• silverwhisper said on May 04, 2007....

  i reveal what to me is the only thing that matters online: my true self. i rigorously avoid providing information that will identify me meaningfully however, and that's why i avoid social networking sites. i absolutely refuse to post pics of myself online. hell, i have to have interactions with someone for months (generally) before even exchanging e-mail addresses.
  
  ed

• lioneljay said on May 04, 2007....

  Ed, I think that you and I are of the same mind on this. It took me four years to get to a point where I'd consider posting a pic of even a relatively unidentifiable part of me. I'm also somewhat cautious about email addresses, though that's one reason why I use one that has no personal identifiers connected with it.

• beyondtheveil said on May 04, 2007....

  LJ- This site is the only one of its kind I belong to. I've revealed more than initially intended, but it won't identify me. Like you, my e-mail address has no personal identifiers and has gone only to one person whom I trust and has said it will be kept confidential.
   
  Like Ed, everything posted and commented on this site is my true self. Whats the use of telling lies anonymously?

• bloc said on May 04, 2007....

  I hesitate to reveal much. pics aren't a biggie for me, but personal info is. Where I work, where I live (anythign more specific than the city), etc

• CreativeWoman said on May 04, 2007....

  I guess it depends on the situation for me. 
  
  As far as blogging goes, I am myself.  People get the see the real inner me here.  I don't pretend to be anyone else. I hide my name behind the anonymity. I feel free to let things out that I've always held in before.
  
  I do have a website that pertains to me as a writer.  It does include a picture, but only an email address for contacting me.  I don't have my street address and phone number on it.  A Google search of my real name does bring up links to my published writings.
  
  In any groups or forums where my real name is used (usually involving writing) mums the word on anything personal.  I stay on topic in those situations.  I'm there to network.
  
  It's an apples and oranges thing for me.
  
  CW
  
  

• lioneljay said on May 04, 2007....

  Bloc, with the exception of pictures, I hold myself to just about the same standards. I'm just a bit shy with pics.
  
  CW, that sounds like a fairly reasonable approach. Keep your posting in context and protect yourself that way. Maketh fine sense.

• botoni said on May 04, 2007....

  What you see is what you get with me. I with hold my real name although I ve posted a pic of myself. There are SC bloggers who have my personal email and are aware of my full name as well as the city where I live....even the small town where I grew up. I ve less fears about my real name in thta it is a very very common name. A search in my city would bring up a minimum of 50 people who could be me.
  I ve had, and do have, involvement with sites of personal interest where my picture is posted but I am cautious about exchanging much in the way of personal information on those sites.

• lioneljay said on May 04, 2007....

  Bot, it sounds like you're reasonably cautious, which makes good sense to me. But then I'm not from the MySpace generation, either.

• MissMimi said on May 04, 2007....

  I've seen the AV in question, and I was a bit surprised, to be honest. If you read my blog, you will see how free I am about some things. I've posted things here that I've never told a soul in my face-to-face life. But pictures I'm a little more careful about. I have a few at flickr, but every one of them is set to friends only, and I get to say who sees them.
  
  
  I admire your courage, LJ. I couldn't do it. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

• lioneljay said on May 04, 2007....

  Thanks, MM, though to be fair about it I doubt if you could hide behind as much chest hair.

• secretlife said on May 04, 2007....

  i'm pretty conservative with what i reveal.

  i don't particularly like the idea of pictures floating in cyberspace...

  i don't mind saying new jersey or east coast, but that's all.

  i'll say the line of business i'm in but not the company-

  things like that...

  but i know for a fact that the kids coming up now think nothing whatsoever about posting just about everything about themselves on places like myspace...

  i wrote a post a while ago about an article from the New Yorker Magazine on the Internet Generation...it was a pretty interesting read (lol, not my post; the article!)

• lioneljay said on May 04, 2007....

  SL, I think that the boundaries we set for ourselves here on the net are definitely a matter of generation. My children are entirely comfortable with the social networking places but they have me on edge.

• evil_twin said on May 04, 2007....

  I'm new to this particular website and I chose it simply because it was anonymous. I actually have a MySpace account, but everyone I know reads it. And my name is associated with it, so it would come up if someone was actually doing a Google search of me. So I really censor what I post there. And these days, it's not much. I kind of gave that place up because it annoyed me. It was a relief to come here and not be expected to show off pictures of yourself. Some things I want to talk about, I don't really want to tell the people I know. I like anonymity sometimes. It's liberating.
  
  -evil_twin LA
  

• Eilan said on May 04, 2007....

  I'm probably more open than I should be.  But what you read is what you get.  I don't have the time or desire to construct an elaborate online persona.  But I am honest--even about that, um, Lit-related thing that I've been accused of lying about!
  
  I rarely use pics of myself, though there are a handful of SC'ers who know what I look like.  I don't think I'd post pics of my children, though, even on here.  Too many crazies out there.
  
  Nice av, BTW, LJ!
  

• rightwingwizard said on May 04, 2007....

  I share very little personal information, especially anthing that would allow the average individual to identify and locate me. (The enterprising e-geek could likely do so, but I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would bother.)   I have likely shared more here than I otherwise would but I wouldn't think anyone would consider me open about myself.  I have never and it is  unlikely that I ever shall post a photo of myself on-line.  (Too many broken camera lenses and melted rolls of film in my history)  I rarely allow anyone to photograph me anyway. 
  I never use the same username on another site.  So if you run into a rightwingwizard elsewhere, rest assured that it is not me.   In other places I have role-played, but not here.  Here I am as close to the real deal that anyone will ever meet.  I have a very strict don't ask/don't tell policy.  If you don't ask, I won't have to tell a lie.  This applies to anthing of a personal nature that I haven't already shared, or won't at some future date share freely.    Actually at this point I wouldn't lie anyway, I would just say 'nunya' or 'NOYDB'
   
  rww

• gingersoul said on May 04, 2007....

  LJ....this is my first and only blog site. I am thinking to build a personal website though where i will use my Avatar ...

  In the matter of revealing my true self...... what you read about me here its all true. Its me, 100%, in bad and good. I don't play games.

  I said here where i live, i talked vaguely about my different jobs. But no more than this.

  I gave my personal email only to few Scasters. Only few know my real name and even less than them have seen my face. I count them with only one hand. 

  I will never post  a pix of my daughter even if someday i might decide to post a pix of mine succumbing to a brutal attack of vanity....:-)

  About the easiness with which kids nowadays divulge their personal info...... i have been in front of the comp with my daughter when she set up her MySpace page. Its on private so only her friends can see it. She shows me any new friend she adds withou even me asking sometimes... I made her delete a link to a girl (they go to the same school) who posted a pix of her in which she looks like a 20yrd old girl and hugging an older boy.... She understood and didn tliek thatgirl anyway...so, yeah..i am watching over her internet use like a hawk. 

• mom said on May 04, 2007....

  I am like Eilan, I know I put more out than I should, but that has always been my problem, I put out.  Until recently I felt pretty safe but now I am much more cautious than I was. I have always had to learn from my mistakes, unfortunately.

• Master_Williams_whisp said on May 04, 2007....

  I am only a few days new in blogging on SC. I set up my blog here because I could see that users were able to be frank and detailed. I lost a blog on MySpace that was restricted in access to one person, because apparently it was too graphic.
  
  I love the openness here... the frankness... But I, like most of you, it seems, am very careful to hide my true identity. Anybody who found my profession and my city, and even a hint of my name could track me down in a heartbeat. Pics just won't happen. I had it happen on another site that someone I didn't want to hear from recognized a pic.
  
  So, I will be sharing my story truthfully, but no identifying information.
  

• Jenna said on May 04, 2007....

  I think I have been fairly careful with what I reveal....I too have shared an email address.....although it is not my primary address and does not show my real name.  I have also talked to a few by phone....but feel completely comfortable with those connections. 
   
  Both of my children have facebook accounts.....I continually stress the importance of being careful. 
   
  I am just so glad I am not a teenager today....there really is no such thing as privacy anymore.

• Glamourgirl said on May 04, 2007....

  I, too, am relatively new to SC and came to this blog because it is completely anonymous.  I have never blogged before and wanted to give it a try and only decided to do it because of SC and its anonymity.

  I am completely truthful and myself on SC as any of you who have read my blogs know or I wouldn't have told my horrific saga in such detail, but I would never reveal my real name, where I live specifically, email address, pictures, etc.  To me that's the great thing about SC - you can make new friends, share situations, get and give feedback and only reveal as much or as little as you want, unlike MySpace and places like that.

• KayRoseOrchid said on May 04, 2007....

  I have a Myspace and a Facebook, mainly because people I know will only keep in touch with me that way (for the most part). It kinda pisses me off. I'd love to just delete them, but I'd lose touch with everybody, except maybe 3 people that actually make the effort to call me.
  
  I am constantly editing my profiles on those sites because I have been having issues with many of those people and have lost my trust in all of them (except those 3).
  
  On here, you get all of me 100%. And only one other Soulcaster knows my true identity and she is one of the 3 people that I really care about (love you ninjapirate!)
  
  
  

• sweet_cookie01 said on May 04, 2007....

  Welll i think i am revealing the real me... no transparency... no faking and exaggerations.... just the real ol me... though i dont feel comfortable posting my picture because i'd like to keep a bit of anonimity even if its just what i look like...

• sweetsoul said on May 05, 2007....

  Well it's about time LJ! I've had a pic of my chest up there for years. :D  I originally used various AVs but when I started posting bra AVs they seemed to catch on...now apparently it's part of who I am.

  As for the rest...thoug I'm honest...I'm not forthright about identifying information that's publicly available online. The email I use with online acquaintainces/friends isn't the one with my name in it. Surely I'm not the only grandmother online nor the only person in the largest city in the country that I live in.

  I find I'm more cautious here than in person. What's on the net stays on the net for all to see. Even things we think of as private aren't always. I know one sight that I used to frequent where the PMs (private messages) weren't private. The site administrators could, and on occasion did, access them.

  So I not only like my anonymity

   

• pascodelta said on May 05, 2007....

  I used to be wary about putting any details online....but then I found a long lost friend online, through his website.  We had not seen eachother for 20 years.
  
  Even though this forum is anonymous, I would stand by everything I say on here, so, now, I think if someone wants to go to the trouble of googling me then, 'enjoy'....what's going to happen?  ...will I be murdered in the night?  ...hope not
  

• queenparanoia said on May 05, 2007....

  i revealed everything about me except my real name..

• chumitasan said on May 05, 2007....

  I have a friend who really patronize most, if not, all sites that can reveal her, show and exhibit her profile.. Thrue and true, she borrowed a digicam and took more than 200 snapshots of herself in different pose, background and theme...you can just imagine her, barely sleeps and eats, just so she can update her profile and upload photos to friendster, my space, multiply..God! you name it, she has an account..
  
  I, on the other hand,  barely allow anyone to look or visit my friendster. keeping contact with friends around the world is enough for me..eheheh but i have nothing against people who love exposing or posting or keep everyone know what they are up to.. that's how you express yourself, right? and if thats whats making you happy, then by all means..do as you please.......
  

• genalonewolf said on May 05, 2007....

  I have never really been afraid to let people know my name or really afraid to post a pic of myself except for shame reasons. I don't put out my ssn or private info like that but anything else is pretty much ok with me. If someone wants to steal my identity then they will have more luck pulling their own teeth. I have a myspace account with the same name I have here and give it out  freely. I don't know why I guess I just like people and like to be friendly. If someone wants to know my real name I see no harm in telling them. I was born with it so why not share it?

  I also do understand that there are many who don't share in what I do and like to keep places on the net much more private and I have not one problem with that. I am just not that way!

• lioneljay said on May 05, 2007....

  Evil_twin,, like you I find the anonymity of SC liberating. The format here encourages open communication, which I enjoy, but the anonymity frees me to reveal parts of me that might be an issue if any of my business contacts identified me.
  
  Eilan, first off, thanks for the compliment. Your chest shot is next. ;) I can't quite comprehend why people develop elaborate online personae that differ greatly from themselves but I know it happens. I suppose that there is no short supply of insecurity.
  
  RWW, I find it interesting that you create a different screen name for every cite you frequent. That takes more creativity (and memory) than I can muster. And it seems entirely reasonable to me that one can say "nunya" when it's appropriate.
  
  Ginger, I knew that you would tell us how careful you are with your daughter's online life - you share your diligence and love for her freely here and it's an important part of who you are. I, for one, am waiting for the day when we all get to see what I assume is a wickedly winsome Mediterranean smile - but respect your need for privacy. Like you, what I choose to day about myself is 100% real - I see no reason to fabricate anything for anyone reading my blog.
  
  Mom, can I tell you that my inner eighth-grade boy went woo-hoo at your comment about "putting out too much?" I'm also one who seems to require learning by my own mistakes.
  
  MWw, (I hope that abbreviation works for you - I'm a lazy blogger and I make up abbreviations for almost everyone with a multi-part name) thanks for stopping by. I can imagine that blogging at MySpace would be a risky business for anyone with a truly adult life.
  
  Jenna, it's so good to see you here. :smile: I'm with you. While I'd love to be a high school boy with my current knowledge of what women want, I doubt if I could have kept up with the social interactions by multiple devices that youngsters today handle with ease.
  
  Glamourgirl, anonymity has given you freedom to vent about a terrifying circumstance. I'm sure that this has made quite a difference in your life lately. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
  
  KRO, it's that constant editing of profiles that would drive me nuts - and I see why it would be a necessity. They say that one of the dangers of telling lies is in remembering what you told to whom. Seems to me that that is also one of the dangers of being truthful in a social networking site: you have to keep in mind who has learned what about you from where, and you don't have full control over the "who." Yikes, but that would tax my memory beyond its breaking point.
  
  Sweet_cookie01, welcome to my blog. I like that word, transparency. It tells us a lot about the democratic nature of a good blogging site like this, doesn't it? I'm with you on posting pictures of my face - it leaves me uncomfortable at best.
  
  SS, woo hoo and welcome back from the lost wilds of the north. It's been a while since you were here. :D I know your chest pics from that other place and I will publicly admit that they have caused me all sorts of embarrassing trouser-related issues. Your chest avatars are a most welcome part of the experience at that place. As for your caution about revealing identifying information, I hear you completely. And that story about site administrators taking access to private messages is chilling. Here in the US we have given that job over to our government and not lowly private citizens who wouldn't know how to handle the responsibility with grace and civility. ;)
  
  Pascodelta, that must have been quite a surprise and a joy to find a long-lost friend. Like you, I stand by everything I say here. The ideas I share here are 100% me - for all their faults.
  
  Queenparanoia, thanks for stopping by. I don't recall seeing any pictures of your third left toenail here. Are you sure you've revealed everything about you? :wink:
  
  Chumitasan, welcome to my blog. I think I'd have a very hard time keeping up with multiple profiles on all those sites the way your friend does. Email contact is plenty for me, aside from my blogging, that is
  
  Genalonewolf, thanks for stopping by. I can appreciate your preference for being open about yourself and your identity. I've seen occasions where truly bad people took advantage of friends of mine who'd been fairly careful about their private information, so the thought of purposely revealing my identity for the use of strangers concerns me.

• leadoffkarma said on May 05, 2007....

  I have to admit that I have been reading several of the blogs here for at least 2 months before I decided to start my own. I like the fact that everyone is very understanding, honest and willing to give a helping hand even if its through cyberspace. I really enjoy that I can be honest here and not have people asking to see a picture of me. It doesn't matter how I look what matters is the conversations and the interaction with others. Being anonymous is so much better. I also have a myspace account but so does everyone I know. So I could never post anything there if I wanted to be kept quiet.
  

• pessimisticvaunt said on May 05, 2007....

  Lion... I trained so long to sneak around and go undetected. It is hard for me to disclose what I do now. I can't  imagine people being able to see me

• missunderstood1162 said on May 05, 2007....

  LJ...i reveal far too easily and far too much and it almost always bites me in the ass.  sigh. I am for real...  But I am becoming more cautious out of self preservation at this time.   I've never been a sit on the sidelines type of person but jumping in with both feet laughing and splashing seems to get me into trouble on a regular basis. 
  
  I think I still always try to stay open and free hoping that I will cross paths with very specific special people that I am meant to meet.  So on I go.
  
  
  

• queenparanoia said on May 05, 2007....

  LOLOL funny!!!

• sweetsoul said on May 05, 2007....

  LJ I was not lost and I was not in the north...I was very south of you and in wonderful sun, but thanks for the welcome back.

  snickering at your admission of embarassing trouser moments. :smiles sweetly:

  As for revealing...it dawned on me this morning that sometimes I am cautious about what I write online because of my natural need for privacy and the fact that even though it may be online interaction, I 'know' and have met some of the people I interact with online. They are friends and I don't always want them knowing. Part of the compartmentalization of my life.

• mom said on May 06, 2007....

  Sweet- Be careful especially in your emails, some people will turn on  you quicker than shit.  There are some who will save every piece of email and then use it on you.  I am not the only one he has done this too.  I am pleading with you not to trust him.  He has no respect for anyone, he will sucker you in and then turn on you.

• sweetsoul said on May 06, 2007....

  mom I know what/who you're referring to and I've never had any contact with him on SC and certainly not in email. Thank you for your concern though.

   

• mom said on May 06, 2007....

  Sweet- I am really glad. :)

• tbs230 said on May 08, 2007....

  I truly believe that ten years from now, everything will be computerized. I might never have to leave my home (Very scary thought).
  
  I'm on Facebook and Myspace and all types of over sites. And I have pictures everywhere. The notion of what is private is changing. And now that I think of it, that's a pretty scary thought.
  

• missunderstood1162 said on May 08, 2007....

  LJ

  Thank you for commenting on my blog today.

  It means a lot to me.

  hugs

   

• lioneljay said on May 08, 2007....

  TBS, I fully believe that you're right. Between our own revelations on the internet and the information gathering that business and government do, our privacy is changing by the day.
  
  Missu, you're quite welcome.

• snick said on May 09, 2007....

  Lifts my skirt and runs away giggling ~~ that's how much :p

• lioneljay said on May 09, 2007....

  Snick, what, no pictures?

• snick said on May 09, 2007....

  smirks... nope.. not yet. No one's caught me :p

• lioneljay said on May 09, 2007....

  You must run in a slow crowd. ;)

• destinydiva said on Nov 04, 2007....

  I think sometimes I reveal to much of me...online and in real life! I am a very open person, and my moods and emotions tend to seep out even if I am trying to hide them..
  with regards to pictures...  it depends...I did a few 'quick flashes' here at soulcast and showed my picture, but that was mostly as I was curious as to what other soulcasters looked like, and I couldnt ask others to do it if I wasnt prepared to do it myself.
  On msn instant messenger I have two adresses, one for online friends and one for real life friends, i have my picture on my real life msn...and on my 'online' msn, I have this really cool avatar that nursecutie made me :-)
  I go thru fads of signing up for zillions of websites, and if I feel confident I will post pictures, trouble is I forget all about them, so I gues I have lots of me online that I am not even aware of anymore!
  x
  

• lioneljay said on Nov 05, 2007....

  Destinydiva, thanks for stopping by to comment. Like you, I've had more than one chat account so that I could keep various folks separated but I've stopped doing that. Now I just wait until I really know an online acquaintance well before I give out my screenname.

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