posted on Jun, 14 2016 @ 08:31 PM
When I joined it was so long before I ever got a message that I didnt even really think about PM, then I started getting some messages and friend
requests, and realized how cliquish ATS could be... but maybe that was a trust thing or factions I dunno, seemed like some internal behind the scenes
drama going on unseen. Then the swa over where the messaging system was down for what seemed like a long time... and I get friend add requests now but
have absolutely no idea how that system works or is even located... so kinda got used to never having messages for a few years, so I forget to check
it but it doesnt bother me getting PM'd... just might take awhile because I forget about it, but since its happened more often Im getting used to
checking it or thinking about it... nothing personal other than a thanks for a post or an ATS notification PM of various sorts.
I can understand wanting to be private or annoymous online, especially if someone is female... as theres revenge porn, death threats, unsolicited
genitalia pictures and all sorts of things rarely making news or headlines... the odd thing I suppose is my whole life is transparent and online in
some way shae or form by choice, and im sure theres some stuff on there not by choice, but that doesnt really matter either... the internet is a huge
vast place, where attention is in deficiet unless eople are somehow fixated on you for some reason or another... I had some peole confessing they were
fans or whatever and I didnt like the idea of that it made me feel odd, so I spent a lot of time trying to make friends and not fans, have normal
conversations with people and take an interest in their lives as any person would do with friends... encourage offer suport and advice, and just be
real with people... as internet honesty used to be in very extreme short supply and likely still is... because many use it as escapism a lace where
they can be anybody.
I saw a show where it was once about peole meeting someone online and the show checked them out for this person to see if they were forreal and if
they werent then the person that was played for a fool the person never expected to meet or did was confronted and not at all who they portrayed
themselves as.
I dont know if such a thing has gotten better or worse... tbh, but many people are targeted or stalked online... Ive had a couple of stalkers weird
thing is, is when its an obession with an ideal image they have of you and not who you are by that tiny fragmented window... I suppose it isnt much
different than when everytime someone saw Gary Coleman theyd be Whatchoo Talkn bout Willis or as him to say it... like they couldnt tell the
difference between the person or the character.
I first thought maybe I should be some online personality, or at least blame part of who I was on an online personality, then I determined being fake
wasnt the way to go... even though many use online for that escapism to be anybody they want to be other than themselves, so I decided to fess u the
fake parts to the audience I had and just lay everything completely out... so people wouldnt mistake who I was for what they imagined me to be. So
there would be a real image and not just a screen name or picture but someone everyone could get to know without deceit.
Its actually been a very freeing experience, except when of course random people started showing u in my life at local places knowing full on who I
was but had no idea who in the world they were or are... some good interactions some bad but none really violent just space invaders and I guess I
asked for it in some sort of ignorance but, hey its been an experience... such as having a computer or phone bricked from hacking so much it was like
ok this is so lame, even knowing internet security it would still haen if not making things worse as peole would have to break my entire system trying
to get in...
Finally up again after being several months down... but hey its been an interesting experience. Of course my hone is still derped and I had to keep
changing passwords so much I accidentally internet suicided myself a bit because changing them so frequently I cant recall several of them to even log
into some places like FB, Gmail, Yahoo, or even Ebay :p
So yeah, internet privacy... this is my little take on it not really having any and my take on what its like when people you dont know; know you in
total... not really a bad experience just one that has taken major adaptation. Billions of people out there, that can stop and take a look at who you
are virtually any time... if you have no privacy and have made yourself public as I have.
So those are the risks between being a private or public figure online... Im pretty sure other people may know what Im talking about here and maybe
some dont, and i hoe this little window has been somewhat of an eye opener of what to expect if youve wanted that or it occurs even if one doesnt...
how things can raidly change so it may be a good idea for people to consider whats out there... I know some countries have petitioned Google for the
right to be forgotten in the name of personal privacy and won it... I suppose I can understand why, but it was my choice to allow public figure online
in total of who I am even after trying to avoid it for as long as possible.
I know the OP was a little different on topic but I thought Id address some of the other posters talking about online privacy as well, and of course
since there has been debate about it for several years now... that maybe this information about my experience shows a side of it not often seen or
spoken about.
Still like the concept of friends and not fans, but it gets really difficult to engage everyone on such a personal level... other than just producing
work and utting it out there. I dont stockpile any so the hacking is kinda a fruitless effort due to creating it as I go.
But If others start encountering such, I suggest a computer with the WIFI taken out and using a thumb drive to transfer to one that is connected... as
peole will and do go through your bios if they are that determined to see what youre doing or up too, of course whats called a burner phone might be a
good idea too if you ever want to talk to people like prepaid minutes old style that isnt web heavy incase the one you use bricks and you run out of
gas or car wont start for some reason and then you find out no place has a payphone any more...(recent experience) and if you ask for a gas stations
to use they look at you like youre an alien and I kinda felt like one, seeing the world had changed and I hadnt noticed.
So hey be prepared... you may already have an aduience and not even know it and prepping for the just incase would be a good idea, because a lot of
life takes place in cyberspace these days...