[deedee1231]

Does anyone ever worry about giving out too much information on the Internet? How about just on this site?

I tend to think that this site is pretty safe, but my dh thinks I post too many "personal details" about our family that would make it easy for psychos to locate us. For instance, if I were to reply to a post that made someone angry, and the angry person was a psycho, that psycho could easily find us and show up on the doorstep. He also does not want me to post pics of our family . He doesn't even want me to start a myspace page, even though they can be set to "private" and everyone I know has one. I don't really mind; I know he just wants to protect us and besides I don't have time to keep up with a thing like that anyhow, but still... , KWIM?

Has anyone else had these sorts of discussions with their SO? Does anyone ever post something and then think, "Was that too much info for safety's sake?"

[mrmnmom82]

I have the same thoughts. It's the same reason I don't put my last name, I don't have my families pictures identified by name ( just hubby and son), I don't say what city I'm from.... I understand where your hubbies coming from.

[Alejandros Mommy]

Too much info for me..is not watermarking my kids pictures so just anyone could take them and claim them as their own. This happend on another site I was from. Someone saved another members pictures and stated that it was their kids.

I also don't allow anyone to see MySite unless I know them. I have gotten requests to be members "friends" but I have my kids pictures on there. Even though they are watermarked I'd rather not share them with just anyone.

Telling people your last name or what town your from. I have never said where I specifically am from but have posted a city near us....that city has over 1 million people. Advertising your address, e-mail or phone is a no no for me. I remove these if I see members posting for thier own safety.

I have not been posting pictures of my older child as when kids reach a certain age you can tell what they are going to look like. I don't want a stranger coming up to my child and talking to him. The things I post or talk about in other places are private and only those who have been their for years can view them.

I have been on boards that you have to prove you are a real person before they allow you to see things...such as the picture area and a private lounge.

We all have to remember this is a public not private forum. I know we all want to be supportive of one another but your saftey and the safety of your family comes first. If you don't want to post something even though everone else is then that's ok

I am glad that everyone here feels so comfortable with each other It feels good to know our forum is a wonderful place to be.

[Alejandros Mommy]

As for the myspace I deleted mine. It keep get phised by a hacker. MySpace is known for that....if you don't change your password continuously it could happen. I changed mine every other day and someone still hacked in. I always wrote the addy in the address bar and didn't realy upon my web browser to know my log in name and password. Someone still got in and took my stuff. I only had pictures of waterfalls froma trip we took so it wasn't too bad. I have a facebook and I haven't heard of anyone (so far) hacking into people's accounts. Though I still watermark my stuff, and only allow those I know to access it.

I also have my PhotoBucket as private.

[Samual]

I would never give out my last name and I would never risk my children by putting any of their pictures onto the internet, not even on my own email as the security on emails are very lax. First names and area of the country are as far as I go, when people ask me where I live I either give the county or a near by town.

[deedee1231]

I don't give out our last name or address or phone number. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that either. I have mentioned children's first names in different posts and said the name of our city (although I have not been specific about what area in said city), but since our metro area is home to almost 2 million people, I didn't think that was TMI . My dh doesn't think I should post anything more specific than "the midwest" and the children's ages.

[Gchildren]

Hello!
The internet is one of the best things that has happened for finding information. But the growth of the internet has happened so quickly that the safeguards have not developed fast enough to provide the safety that is needed.
One has to exercise extreme caution when giving away any type of information online. Just because the website is there does not make it a safe place to frequent or visit.
Before you give away any personal information do some research about the website. Examine the privacy policies of the site; contact the website and ask questions; look for complaints about the site; talk to family and friends to see if they know anything about the website; look for familiar logos on the site that indicate the websit is legitimate.
Be careful and cautious.
John

[DK615617]

I am sure I have probably given out too much info,
but I never said the name of my city and have never given out last name or #.
But if you think about it, if you give your first name and spouse's first name and eventually kids names if someone really really wants to they can find you. It is a scarey world that we live in. And it is so easy to forget that just anyone can read these posts!!!!! After a while you feel like these people are your friends and you forget how many other people are lurking around on here that never say anything. Kinda crazy.

[MissyChrissy]

No last names here, but I don't really worry about some psycho finding me on the internet & trying to get in contact with me. For one, we're armed. For another-there's likely a psycho that lives in the vicinity that I need to worry about more. He/she already knows what my kids look like and where they live. I'm not talking about anyone in particular...but crazy people have to live somewhere-they're just as likely to live next to me as they are to you.

Definitely the mall has had psycho people in it. Not one is an exception. I'm not going to live my life hiding under a rock. No, I won't post our last names, but I'm not afraid to say I live in upstate NY. I'm not afraid to post pics of myself or my kids-and if someone copies those pics and says they're their kids...so what? THEY ARE LOSERS but whatever. I'm glad my life isn't that sorry.

I'm a member of another board where I've made such close friendships I've exchanged home numbers and addresses with other mothers. I've said what county I live in...I just do not live my life in fear. Most people that get attacked due to an internet encounter arranged to meet the other person. Usually, it's sexual. I don't allow my kids to talk to people on the internet that they don't know...With the exception of my oldest daughter. I allow her to post here, and I watch her carefully. I've also asked a special moderator on her to kinda keep an eye out for me. Bobbie will not be having MySpace. I hope she's smart enough to not want one when she's in college, but I suppose at that point there won't be much I can do about it if she does.

[QueenAngie]

I thought all of us had the last name of Smith and Jones.

Better to be safe than sorry on the net!