Posted by pseudoname on December 14, 2005, at 10:43:16
In reply to Re: that wasn't very clear..., posted by alexandra_k2 on December 13, 2005, at 23:30:04
Alexandra, thanks for posting. I was going to send you a Babblemail if you didn't post again soon.
I'm glad you posted all this. I understand your postition a lot better. You are in a bit of a spot! Your only access to Babble is on your work computer & you can't clean its history. I totally see why a members-only board is so appealing to you. It would be for me, too, in that situation. I would greatly prefer it.
In my last post I said "The other problem —of someone in your own residence / school / workplace sneaking into your computer files— won't be solved by a members-only board."
I now see that's INCORRECT. A members-only archive would at least require a mischievous sneak from your workplace to register in order to READ your stuff or figure out what was yours, which, as you say, would be harder without direct links. It would be an extra hurdle for them, and even if they can register for free, most mischievous people don't. (There's a fair amount of evidence for that.)
I also see why the Wikipedia article could bother you a little. As you said, someone who saw dr-bob.org in your history could figure the site out from the Wiki article, if they looked it up there.
I don't know what to say about your old posts. I agree with Dinah (who's read more of them than I have): there's nothing there anyone could hold against you. You don't confess to crimes or murderous impulses or pilfering or sabotaging work projects or anything like that. I don't think anyone could possibly conclude from those posts that you were unstable – just bright, well-read, logical, caring, and skilled with words. But I, too, fear simply the exposure of certain thoughts to unintended readers.
> i'm not over-reacting...
> am i?I (who's never had an office job) think you're *not* overestimating the possibility of supervisors seeing how much time you spend at a non-work web site. This is not quite the concern that you raise, but... Are there any rules against personal use of the computers? Do you only post during breaks or after work?
If non-work surfing is allowable and you're Babbling only during downtimes, then maybe you're really in the clear. I say this because I think you *are* overestimating the "scariness" to others of your archived posts. But if no personal computer use is allowed, then that could change the risk calculus...
I'm sorry the situation hurts, but I think people do "care about the individuals". *You* have shown me that. :-)
poster:pseudoname
thread:523081
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20051205/msgs/588987.html