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Okay, I'm preparing myself for an onslaught of criticism for bringing this up, but here goes...
I read a lot of posts without ever looking at the profile of the poster who wrote them. Occasionally, though, I am so impressed by someone's post that I have to see what kind of incredible (i.e. brilliant, compassionate, insightful, witty, eloquent, etc.) wrote it. Conversely, I will sometimes read a post where my reaction is the exact opposite, and I find myself asking, "Who would write such a thing!?!? Is anyone actually that uninformed, bigoted, intolerant, malicious, etc.)?!?!?! Strangely, the people whose posts I am most impressed with have a profile page that allows me to get to know a little bit more about them. But when I read a post I am appalled by, I can't believe how often I click on their name, only to see that their profile is "accessible only for friends."
I can understand that there are some valid reasons why a person might not want to make his profile public. One of my favorite mods has a private profile, and I can see why this is. But under most circumstances, I don't get it. There is really know way for a person's profile information to give away his true identity. So why have it be "only for friends"? And why is it that those whose posts tend to be so rude and offensive are most often the ones who don't want anybody except for their "friends" to know anything about them?
Okay, I'm preparing myself for an onslaught of criticism for bringing this up, but here goes...
I read a lot of posts without ever looking at the profile of the poster who wrote them. Occasionally, though, I am so impressed by someone's post that I have to see what kind of incredible (i.e. brilliant, compassionate, insightful, witty, eloquent, etc.) wrote it. Conversely, I will sometimes read a post where my reaction is the exact opposite, and I find myself asking, "Who would write such a thing!?!? Is anyone actually that uninformed, bigoted, intolerant, malicious, etc.)?!?!?! Strangely, the people whose posts I am most impressed with have a profile page that allows me to get to know a little bit more about them. But when I read a post I am appalled by, I can't believe how often I click on their name, only to see that their profile is "accessible only for friends."
I can understand that there are some valid reasons why a person might not want to make his profile public. One of my favorite mods has a private profile, and I can see why this is. But under most circumstances, I don't get it. There is really know way for a person's profile information to give away his true identity. So why have it be "only for friends"? And why is it that those whose posts tend to be so rude and offensive are most often the ones who don't want anybody except for their "friends" to know anything about them?
Well, if I'm not mistaken and I could be, when someone requests to be a friend I believe one has to accept that friendship request, so perhaps they're being conservative about their list of friends.
OR, maybe it's a matter of 'birds of a feather'.
LOL, I don't get very many friend requests.
Hopefully someone else will chime in and give you a clearer and better answer.
Well, if I'm not mistaken and I could be, when someone requests to be a friend I believe one has to accept that friendship request, so perhaps they're being conservative about their list of friends.
Yes, that's true, but why don't you want people on the forum to be able to learn a little bit about you? I mean, you and I aren't City-Data "friends," but if you want to know a little bit more about me, all you have to do is check my profile. I can't do that with you.
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LOL, I don't get very many friend requests.
You seem to be a nice enough person. Maybe people don't feel like they know, and maybe it's because it doesn't appear that you want them to.
Okay, I'm preparing myself for an onslaught of criticism for bringing this up, but here goes...
I read a lot of posts without ever looking at the profile of the poster who wrote them. Occasionally, though, I am so impressed by someone's post that I have to see what kind of incredible (i.e. brilliant, compassionate, insightful, witty, eloquent, etc.) wrote it. Conversely, I will sometimes read a post where my reaction is the exact opposite, and I find myself asking, "Who would write such a thing!?!? Is anyone actually that uninformed, bigoted, intolerant, malicious, etc.)?!?!?! Strangely, the people whose posts I am most impressed with have a profile page that allows me to get to know a little bit more about them. But when I read a post I am appalled by, I can't believe how often I click on their name, only to see that their profile is "accessible only for friends."
I can understand that there are some valid reasons why a person might not want to make his profile public. One of my favorite mods has a private profile, and I can see why this is. But under most circumstances, I don't get it. There is really know way for a person's profile information to give away his true identity. So why have it be "only for friends"? And why is it that those whose posts tend to be so rude and offensive are most often the ones who don't want anybody except for their "friends" to know anything about them?
I'm guessing that you aren't the only person on CD who looks up a profile when you find a particular post compelling in one way or another I have done the same thing a few times to satisfy my own curiosity.
As to why people might make their profile accessible to friends only--perhaps they are sharing more identifiable information and want to limit who sees it to maintain some anonymity. It also could be that some people still feel a need for privacy on CD. There are many reasons I could speculate on, lol.
I've always kept my public since there is really no way to link me IRL to this profile.
Given that I use my real name on here, I'm not sure if it'd be ironic or more 'seemingly justifiable' for me to set my profile for friends only. I haven't updated my profile since around the time I joined, though, so whoever might check is learning about 2012 Matt Marcinkiewicz. I post regularly on two Internet forums, this being one of them, and formerly posted on a third, and I use(d) my real name on all three despite previously thinking that I had a penchant for coining clever usernames on other sites. Trying to trick myself into being more accountable for my thoughts, I guess. The second forum on which I post regularly is a local (to Buffalo) forum, and many other people who post there use their real names or some other actual-identity-betraying pseudonym as well, so it's astonishingly transparent for an online venue. And transparency tends to be a good thing.
I don’t use my real name but I use the same user name here as I do everywhere.
It’s the same username I used my very first year online ever, when I taught myself how to use a computer by using a rental from Kinko’s.
Which I did to run an ad on a Colorado forum for call-girls. I chose it because I hate stage-names but there was already a girl in Denver advertising under the name Christi. I’m in Colorado Springs; so I’m cos-Christi. I actually have looked for my former self trying to find my reviews but it was a long time ago & there is hardly a trace of me out there anymore.
It’s a little disappointing, I was under the impression that I would be haunted for eternity by anything posted on the www.
I can’t imagine being concerned about identity theft either. If you get mine; you can keep it. Please.
I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of constructing a profile here on CD just to keep it hidden. I think there is a way to check how often somebody looks at it but I’m not totally sure. Every once in a while I get a random DM from somebody who wandered onto it & im humbled by their sweet comments.
The only time somebody said something less than sweet was with an anonymous rep point: “You have got to the the Kookiest person on the Internet ...”
Really? The whole internet? I was almost flattered, in a weird way.
Every time I try to look at a photo (which is not often), the person never has a pic posted. Or perhaps the pic is for official 'friends' only - I do not participate in the friends system of this website.
OP, I had to make my profile more private, because I've had people look up info, then make derogatory remarks about personal info, on threads (usually on the Politics forum, so I don't post there much anymore), but also in messages to me. You know how combative and rude some people can be, here and there, on certain sub-forums, due to the I'm-anonymous-behind-my-screen phenom. So quite a few people have found it necessary to limit access to their profile info.
I find it's usually the people talking about how attractive they are, or popular with the opposite sex that don't have profile pics available.
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I have done the same thing a few times to satisfy my own curiosity. 
