incident on a chat where I received death threats and someone pasted my location all over the board.
Quote from: Nero on April 19, 2008, 11:28:12 AM
I had a scary incident on a chat where I received death threats and someone pasted my location all over the board.
Wow, after reading this and a couple of other peoples posts I'm really surprised.
I've usually had the attitude that "I'm not important enough" (ie, not a celebrity, politician, etc) for people to care about on the internet.
I'll probably be more discrete from now on.
-Floating
Quote from: Berliegh on April 19, 2008, 04:45:14 AM
The same could be said for My Space, Facebook, Yahoo and all the other personal pages on the internet....so it's not just limited to gender dysphoria sufferers...
Exactly Berliegh, hopefully people are very careful about the public information they put in there. I mean, putting the exact town you live in probably isn't a good idea, putting pictures up identifying where you live isn't a good idea either and neither is posting other kinds of detailed info.
I dont fear someone finding my picture here, but I really haven't posted my pic anywhere yet. But I have only a small circle for family and friends.
Quote from: Berliegh on April 19, 2008, 04:45:14 AM
The same could be said for My Space, Facebook, Yahoo and all the other personal pages on the internet....so it's not just limited to gender dusphoria sufferers...
Absolutely true! And it scares me how willing so many people are to post intimate details of their lives on the internet for everyone to see... details they probably wouldn't tell a close friend face-to-face.
You know, Ive never been found here <and Ive even told people that they could find me here LoL> Ive posted pictures of myself, both before and after... and Ive posted my names, in there entirety....
Strangely enough... pulling a name search on google... Ive only found one incarnation of my names that brings anything related to me up... and it leads to my bands myspace... <the jerks still havnt updated the stoopid thing>
Quote from: Floating on April 19, 2008, 11:31:59 AM
Quote from: Nero on April 19, 2008, 11:28:12 AM
I had a scary incident on a chat where I received death threats and someone pasted my location all over the board.
Wow, after reading this and a couple of other peoples posts I'm really surprised.
I've usually had the attitude that "I'm not important enough" (ie, not a celebrity, politician, etc) for people to care about on the internet.
I'll probably be more discrete from now on.
-Floating
everybody is important enough to be stalked. ::)
During my time in transition, I have opened accounts with the usual suspects, they being the widely accessed forums such as MySpace, PerfSpot, the messenger clients and 3 ( thus far ) specialist access TS/TG forums. In that time, I have had no hostile approaches resulting from the information that I had freely offered for viewing.
I have had a few irritating people that had taken up invitations to engage online with me, mainly men with a fantasy of getting into my knickers fully aware of what I am ( i usually indicate this in my profile ) but I eventually delete or block access to those Flinstone types ;).
I usually have my picture on my page/profile ( except this one due to not being able to upload it :'() and still have not been identified by it. I had one risky encounter at a bus station when a driver called me over and asked me if i wanted to spend some time with him and he asked if I was wearing stockings or tights >:( , dismissed him as a chancer or ->-bleeped-<-->-bleeped-<- but nothing much since that day. :angel:
QuoteAmanda, I would recommend just being careful. Most people don't think about it until it's too late to do anything about it, you know?
Yea I've been thinking about it and I have to agree with you Meghan... and everyone else... I need to be more careful.
Thanks much to everyone who responded :)
Amanda
exactly the reason why i don't post any pics here. good topic
A friend of mine found me on here. But then he started posting too, much to my surprise!
Quote from: Annwyn on April 19, 2008, 07:45:50 PM
A friend of mine found me on here. But then he started posting too, much to my surprise!
:laugh:
*lol*
I've posted pictures of myself and my phone number and I've been doing that for years. It seems I'm pretty insignificant in the general scheme of things. I have had a nice conversation with a lovely couple down south. Never any problems. I also googled my married name and my maiden name and came up with two hits, one on each. Under my married name, it comes up in a list of race results for Skagit Speedway. My maiden name is affiliated with the Bellingham Gender Group which doesn't exist under that name any more and hasn't for several years.
I won't say I'm perfectly safe, but who is in these days.
Karen Lyn