Major Tom
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
There have been 2 questions rattling around in my head recently that I wanted to ask fellow forum members. One of them was posed in the E-R.org Critical Mass Thread. I think I'll ask the other one now.
What kinds of information are you happy to share here and, more importantly, what sort of information wouldn't you divulge? Naturally, your reasoning will make your answer all the more interesting.
The main consideration for me in deciding whether to share something or not is the knowledge that this is a public forum, and my posts will be here (presumably) for quite a long time. Who knows, they may well be residing on various archival servers for a very long time even if E-R.org were to no longer be around. Although I have the appearance of anonymity, I have left enough clues in my digital footprint as well as in the wordings of my various posts, that anyone could pretty easily find my real identity (if they were so inclined). With this in mind, I don't share anything that I would be too bothered about if anyone were to find out who the "real" Major Tom is.
With this in mind, I am happy to share financial information - actual dollar amounts as well as percentages. There may be a few people who I'd prefer that they not know my financial details but ultimately, it wouldn't really rock the boat that much were they to find out. As a result, I share that information. I'm also happy to share general personal information (I ride a bicycle, I love cats, I recently finished watching Dexter and am now looking for a good British series to watch, just about the best show I ever went to was the Rolling Stones in Oakland last year - that sort of personal information).
However, I do not share details of personal relationships. I'm happy to share general things, such as the fact that SO and I live about a mile apart, we see each other once or twice a week and talk every day - things like that. I don't, however, share details of serious relationship problems. A big part of the reason for that is that because this relationship involves 2 people, anything I share will also be information about her and deciding whether to share this information is not purely my decision. It would be unfair (and in my opinion, disrespectful) to share that type of information here. I do confide with friends and family members about such matters though, and some people may feel that this is not significantly different from sharing such information online. I'd be interested in your opinions.
Please note that I am not in any way criticizing those who do share details of personal relationships here - I'm simply giving my reasons for not doing so. IIRC, most of the more personal threads have been by people who have a greater degree of anonymity than myself, and who didn't hang around much after their lives were back on track. Once again, this is no way meant as a crticism. Perhaps I'm just an uptight Brit
So - what do you share here, and what will you not share?
What kinds of information are you happy to share here and, more importantly, what sort of information wouldn't you divulge? Naturally, your reasoning will make your answer all the more interesting.
The main consideration for me in deciding whether to share something or not is the knowledge that this is a public forum, and my posts will be here (presumably) for quite a long time. Who knows, they may well be residing on various archival servers for a very long time even if E-R.org were to no longer be around. Although I have the appearance of anonymity, I have left enough clues in my digital footprint as well as in the wordings of my various posts, that anyone could pretty easily find my real identity (if they were so inclined). With this in mind, I don't share anything that I would be too bothered about if anyone were to find out who the "real" Major Tom is.
With this in mind, I am happy to share financial information - actual dollar amounts as well as percentages. There may be a few people who I'd prefer that they not know my financial details but ultimately, it wouldn't really rock the boat that much were they to find out. As a result, I share that information. I'm also happy to share general personal information (I ride a bicycle, I love cats, I recently finished watching Dexter and am now looking for a good British series to watch, just about the best show I ever went to was the Rolling Stones in Oakland last year - that sort of personal information).
However, I do not share details of personal relationships. I'm happy to share general things, such as the fact that SO and I live about a mile apart, we see each other once or twice a week and talk every day - things like that. I don't, however, share details of serious relationship problems. A big part of the reason for that is that because this relationship involves 2 people, anything I share will also be information about her and deciding whether to share this information is not purely my decision. It would be unfair (and in my opinion, disrespectful) to share that type of information here. I do confide with friends and family members about such matters though, and some people may feel that this is not significantly different from sharing such information online. I'd be interested in your opinions.
Please note that I am not in any way criticizing those who do share details of personal relationships here - I'm simply giving my reasons for not doing so. IIRC, most of the more personal threads have been by people who have a greater degree of anonymity than myself, and who didn't hang around much after their lives were back on track. Once again, this is no way meant as a crticism. Perhaps I'm just an uptight Brit
So - what do you share here, and what will you not share?
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