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whispers: I do not know who they are or where they got my email address from. I have turned off all contact info here at psych central this morning. the emails came over the weekend. I had never heard of them. There is no way to find out who they are and if you have info on them I would appreciate it if you would share it.

I'm guessing that there may be people here who are members of both communities (just as I now am) and it's possible, someone thought you could benefit from the information that site offered so they sent you an invitation. That's just a guess on my part, I don't know for sure. Regardless, their intention was probably good. If that's the case, it would probably be best for that individual to simply contact you and let you know so you don't have to worry about who it was and why they contacted you.

Meantime, these articles may also be of use to you:

- Staying Safe Online

- Internet 101: There's some good info here regarding spam email.

- You Can't Be Anonymous Online If You...: This article was written by the site host and founder, John Grohol.

There are many discussion forums on the internet and all of them vary in policies and guidelines. I've yet to find one that's perfect however, for the most part, I've had no difficulties with the participants at this site and in particular, participants in this topic discussion (Schizophrenia & Psychosis). I did have one individual here send me some threatening email once though. I told them I wanted no further contact with them (my tolerance for bullying behavior is very low), blocked them, and that was the end of their capacity to annoy me. They don't take part in the discussions in this topic and this is largely the only forum I participate in so it works out just fine.

Should you have any problems here I would urge you to block the member (they will not be able to send you email and you will not be able to read their posts) and alert a moderator to the problem so they can be aware of the history. You can also take steps to educate yourself so you can create a safer online experience for yourself.

There are no 100% guarantees but using an anonymous username, being careful about specific details you share, and making use of filtering options (such as removing the option for others to send mail to your private mailbox) can help make your online experience more enjoyable and less stressful.

Meantime, you may enjoy reading about my encounter with John Grohol and how I came to be at this site: Bias & Stigma Within the Mental Health Community?. I concede that if it had not been for my brief conversation with "Doc John" I likely would not be here.