Being Identified on DCUM

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have found college/ adult DCs posted about here. Obviously it's harder with younger kids who don't have internet footprints.

[Anonymous]

Also, a poster once literally made a post saying “My sister is a prof at XYZ university, she graduated from A university, B university and C university.” I found the sister’s name through Google search instantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have found college/ adult DCs posted about here. Obviously it's harder with younger kids who don't have internet footprints.

But why do you go looking for them? I don't understand that impulse at all.

[Anonymous]

I think any of us posting for years and years are recognizable in this forum, but not necessarily IRL.

I'm always happy to see the Crofton PP, since I'm in Bowie and I feel our area is underrepresented. But I don't think I know which of hundreds and hundreds of 43-year-old Crofton people she is, especially since she's likely fudging her age. I likely run into her at Wegman's, and that's cool.

I'm not embarrassed if anyone knows I post here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a conversation with someone and then they went ant posted here with details that were not accurate. I am a teacher and I made my collages aware that she had no problem lying about me and misrepresenting what we spoke about.

These sounds a little crazy. How can you be certain the post was about you, especially if some of the details didn’t match?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP.
OP, you are on here - so what's the big deal?
Aren't most of the posts asking for help, advice about parenting, etc?

OP again. I'm referring to when they are talking poorly about someone and sharing specific details. It's like they have an experience and run to DCUM thinking they will be anonymous or "there is no way the friend is also on DCUM and will see my post."

A couple times I have posted not-very-specific things on here knowing that the person I'm talking about is on DCUM and would likely see it. But I'm careful. Plausible deniability always. You want to frame it so that if they were to bring it up, they would look insane.

NP. I love this. Please, please, please post a link or two?!

No way! Merely posting a link would be too revealing. I do enjoy baiting a certain person on here though. It surprisingly easy -- she almost always bites.

Was she awful to you? Because you just sound mean.

She was awful to me but the beauty of it is that if she developed some empathy and the ability to not have to be right about every single thing, she wouldn't take the bait on these. I'll admit I am being a little bit mean because I'm definitely posting things I know will push her buttons, but the only reason she has those buttons to push is that she has a history of being quite selfish and unkind and she HATES being called out on it.

I'm having a little bit of fun at her expense, yes, but she could stop being the butt of this joke anytime she wants by just developing a little self-awareness and having a bit more empathy for other people. Who knows, maybe I'm helping her

Well, I only hope that someone is helping you, because you sound batsh*t crazy, especially the part where you think you are baiting a specific person who is responding to all your posts! Does she sometimes post “this” as a response? Because if so, I can totally see how you are identifying her.

+1

+2

Wow.

Not to mention, it sounds an awful lot like stalking to me.

I sense you’re all now worried this is happening to you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been on here for years but only recently saw a post which had enough detail that I knew exactly who had posted it. the post was a late-night vent, and I wondered if they realized just how much identifying info they'd provided.

I definitely think sometimes the very identifiable posts on here are drunk posts. Once during Thanksgiving break, someone posted a rant about a neighbor that seemed very specific and possibly identifiable, and there were some weird responses indicating that the neighbor had found the thread, and then abruptly the thread disappeared, presumably at the request of the OP. It seemed likely someone had gotten tipsy, said too much, got called out, then sobered and wised up.

I bet this happens more than you might think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a conversation with someone and then they went ant posted here with details that were not accurate. I am a teacher and I made my collages aware that she had no problem lying about me and misrepresenting what we spoke about.

These sounds a little crazy. How can you be certain the post was about you, especially if some of the details didn’t match?

They also posted my twitter handle.

[Anonymous]

I usually change a few details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think any of us posting for years and years are recognizable in this forum, but not necessarily IRL.

I'm always happy to see the Crofton PP, since I'm in Bowie and I feel our area is underrepresented. But I don't think I know which of hundreds and hundreds of 43-year-old Crofton people she is, especially since she's likely fudging her age. I likely run into her at Wegman's, and that's cool.

I'm not embarrassed if anyone knows I post here.

Hi! Also representing from Bowie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think any of us posting for years and years are recognizable in this forum, but not necessarily IRL.

I'm always happy to see the Crofton PP, since I'm in Bowie and I feel our area is underrepresented. But I don't think I know which of hundreds and hundreds of 43-year-old Crofton people she is, especially since she's likely fudging her age. I likely run into her at Wegman's, and that's cool.

I'm not embarrassed if anyone knows I post here.

Me 3!
Hi! Also representing from Bowie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’d be surprised how universal some stories are. I

Yes! I always encounter posts I could have written down to specific details. It almost makes me want to ask for it to be deleted in case someone think I posted it. Sometimes people respond to my posts that I must be speaking about such and such organization or school that I have nothing to do with.

I think there are a lot of universal issues and topics. I’ve also read some thing that could apply to me exactly, and I had not written it myself.

[Anonymous]

Funny - I just had a friend ask me if I posted something that she and I had texted about the day prior. I actually think it was another friend that I had the same conversation with!

[Anonymous]

It would be different if people generally used user-names here. Then you could be like, "Oh, I know this 'playground bully story' poster, let me read her back posts . . . OMG she and her husband are swingers who never pay taxes!" or whatever. But just having someone share a story that you already know is not scandalous. It just means they like to visit DCUM, which [checks note] . . . so do you.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Some posters on the college forum have described their child’s academic trajectory to the point where I’ve found them in a 2 minute LinkedIn search.

Example?

The Princeton/Holton rowing mom poster who has a 30+ year old daughter. The W&M/TJ/Oberlin/Chantilly poster. The UVa/Oxford D.Phil fellowship poster. And so on.

Yes, it is indeed awful that people post such identifiable details on here, because the posts are usually coupled with personal financial information.

Wow! I think I have recognized a person posting, and I have phased them out a bit. Not because I don't like them, but because I have learned too much about them - not good. They have a lot of hate for things that don't affect them, and it is really telling.