Younger members, please read

[animewarrior]

wow.. that's kinda scary... well I know it twasn't me but just to be safe I did change my location... its easy to track ppl down... and ty whoever it was that posted this... (can't remember sorry)

[kat-su-chan]

Tracking down is so not cool...this whole internet and privacy thing is actually a big deal. For example...one day my friend was over, we went and got the mail and there was a parcel addressed to me from ITALY (now i dont use chat rooms or anything, so i only talk to people I know on msn too, and had definately never talked to ANYONE from italy) which had a necklace, and a love letter inside it from a man I do not know whatsoever....
:| we moved shortly after that.
But just a warning...it seriously happens...Thank goodness all this guy wanted was to send me a letter....

[Mist]

This is why I put down "Nowheresville" for my location. That's all anyone needs to know. I'm afraid that I'm not careful enough in other areas, though. I've had to put my full name out there for copyright reasons(my artwork), so I worry sometimes.

-Mist

[Righteousss]

Luckily for me it's common sense. Just recently in my hometown, my math teacher's daughter was at home alone and some whacko tried to break in but she called the cops and he was thrown in the slammer. She confessed to giving out personal information on myspace and chatting with random guys. o_ O theres a lot of sick people in this world we live in

[steeve]

what if nobody showed thier age? (and thus no one could be marked as vulnerable)

just thinkin out loud :0
and i really do live in moridor. it's gorgious.

[Angel Tifa]

*shivers* That actually does sound scary. Nate is right though, this should also apply to adults as well.

You're never really too old to get kidnapped or stalked. It happens all the time in this scary world. I'm glad I just have it listed as "Southern California" and not the city. Is that okay?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

*shivers* That actually does sound scary. Nate is right though, this should also apply to adults as well.

You're never really too old to get kidnapped or stalked. It happens all the time in this scary world. I'm glad I just have it listed as "Southern California" and not the city. Is that okay?

There are millions of girls your age in Southern California.

I highly doubt you'll be found. XD

[Fish and Chips]

There are millions of girls your age in Southern California.

I highly doubt you'll be found. XD

Yeah, this again. I'm done, sorry.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Once again, Sir Fish, you have made my day with that post.

[RubyJewelStone]

Yeah, this again. I'm done, sorry.

Oh, I'm sooo printing that out and sticking it on someone's window! Lol!

[Sae-chan]

I never post where I live, and I'm always very careful on what I give out. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I guess it's better to be paranoid than to be in danger. The internet is like fire; it is incredibly useful, but also very dangerous. It just depends on how you use it.

There are so many stories about people being tracked and kidnapped, killed, etc. It's kind of scary... That's why I don't have a MySpace or FaceBook profile. There's too much personal information that goes on there. Photos, age, home city, email, telephone number. Someone can do a lot with that info. ^^;

Like I said, better paranoid than in danger.

[Paul]

Hey, I read this thread and decided to do my own looking like some suggested.

Luckily for me there's alot in my neighborhood and my name is common enough I had a hard time finding stuff out. But I did find a loose piece of info which I intend to take care of.

I changed my demographics in my profile to make things a little tougher to discover.

Good observations guys!

Paul

[RFC]

That's why I am extremely vague when I input my location. There is only one forum where I narrow it down to my state. People call me paranoid, but I think I'm just really cautious.
Anyway, thanks for posting this Nate! It really is amazing how many people are specific in their locations in forums (and other places on the web). Besides, it's WAY more fun to just make up something silly!

[Robin Firedrake]

I never have and never will reveal my location. But this is helpful to know anyway!

[Lady Kenshin]

This is why I never put any true information about myself on the Internet.

[Lilac#18]

I never put my personal information anyway. This is especially good for teenagers under 15 to know.

[silent-wings]

This certainly encourages us not to make enemies online as well. It's not like I want someone who hates my guts to track me down right at my own doorstep. You know what I mean?

This is what I fear most honestly or something like…]There are so many stories about people being tracked and kidnapped, killed, etc. It's kind of scary... That's why I don't have a MySpace or FaceBook profile.[/QUOTE]

More people need to know about Internet safety. I need to be more cautious myself since I know there is a piece of my info that's on the internet and never coming down until the site dies. =P Also I avoid friending my real friends online since they expose way too much info. (Deviantart is a bit of a problem too, for personal info. That's why I haven't made an account there yet). Someone mentioned IP addresses. BEWARE OF POSTING IN SHOUTBOXES!! Depending on what type it is, it can show your ENTIRE IP address to ANYONE who looks at it (meaning not only the mods). That means someone can pop up some tracking software, stick it in, search and pin point you to (as someone said) a few 1000 ft. Seriously scary stuff… =(

Some guidelines to abide to for internet safety are:
-when creating usernames, don't reuse the same one more than once
-don't use the same logo more than once unless you have a totally different username with it b/c ppl can have the same logos
-don't post your age/birthday (I mean to the yr too!)
-don't post your location (even a US state is iffy)
-don't post your name, full or not, (I found a girl once by her first name and initial of her last name. It took like 3 hrs tho. DX)
-don't copy and paste forum posts to other forums
-rename images posted, if posted in other places
-look over the site and read the about/info/rules carefully
-use a fake cover name like Jane Doe or John Doe (this is my fav method of safety )
-make a secondary email (with a fake name) for junk mail (full names can be shown thru emails.)

I think I covered most of it. =/ I only give the bare minimum out (true or not), but hey you know ½ the stuff on the internet isn't true, so as far as I know everyone could be lying. D=

Thanks for the post. I'll be watching. =)

P.S. Nate if possible, can you make an edit to the first post and put some internet safely guidelines, please? (=| You can edit my list if you want; it's up to you. =)

[DragoonKnight]

Obviously, I wouldn't want to reveal my town. Very few people live here.

[Maokun]

Sweet. Exactly what my paranoia needed Anyway, great points, this information is really important and probably should be stickied or put in the board's guidelines.

[Changing Myst]

Read Nate's post and I stared. I always knew my dad has been right all along when it came to this kind of stuff, but now it's been put in a closer perspective. It's scary.

[shooraijin]

I'm going to lock this thread, not because it's bad (it's not), but it's already stickied and I think the lead post needs to be emphasized instead of the replies.