"Invisible" Members???

Welcome seeker!

Also, we try and do more than a lot of other forums online to ensure your privacy while here. We prevent search engines from indexing our forums, so your posts won't show up in Google. We also prohibit research on or in the forums. You will never be a living guinea pig for professionals while here.

DocJohn

Whew!!! That is good to hear, Doc!
Thanks, and I'm sure others here appreciate your clarification as well!
Seeker

I love guinea pigs...they are sooo cute.

I'm new here. The smilies here are also very cute.



Heehee...this is so amusing!

Green

sorry for highjacking this...but want to say that is great to know Doc!! I too agree with seeker I really appreciate you clarifying things....makes me feel more secure here and safe...

Me, I just like to stay behind my couch and keep an eye on my cohorts, (and you know who you are - lol) ... Make sure they don't get themselves in toooo much trouble!

I can't speak for anyone else...nor will I try....but my reason for being invisible is that there are just times when I want to read posts....not have contacts....that's my state of mind sometimes.....and by being invisible, I can read and contemplate in peace....no offense or "lurking" intended...lol...grace

On a doll forums I'm on there a lot in a day. I really don't have anything else to do, and I'd prefer people not see me as online for as long as I am a day on that site. (3 + hours a day) It's not like I'm there for support or to support anyone, just talking about our BJDs.

I don't spend as excessive of time here, partly because I'm not even out of high school, so I live with my parents. I don't want to convince them to send me back to therapy, so I don't want to spend a lot of time, especially during the day where they may see.

I like being invisible because if people want to contact me, they can go the extra distance. I reply to every email, so they should email me or PM me. I don't see how it's even an issue to anyone, who care what others prefer to surf like at the boards. We're all here for the same thing, support.

I like being invisible because I am a private person. I read a lot of posts & choose the ones I respond to. I know what I am doing but I am no one elses business. I post & the responses I receive are so supportive....I have never found the need to become visible & have every move I make seen by anyone. I have had so much time I have needed to be away from here & once in a while during that time, I poke my nose in here to see how those I am familiar with are doing. I have never found it necessary for anyone to know when I am here. When I am in a state to be supportive, I reply. When I am in a state that I feel can use support & I know how to post about it, I do.

This forum is a private personal place for me. I am not sure how your close friend could find out who you are on a forum without knowing your ID.....I don't let people around me know that either.....I don't know how they could find out without my telling them. Only the people here know who I am & even that is our choice by not allowing our profile to be seen. I feel safe here knowing that I am the only one that can determine what I want to be known & seen about me. When I don't feel safe, I hide my profile on top of being invisible...it is all up to us what we want to be known about ourselves.

Pretty wonderful place if you ask me,
Debbie

Sigh. . .If all I wish to do is read, why log in? Or, log in for my PMs and then log out to read? The main problem with that is: I am able to read everyone.. so if I'm trying to ignore someone, too bad. I prefer to be a more active member of the community here... and, to me, that means to log in, be visible, accept PMs, read and post. Of course, I have my moments too, when I don't want any real contact BTW you don't have to be invisible to not have everyone know where you are on site: there are choices as to how you want to display, or not.

>We also prohibit research on or in the forums. You will never be a living guinea pig for professionals while here.

It puzzles me how you can deliver on this promise. You can say 'research is prohibited' as much as you like, but you can't actually prevent researchers making fair use of posts.

To call research subjects 'living guinea pigs' works to promote the idea of researchers being rather cold and heartless individuals who enjoy playing with and exploiting research subjects.

I am involved in research and it concerns me when people who aren't try to promote what I do as somehow exploitative.

The point of research is to advance knowledge. Most researchers (though unfortunately not all) attempt to be sensitive and fair to their participants and abide by strict ethical guidelines regarding the well being of their research subjects.

Not trying to argue or anything, but I do think that it is fairer to be straight-up about what one is able and unable to do.

It is better to be realistically aware of the public nature of publicly viewable internet forums rather than attempting to placate posters with a false sense of security.

I like to be invisible because the amount of time I have on the boards varies. I don't want people to think that I should be able to respond NOW solely because I am online. I respond when I can get to it and I think people are more likely to get that if they don't see when I am online.

I am still puzzled by the nature of "anonymous" visitors, of which there are currently 19 on the site at 2:00 a.m.
Are these people just viewing our posts and not active members?
Seeker

First, it's only 11PM on the West Coast. It's earlier (or later depending how you look at it) in other countries around the world.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Are these people just viewing our posts and not active members?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Short answer? Maybe. Their either "just reading" and not logging into their account or they're not a member and "just reading". Either way, they're anonymous.

And some people stay logged in even if they aren't viewing the site. After 15 minutes of not actively surfing the site, your status gets switched to the anonymous section.

Also, a lot of people don't actively participate right away, but try to get a feel for the site before registering.

Seeker, if you're so worried about it, you probably shouldn't post at all, on any message board.

You're probably right, WI.
Seeker

Ok, I've stopped hiding from the spot light anymore. Still anyone has the right to change there selfs from showing, if that makes them feel more safer.

Research *can* be exploitive if it is done on people who aren't aware they're being studied, and if it done against those people's will (and their rights). I'm certainly not suggesting all research is exploitive (the vast majority is not), but some naturalistic studies are and psychology is full of examples of this (mostly back when research ethics wasn't even an area of discussion amongst professionals!). Some professionals who aren't research-educated can also make mistakes when it comes to informed consent and conducting research online.

In fact, there's a lot a site like this can do to prevent research if that's their rule (as it is our rule here). Legitimate research seeks peer-review publication, so if it is legitimate, I can certainly protest to the institution's IRB, lodge a complaint with their local licensing board, and file a formal complaint with their professional association. I also have legal avenues open to me, since such use of this forum would violate the terms and conditions of use for this service. Violating those terms is like violating a contract. So yes, there are some avenues open to me to prevent legitimate research from being conducted here. (I can't guarantee stopping illegitimate research, but I also have tools available to me that can try.)

The point here isn't to suggest all research is bad. Research of an online support site without the member's expressed written permission is bad (in my opinion) and is prohibited here.

DocJohn

Maybe you won't find it funny, but I've noticed since this thread went up, the number of invisible members and anonymous people has gone up, too. LOL I just don't get it! Could be 'cause I don't have anything to hide??

It's not a matter of "having anything to hide"; it's a matter of privacy, which many people are misinterpreting. As some people have posted, they do it out of shyness, or a sense of security, or they don't want to be bothered if they come just to read the posts.

It's a feature offered here that many members use to their advantage, and it's unfair to judge them or label them as hiding something if they choose to be invisible.

Dolfin

Yes, Ma'am!!! Guess I've been told, eh? LMAO You obviously haven't read my previous post. Geeeeezzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Remember what January says "the IGNORE button us your friend!"

I hope you're not right about the lurkers, seeker. It's such a sinister word. It's someone who waits in hiding with evil intent. I think most people who observe but don't post are akin to the new kid who enters the lunchroom afraid to sit somewhere for fear of rejection. We were all new at one time but not all have the courage to just plop down at a table and engage in conversation.

I guess the word "lurker" has touched a lot of nerves here. To be honest, my fear comes from having been "lurked upon" in another forum to which I no longer belong. So, maybe some of the responses calling me "paranoid" were justified. I apologize. I'm going to have to work on this.
(Now going into a corner to lurk. )
Seeker

You know...I was watching Dr. Phil the other day and he said something that makes a lot of sense here.

There are two kinds of fears. Founded and unfounded. Your "fear" of anonymous people reading what you post is totally founded! You've had your privacy violated by someone you knew. I would be suspicious, too.

That being said...I don't think anything any of us say is going to ease your mind. (I know it wouldn't ease mine) All I can suggest at this point is you consult with a professional about these fears/suspicions and see if you can work on them (assuming of course you haven't already done this).

Hope that helps.

Geesh...... A choice folks can make here to be visible or invisible... it is a choice..... People are aloud to make choices.. right? I don't really understand the issue here.. Just maybe busy bodies need to know what folks are doing and where they are at all times, maybe???? I think folks need to learn to respect other folks choices.... you may not agree with their choices... and they may not agree with yours... But the choice is ours to choose to be visible or invisible or anonymous.........And I like it.

Anonymous are folks that are members that have not signed in, or visitors...............

ok enough already.....can we just drop this....feel like this horse has been beat enough....geez
lets do something fun

Actually i didn't beat the horse..... i just gave it fresh water.....