Profiles

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

I have notice that on many forums people ask for help and most times get it. Like here there are many willing to help others.

But the same question appears in many of these posts like where are you would it not be easier if there is a stipulation that you put a location in the profile.

Not an exact location but a general area as I can understand why putting an exact location is not desirable.

This would help a lot of people out when asking questions.

What are peoples thoughts on this

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

A bit, err, pot and kettle colour calling? No public profile for you?

I think it should be part of signing up for the forum. After today, some might even put down Mars as their new addy.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Same old subject keeps coming up but it is not going to happen without a software update to make sure people fill it in and that won't happen any time soon.

[Former MemberParticipant @formermember19781]

[This posting has been removed]

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've never come across a forum that insists on people make their location public.

I can't see why not doing so annoys some people so much. I've never come across people complaining about it being missing from people's profiles on any other forum either!

Bearing in mind some forum members are not the most internet savvy of folks and we are continually bombarded with advice to keep our personal data secure is it any wonder many choose not to make their location public*?

Neil

*If you have an unusual name and a broad locality it's easy to locate someone's address using the internet. I found someone's postcode and home town from their name and county in about four seconds. A subscription at £50 credits would let me get comprehensive details of them and 499 other people.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/11/2018 16:44:28:

I've never come across a forum that insists on people make their location public.

I can't see why not doing so annoys some people so much. I've never come across people complaining about it being missing from people's profiles on any other forum either!

Bearing in mind some forum members are not the most internet savvy of folks and we are continually bombarded with advice to keep our personal data secure is it any wonder many choose not to make their location public*?

Neil

*If you have an unusual name and a broad locality it's easy to locate someone's address using the internet. I found someone's postcode and home town from their name and county in about four seconds. A subscription at £50 credits would let me get comprehensive details of them and 499 other people.

A very good point Neil but I xcan't see why people get annoyed when the subject is brought up

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Posted by not done it yet on 27/11/2018 12:05:53:

A bit, err, pot and kettle colour calling? No public profile for you?

I think it should be part of signing up for the forum. After today, some might even put down Mars as their new addy.

I Didn’t know Elon musk had signed up for the forum! 🛸

I know it can be annoying when someone asks where can i get this or that from but doesn’t state what country they live in and it makes it impossible to help them , some people are fiercely private and don’t want others to know where they live or don’t want other forum members seeing that they live close by and start contacting them for meetups . All it takes is for the creator of the post to mention approximately where they are when they want to know where to buy stuff from etc and they are not going to get an answer if they don’t !

[Anonymous]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/11/2018 16:44:28:

I've never come across a forum that insists on people make their location public.

practicalmachinist – at least to the level of state/country, if you don't give a location you're warned, and then dumped

If people ask for help but don't have the wit to say where they are then I'm not going to waste time replying. Got more interesting things to do, like workshop time; which is exactly what I'm going to do now!

Andrew

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by XD 351 on 27/11/2018 18:43:11

I Didn’t know Elon musk had signed up for the forum! 🛸

Danny M2Z has apparently ‘relocated’ to Mars, before Elon’s car got anywhere near. Neil was disappointed not to have had the ‘chance’ to have his name listed on Mars. Do keep up with the postings.

If your name is Smith or Brown, it likely doesn’t make too much difference to give out your general postal area. A name and full post code narrows you down to one street.

A county, or even country, can help in cases where the poster requires local information.

If no public profile, including one’s general location in the post would be good in those instances.

If it is not included in the posting, where is the first place to look? Yes, the member’s profile. Second is in their earliest postings on the forum.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I think many people who get criticised for not having a location/profile are newbies who have asked for help without realising some forum members are generous enough to offer help in person rather than just online.

I can't see why a polite 'what area are you in?' isn't preferable to 'I won't help you because you haven't got a public profile' when dealing with someone who may only have a handful of posts to their name?

It does take folks a while to learn the etiquette of a forum.

Neil

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Derek Lane 2 on 27/11/2018 11:46:14:

What are peoples thoughts on this

I think if you've asked for the kind of help that definitely requires potential respondents to know at least more or less where you live in order to give useful answers then it's a little foolish not to state in the relevant post where you are in the world. On the other hand, if you're not asking for location-dependent advice then I don't really see the need to publicize where you are.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by not done it yet on 27/11/2018 19:19:17:

If your name is Smith or Brown, it likely doesn’t make too much difference to give out your general postal area. A name and full post code narrows you down to one street.

It's a mystery to me why people put their actual name out there on a forum. Seems that's much more risky than a general location.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

When I signed up, I put in a profile, partly because I thought that was what one did on sign up to the site. To find me, all you need is a Christchurch phone book, go to the section I live in, and there I am. Am I worried, no.

Ian S C

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I think some people end up with their full name because not all forums make it clear which entry they will use publicly. Can't remember the format of the application on this one.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Interesting, if I put my name into Google up comes my profile from Model Engineer! I am waiting for the first scam on this.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Posted by Hopper on 27/11/2018 22:30:45:

It's a mystery to me why people put their actual name out there on a forum. Seems that's much more risky than a general location.

 

It's a mystery to me why some people are so ashamed of their name that they are afraid to use it.

Edited By Mark Rand on 28/11/2018 17:33:25

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Mark Rand on 28/11/2018 17:33:13:

It's a mystery to me why some people are so ashamed of their name that they are afraid to use it.

It's not difficult to explain why, but I'm not sure I want to as I might end up offering advice to criminals.

Neil

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Hopper on 27/11/2018 22:30:45:

It's a mystery to me why people put their actual name out there on a forum. Seems that's much more risky than a general location.

 

One man's explanation for why he changed:

In these forums, some years ago, under the auspices of DC1, David stated that the then-publishers reserved the right to publish all or parts of threads (including participants' names) in any other venue of its choice – notably including Facebook, Twitter and the like.

At that point I ceased to use my real name.

My choice. If others don't care ….. fine.

Oh one more point: A "valid-sounding" name, on this or any other forum, doesn't necessarily indicate a real one – any more than mine.

 

Edited By Bandersnatch on 28/11/2018 22:06:13

[Author]

Posts