Quote from: Natasha on June 27, 2014, 03:31:03 PM
fyi my avatar pic is not me.  are you surprised?       i don't think she (my avatar) is real either; what i mean is that she has been digitally enhanced to look artificial.  if you've been here for as long as i have, you know that i've never posted a real pic of myself.  Like FA says, nowadays it is very easy to do a picture reverse search on google.  just sayin'

It's ok and kind of smart anyway Natasha, besides we know you're a mighty fine woman anyway! Bowers doesn't take any flops! 

Quote from: Tysilio on June 25, 2014, 09:48:01 AM
Same here. 

It concerns me a bit that so many people here do post pictures of themselves, as avatars or otherwise, given that privacy online is effectively nonexistent. Face recognition technology is about at the point where someone can find an image, do a search for that face, and identify its user; certainly the gummint, Facebook, etc. have the ability to do this.

This is the only place I've ever felt like posting my pic. I'm less concerned about my face than I am about my credit history or all the other data and identity stuff that gets lost. The people that want to cause me harm only see me as a serious of numbers and expiration dates anyway.

Quote from: TiffanyT on June 28, 2014, 02:26:53 PM
This is the only place I've ever felt like posting my pic. I'm less concerned about my face than I am about my credit history or all the other data and identity stuff that gets lost. The people that want to cause me harm only see me as a serious of numbers and expiration dates anyway.

You do make a good point there Tiff!

Quote from: Natasha on June 27, 2014, 03:31:03 PM
Like FA says, nowadays it is very easy to do a picture reverse search on google.  just sayin'

Yeah, but I've also done image searches on certain things that are related to things that I like (such as the Get Along Gang, Tenchi Universe) and some images have come back as being linked to here since I used them as avatars or in other types of threads. Anyone with a triple digit IQ could put two and two together. It doesn't bother me at all.

Quote from: Jill F on June 25, 2014, 01:40:23 AMDid you live in a tree and make crackers and cookies?

No, I preyed on those guys, and they were mighty delicious.

Funny that this thread has legs. 

I post my picture because it might be useful to someone new to know that the fear of discovery or failure can, and sometimes does, vanish into the mist.  I am Julie, nothing more and nothing less.  To live an authentic life is still new to me, and that authenticity is enhanced by not being a secret here or anywhere else.  It is my hope and prayer that frightened and unsure people are able to find answers within the forums of Susan's or wherever the find wisdom and so continue to grow and to begin to live life as a journey where they can be who they actually are.  The costs to so many are so high that many simply give up and withdraw into an emotional nadir.  If that I am out full time all the time and neither afraid to be seen, nor afraid to tell my truth helps anyone at all, I am successful as a human becoming.

Susan's was my lifeline a couple of years ago, and the place where I found my voice this year.  That is my story and why you will see my visage now and as I grow into womanhood.  What anyone else chooses is none of my business, and none of my concern.  Your avatars are the image I see when I read or think about what you share and teach in these pages.  If we ever meet in the real world, I will celebrate who you are and delight in seeing your smile.  Till then thank you ...

Julie

Quote from: Cynthia Michelle on June 26, 2014, 09:54:48 AM
5) The avatar issue is something I think about every time I come here, I feel like a chicken.

As someone who also does not post a real-life pic, I urge you to give yourself a break. There's no reason you should beat yourself up for protecting yourself in this way. It's your choice and your right to not post a pic.

And, yes, the split infinitive was intentional, mwahaha!

Ehhh I avoid any RL pictures really. For 2 reasons.

1: Shyness.

2: I prefer using anime pics for it.

I'm not gonna go and say that's me when it's clearly not. Well unless I get a comission of one of my WoW toons then I MIGHT since it IS a version of me. XD

My profile pic is and always has been me.. The current pic just isn't very current - it'd be 20+ years old.. lol

I can completely understand some people's concerns about posting a real pic of themselves.  I was the same way for many years.  But these days, for me, there is so much water under the bridge of my life that I just don't worry about it much any more.  I am completely out to all my friends and family.  In fact, I just learned two nights ago from my little sister that my parents have two pics of me fully dressed from a few years ago in the family photo album. 

I don't advertise my proclivities to my coworkers generally (except a couple over the years) or my clients.  I work in a majorly male dominant industry and coming out would definitely jeopardize my career of 25 years.  If any of them happened upon this site and said they saw me here (assuming they recognized me) my first question to them would be, "So what's YOUR screen name on the site?"    Smile...

Dani

My ava pics are as close to the real me as anyone will ever see here.

Okay...time to come clean...

I am not trans, and I am not from Scotland...

All the pictures and video diaries I post actually feature a finely crafted android I fabricated last year in my spare time.

I am actually a 20 stone male animatronics engineer from Idaho, who just wanted some attention.

I throw myself at your mercy!

Quote from: Danniella on July 03, 2014, 06:25:57 AM
Okay...time to come clean...

I am not trans, and I am not from Scotland...

All the pictures and video diaries I post actually feature a finely crafted android I fabricated last year in my spare time.

I am actually a 20 stone male animatronics engineer from Idaho, who just wanted some attention.

I throw myself at your mercy!

We've known that all along, nothing new here but we love you anyway, so you're stuck with us now! 

As long as we're coming clean.. 

I am (deep breath here) an closeted, unlicensed magician, from the Ford Galaxy.  I must check in with Agent J and Agent K every week.

And I do not have almost 9000 hours flying a Boeing 757.  Nor have I ever taken any type of bio-identical anything. 

This is my first post, I have never been here before.

Quote from: Paula Christine on July 03, 2014, 08:41:31 AM
As long as we're coming clean.. 

I am (deep breath here) an closeted, unlicensed magician, from the Ford Galaxy.

And I do not have almost 9000 hours flying a Boeing 757.  Nor have I ever taken any type of bio-identical anything.

Confession is cleansing for the soul my child, go in peace and sin no more! 

OK, OK, I confess... my avatar pic isn't a current pic. I choose not to post a current pic because I don't want the wrong sort of people getting hold of it.

But it is a genuine pic of me, taken in the mid-1970s. I chose it because it represents the first moment in my life when I started to realise that all was not well with my gender.

You see that pink ballerina tutu I'm wearing? I loved that thing; I felt so fancy in it. But I felt uncomfortable in the class (around all the other girls), and my mother once commented on my ballet skills that I used to 'clomp about on the stage will all the grace of a carthorse'. Charming.

Anyway, I can also vouch for Jayne's avatar pic being a genuine pic of her pooch because I've had the pleasure of meeting both of them IRL.

My avatar is a commission by an artist on DeviantArt.

Quote from: EllieM on June 24, 2014, 11:38:56 PM

Thanks Christopher
Love the wings, by the way.

thanks


but... I have to make a confession. I'm not a bird. I don't even give the bird. I am actually a fierce wolverine.

Quote from: christopher on July 03, 2014, 09:38:58 AM
but... I have to make a confession. I'm not a bird. I don't even give the bird. I am actually a fierce wolverine.

...ahhh... carcajou

In addition, when I read the title, I originally read it as:

"No fantasy RACES and lives please"

To which my brain instantly thought:

"Oh dear, the "Creatures of Middle Earth Equal Rights Union" will be furious!"

...

Sometimes I think I am TOO much of a nerd...to the extent wherein it taints and/or warps my perception of reality...but then I just shrug, grab my sword and hop on the pegasus to go off on a mighty quest to slay a dark lord somewhere.

...

Why is everybody looking at me like that?