Is it just me..........?

Is it just me because I am by nature a 'mistrusting with strangers' person, or do others feel as I do. When someone joins a forum there is a little space on the profile where we can say our birthday, gender etc. Surely there is no harm in putting gender and interests even if one doesn't want to put personal details like name and where from, married, gay or whatever else is personal.
What is there to hide in being friendly and putting fishing, or knitting or something simple to show a little self introduction.
I 'belong' to 3 forums altogether and if people dont even have the courtessy to give even the minimal friendly info then I cannot be arsed with them, and one of them is the Catholic Forum. I suggest they're spies or have something to hide.
What do others think?

Oooooooooooooops, am I one of them? Not sure what I clicked on in my profile when I joined, as most people here knew me from elsewhere and knew a lot about my interests etc. Will go take a look, as I never gave it much thought

Hi M from M...I do agree with you over this, but I have been hit by antis for giving out a few personal details. When on the DE forum I once let it be known I have a personal website and I innocently gave out the link to it. My webite has nothing at all to do with forums and blogs...and nothing to do with the McCann case. But a certain well known anti now uses the details about me on my website to hit back at me...and often mentions them in his comments on the anti blog he uses.
It has made me very careful what I give away about myself on blogs and forums.
It should not have to be like this...but it is.

Oh right. My apologies Chinadoll and I didnt think of it like that.
Some nasty people out there who glean what they want and use it.
Got you.
Sorry.

(Still cant do this though - can you Chinadoll?)

m from m wrote:Oh right. My apologies Chinadoll and I didnt think of it like that.
Some nasty people out there who glean what they want and use it.
Got you.
Sorry.

(Still cant do this though - can you Chinadoll?)

No need to apologise at all m from m. I still have not looked at my profile, as we had a blackout and I was booted off the computer

When I think of other posters I know that have had bad repercussions from giving too much information out and those I have read about here, on the forum who have had similar experiences, I think we all need to remain guarded - so many sickos out there that would revel in causing as much pain as they can and what for? To score a point :x :x :x

i think it wouldnt hurt people just to put a little about themselfs at least say if they are male or female, but i agree with the others when they say we have to protect ourselfs from some of the mad that hang out on the net :dontfeedthetro

Remember what drachen did to me? When I innocently posted on Katie Smith's wordpress using my own name? Within a day he had my entire life story, including my home address, phone number, e-mail address, place of work, children's ages and everything, all collated into one nice, neat little package, and posted on a thread on the 3arsewipes forum, with an invitation to do their worst. Katie actually wrote about it on her site. That's what happens when you are to giving with your personal details. Boy, do I ever regret doing that! That **** now hangs around me like a bad smell!

vee8 wrote:Remember what drachen did to me? When I innocently posted on Katie Smith's wordpress using my own name? Within a day he had my entire life story, including my home address, phone number, e-mail address, place of work, children's ages and everything, all collated into one nice, neat little package, and posted on a thread on the 3arsewipes forum, with an invitation to do their worst. Katie actually wrote about it on her site. That's what happens when you are to giving with your personal details. Boy, do I ever regret doing that! That **** now hangs around me like a bad smell!

omg vee8 how sad are these people!! and they think they are helping madeliene by doing things like this!! are these bloody people for real? what a bunch of

littleminx wrote:

vee8 wrote:Remember what drachen did to me? When I innocently posted on Katie Smith's wordpress using my own name? Within a day he had my entire life story, including my home address, phone number, e-mail address, place of work, children's ages and everything, all collated into one nice, neat little package, and posted on a thread on the 3arsewipes forum, with an invitation to do their worst. Katie actually wrote about it on her site. That's what happens when you are to giving with your personal details. Boy, do I ever regret doing that! That **** now hangs around me like a bad smell!

omg vee8 how sad are these people!! and they think they are helping madeliene by doing things like this!! are these bloody people for real? what a bunch of

Littleminx, I remember reading about Vee8's experience and it made my blood boil too - somehow though, it has stayed in the back of my mind and acted as a subconscious guard that I implement on a conscious level. A while back, I made a post on the private Madeleine section and shortly thereafter, edited it to remove a reference to personal information that on reflection, nobody but those that know me well could know who I was referring to. It kind of makes you a bit paranoid, but with what has happened to some of our members, that is probably a good thing. I guess the thing to do, is to continue to be honest, but disguise/wrap up personal details so that any lurkers/moles, cannot make any gain from them