General Chat

How many people are aware that if someone clicks on their username, their full, real name is displayed? That if they send someone else a message here at GR, their full, real name is displayed with the message?

(On a side note, what is hugely annoying is that GR seems to substitute birth surnames for women who have entered them in their accounts, so half the time I can't figure out who I'm getting messages from ...)

Unless you go into your account and delete your full, real name from *both* your community name *and* your account name, your full, real name is available to everyone.

In the instructions for "Community name" in your account, it says:

"Hide your real name and show a friendly alias when posting to the community boards"

That is false. Your real name is *not* hidden. It is simply one step removed. Call yourself The Green Dragon on the board, but don't change these items in your account:

First name MARY
Middle name JANE
Your current surname TREMBLAY
Your birth surname TREMBLAY

under "Your personal details", and anyone who clicks on your name, or who gets a message from you, will see that your name is not The Green Dragon, it is Mary Tremblay.


I didn't know this for a long time. When I discovered it, I was horrified.

If you are concerned about the security of your personal information, and about your own personal security, please take a minute to update your account info.

The easiest thing is just to make the name in your "personal details" match your "community name" ... maybe without the flounces. ;)


There is also an ongoing discussion about email addresses being posted. As far as I'm concerned, the only reason for site management objecting to *anonymous* email addresses is that they enable users to communicate without going through the system. Gmail and hotmail accounts do not disclose a user's ISP (location) when mail is sent from them. A gmail or hotmail address that looks like [email protected] is not going to jeopardize anyone's security. There is no reason for *us*, as fellow users of GR, to be concerned about anyone posting such email addresses.


Editing because it's a bit confusing:

Click on your name. Don't look at the big, bold name up top, which is just your first name. Look at the little, faint name under the message box. That will be your full name (unless you've already done the fix).

Does that happen with my name Kathryn?

Lizx

Well, I should have said: the clever people have figured it out already. ;)

I wasn't clever for quite some time. And I wish somebody had told *me*!

i new that happeend but i have both my community name and personal name as stray
altho most people have met me and have me on other sites and no my full name

but i think lettign people no is a good idea

luv
stray
xxx

Have you realised how I did it Kathryn lol?
I am not that clever with computers, was more by luck than judgement lol
Lizx

Hi Stray, me too!

xx

No Liz yours just says *purple*

However I came a cropper with this not so long ago. I knew about this glitch but I'm pretty rubbish with remembering stuff like that and forgot to leave my surname details blank. Luckily a kind friend of mine let me know I was revealing too much info lol. It is very handy to know if you want to keep your details private xx

I don't understand this thread, you can maybe see the person's christian name only or if they say call themselves Star then it will say Star when you click on their name. No way can you see a persons full name if so what is mine.

Betty

Ooooh, no I didn't know it shows your current surname when you send a pm.......I had already changed my maiden name to xxxxx but didn't realise I also needed to change my current surname too, thanks for that Kathryn B.

And I agree with you regarding the gmail and hotmail accounts......I have several of them that I use only for making contact with people I don't know - I call them disposable accounts lol - and only tell a select few my "proper" email addy.

Mary

Hi Lynda,

When I click on you name I just get Lynda, thats it.

Betty

Betty Boo, no i can see your full christain name, when i click on your name

Errrr yes Betty, I can see your full name when I click on your board name.

Mary

When I first joined somebody sent me a pm telling me how to embellish my name, I couldn't understand how she knew my real name and deleted it in panic. . took a couple of days to realise, my surname is my cat lol

Hi Mary,

This is so strange, when I click on your name it just says Mary.

Betty

Betty -- click on your own name.

You see what we see.

Also, if you send someone a message, they see it in their inbox, too.

Click on "My Account" way in the top right hand corner.

Where you see "Your personal details" it will show your first name, surname and birth surname.

Change your first name to Betty, and change your surname and birth surname to Boo.

Then, when we click on your name, that's all we'll see!

Hi Betty

That's because I have already changed it to xxxxxx
:-)))

Yours is there though. If you click on your own board name you will see what all of us can see too.

Mary

yep I've just pm'd someone and i can now see their full name.

Wise advice.

Just testing .... then off to listen to the Blood Donor (Hancock's Half Hour) on BBC 7.

Betty -- when you click on Contrary Mary's name, what you actually see is

Mary Xxxxxxxx

Mary has deleted her surname in her account, and put "Xxxxxxxx" instead.



Purple -- I give, how did you do it? Surely not after reading my post!

Something strange going on here, when I click on my name all I see is Elizabeth nothing else, well that is my name. I don't see anyone else name either when I click, just their board or christian name.

Betty

Ahhh Betty, I think you are not looking far enough down the page.

Look underneath the send a message box and you will see your full name.

Mary