[Miracle1986]

Sometimes when I read a person's post that they literally just posted like one minute ago...
that little head icon that is supposed to be green when they are online is red and says they are offline...

Why is that? Is it just a glitch in the system... or is it secretly trying to trick me?! LOL

[pegasus]

These are members that have opted to be invisible.

[lynn P.]

There a button that gives a poster the option to appear offline or some call it 'stealth mode'. I confess I do this hee, hee

[Miracle1986]

Originally Posted by lynn P.

There a button that gives a poster the option to appear offline or some call it 'stealth mode'. I confess I do this hee, hee

Why would someone do that though?
does it make you feel safer?
I mean, people obviously know you are online if you are posting
... or is it just cause you like confusing people like me?

[lynn P.]

At 1st when I opted to appear offline, it was for personal safety feelings. Then I just never got around to changing it. I'm not the only only who does this and no I don't want to confuse anyone.

[Colours94]

so they can look offline when they want to (and obv wont post then) but dont feel like changing it back and forth all the time
hmm,.. i didnt know there was such an option though

[Jewels]

No one is trying to confuse someone else...some people just want to remain anonymous...so they check the invisible box...some do it for safety, and others do it so others won't bother them while they peruse the boards. They may have an agenda of looking at certain things, and don't want to be disturbed. That is all it is.

Jewels

[sabby]

There can be a number of different reasons why members would like to look "offline". It can range from needing some space while reading/posting to not wanting their username to show up in the list of members who are currently online. There could be safety issues members have with IRL people and they may not want them to know they are online here. I don't think anyone who wishes to keep themselves invisible is trying to do it to be mean and trick anyone....it's just a personal preference about using an option this program provides

BTW, all team members are ALWAYS visible.....we don't have the option of being invisible......it would kinda defeat our purpose no?

[FooZe]

Originally Posted by _sabby_

BTW, all team members are ALWAYS visible....

Sometimes whether we're actually still here or not. When I'm on my own computer I don't bother to log out or in. It takes the system an hour or so to log me out if it hasn't heard from me, whether because I'm really not here any more or because I'm writing something really long. I don't notice because I get logged back in automatically.

I'm not on my own computer right now, though, so as soon as I finish whatever I came here for, I do log out. That could very well mean I really am offline two minutes after posting.

When someone's "visible", there's a line on their profile an inch or so below their username, something like:

Last Activity: Today 06:12 PM

If that isn't there, they've opted for invisible mode.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Miracle1986

Sometimes when I read a person's post that they literally just posted like one minute ago...
that little head icon that is supposed to be green when they are online is red and says they are offline...

Why is that? Is it just a glitch in the system... or is it secretly trying to trick me?! LOL

Seeing someones post is not always an indicator that they are here at that very moment.

Example moderated posts. my posts get put on the boards when ever the moderator of that board I am posting on, is on line and they have the time to get to my posts.

my choosing to remain moderated is a plus for me because I can be assured my posts are ok before anyone else sees them.

but the down fall is that they dont always get put on the boards when I am on line.

that said I do use the invisible button on and off.

its a time saver for me, some days I dont have much time so I need to zip in, check things out like my pms and a quick look at the boards and back to my job, my partner and other things I need to do. using that feature I can do this without anyone becoming offended or feeling ignored because one minute they "see" me then they don't.

its also a security thing for me. In my real life I dont get to choose who I want to interact with during my job. my supervisor hands me a file and says heres another case for you. my off time once a person knows Im a student/intern csw people start bombarding me with mental health issues. I think its very cool this site has options that allow me to decide who I want to interact with or offer my assistance to.

Its also a cool thing for me to use because some days I just dont want to interact with anyone, I want to just sit back and read. some days Im just down right bewitchy and dont want to affect others with my sour moods.

[suzzie]

im afraid i do it. but constantly sign in and out. i do it for safety. dont know why it feels safer. just does. so i stay off unless im posting. sorry miracle.

[Yoda]

I am invisible because I like having magical powers and the cloak of invisibility is fun.

Well I think I am invisible. I am on some communities but right now I can't remember for sure if I am here at PC or not. If I am it is because I leave my computer logged onto several sites for days at a time without logging out and I don't want somebody to think I am intentionally ignoring them if they PM me or something.

[Loveandhope]

Extremely cute response!Staisia/LAHLAH

[autumnsun]

Oops! I have a tendency of logging on and off. Sorry, Miracle!

I'm a bit of a wallflower who wants to say what's in her mind, but doesn't like being noticed, so I speak my mind and retreat into my corner. I do that in real life too. I don't know if it's good or bad, but that's how I am.
And now, thanks to this thread, I've found out that there is an invisible button, and true to my nature, I've chosen to go invisible.

No intention of confusing people. Just a bit shy.

[darkrunner]

I'm invisible....because I feel safer.

I was visible for a while last year and it felt very scary and....exposed.

[OrangeMoira]

I'm too scared to be visible.

Part of me thinks people will think I'm weird for being on PC too much/too little, or for being on a board and not replying.

I used to stay logged off instead of invisible because I was scared that moderators/admins could see me and judge me! Now I log in. Baby steps, I guess.

[sabby]

((((((((((( OrangeMoira ))))))))))))))

I'm sorry you are feeling so scared to log in at times because of worrying about the mod/admin team watching and judging you. Hon, believe me, we don't do that. We don't have time to watch all the members and when they are here and when they aren't here. We aren't here to judge you or anyone else. We are members just like you and all the others and we volunteer as team members to help keep PC safe.

We're glad you are a member here and hope that if you ever have any questions or issues that you send us a pm and let us know. We're here to help the members.

Take good care OM!


sabby