Privacy on the WSA Forum

[Erin]

Dear Wellspouse Forum Member,

Ask yourself this question: Is there someone I do not want to read my posts on the forum? Is there someone who I would like to hide my identity on the forum from?

It has come to my attention that many of you are giving out information that might be inappropriate. Here are some examples:
- A member gives out personal information about her relationship with her husband and then says that she would prefer if her daughter never find out
- A man complains about his in-laws and their lack of emotional support though his partner is still in regular contact with them
- A father is angry that his Well Son is not helping around the house and that he's considering taking action

You must be aware that if you give out personal information such as the ages of you, your spouse or children, your location, your occupation or that of your spouse, or any other unique details of your life, that someone who knows you could easily identify you. Once identified, it would be easy for that person to sift through your posts and learn more about your feelings, gripes, and whatever else you chose to share with
the rest of us. THIS FORUM IS PUBLIC. That means that ANYONE CAN READ WHAT YOU WRITE.

If you are like me and have chosen a public identity, you must assume that anyone and everyone can and will read what you write. I am fully accountable in my real life to everything I say here. If you, like me, have chosen to keep your real name or can be identified by your real name, you must also take responsibility in real life for everything you
write on the forum.

On the other hand, if you have chosen to hide your identity so that you may speak more freely about your feelings, you must take precautions to keep your identity secret. Here are some things you can do to protectyourself from being identified:
1. Choose not to have your email address public. You can change this option by clicking "profile" at the top of the forum homepage and choosing to hide your email address.
2. Do not expose unique information that might identify you such as location, age, occupation, specific illness, etc. The more you hide, the more difficult it might be for someone to match the online name with you. On the other hand, I would request that you maintain your signature stating the illness of your spouse so that we can remember who you are online.
3. Choose an online name that is different from your real life name.

If you feel that you have exposed too much of yourself and need help to disguise your real identity I can help in the following ways:
1. Change your username
2. Delete or modify posts

I do not want any of you to cause yourself unnecessary trouble, legally, personally, or otherwise, by exposing personal information that you might not want to. It is easy to hide your identity and I urge you to do so if the answer to my questions above is YES -- there is someone I would prefer would not read what I write.

I'm here to help you have a support group, even if it must be
anonymous. I don't want you to suffer for expressing your feelings and thoughts as I know that for some of you, this is the only place you can.

If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. Please email me -- Of course, all correspondence with me is completely confidential.