[Nora.]

I've tried Googling myself and nothing shows up either. I'm thankful I have a common name.

[Amanda_R]

I waver between sometimes caring and not posting pics, to not caring and posting.

For the most part I don't particularly care, if you walk outside you don't know how many people are looking at you and your children, who they are and what they are like. And it's probably easier for someone to follow you home IRL than it is to track someone down online. There is no privacy in public, be it online or in person. Of the 'whole world' that happens to be online, very few of those really care about the pictures someone would post, just as very few would care about seeing your children IRL.

The people who don't care, don't care. Those that might be dodgy, we'll you could encounter them anywhere.

I have been shocked a couple of times on EB how parents have discussed in detail in an open forum some extremely traumatic event their child has experienced such as sexual abuse. I think that is a huge breach of the child's trust and privacy. I know they are probably looking for support and advice - but I think there are phone line and services in the community manned by experts and people who have recieved some training better placed to provide more helpful support and advice.

Not all phone lines can get you a response right when you need it, and community services are generally all lacking. Often those supposedly trained to deal with things like that lack basic compassion and understanding, so if you had a choice between going online and getting an immediate response, or making a phone call and being put on hold, I think it's understandable you'd go online. Of course you aren't guaranteed a compassionate reply online, but it's probably easier to brush it off it's its text on a screen among other decent responses, than it is when you're talking to one person on a phone or in person.

Did you know that prisoners use these as there porn mags?

I think a fair number of people know that. It's not a pleasant thought but it doesn't mean that someone isn't doing exactly that having seen you and your children in the supermarket or elsewhere in public.

[Gangnam Style]

I can't be googled. I have been using the internet for over 15 years now and there is not one single hit on my name (or any variations thereof that I have used) on google. I like it that way.

What would happen if you could be googled? Would someone know your name?

I can be googled, because I currently work for, and have previously worked for organisations who have websites to provide information to internal and external users. What's so different to being named on teh interwebz to being named in an annual report - or signage in a building?

[Boys Rock]

So mumofharry, when Harry is at school I take it you won't be letting him appear in any class photos in case one of his classmates parent happens to be a paedophile? Did you know also that when you are out at a park, amusement park, zoo etc, the people there taking happy snaps will no doubt have pictures of Harry in the background? I know all my holiday snaps have hundreds of strangers children in the background.



Oh yes yes, we all know someone who works in the system and tells this story. Our friend who works in a prison said they don't regularly distribute Target catalogues where he works. The prisoners dont get out to shop much.

Passive aggresive much?? Why would you care what I did with my kid? I never said that people shouldnt do it - I said I wouldnt.
If you want yours on the net, front page of the news, on catalogues for tourism australia, I don't care. I just wouldn't let MY child do it.

[autumntree]

I don't see it as any different to children who appear in TV commercials, print media and advertising etc. Advertising has been around since forever and the children in those commercials are at no more risk than those who appear in sigs on a forum IMO.

With a sig on a forum and possibly DOBs or other identifying details, teamed up with posts written about your life it is very very easy for someone to have many details about you. A child on an ad cannot even really be identified and someone seeing you walk down the street does not know that Johnny will only eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.

There is a difference and it's a big one, let's not deny it exists. A stalker watching you walk down the street is a lot easier to notice and avoid than one doing it all quietly with a lot more time and opportunity from the privacy of their own home.

Sure, the risk of being targeted may be small but I'd rather avoid it entirely. I also don't want to take away my kids own rights of being the ones to decide how private they want to be on the net as adults. Maybe they don't want all this stuff out there? I know I'd absolutely hate it if my mum had done it to me!'

[Eight.years]

I can't be googled. I have been using the internet for over 15 years now and there is not one single hit on my name (or any variations thereof that I have used) on google. I like it that way.

That's amazing. Google me and you find all sorts of things - papers I've presented at conferences, material I've had published in text books, old newspaper articles / organization newsletters and the like. I've never been hugely high profile but simply doing my job has been enough to get me a web profile that is clearly me. Interestingly enough, all largely uploaded without my explicit permission too.

I don't care. It's not pictures of me in my undies. It's not details of my sex life. It's not a huge b**ch about the inlaws. But I wouldn't do any of that under a username either. I think that treating public forums as you would any other public medium is a good rule of thumb. I wouldn't hide my child's image in real life and I don't hide it on the internet. But I wouldn't reveal highly personal details about my children to strangers in real life either, and neither will I do it in a public forum.

I have decided that my current sig (due for replacement any day now) will be the last one of my older child. He has reached a point where he no longer looks like a generic tot, has schoolmates who may recognise him, and is reaching an age where he has started to become aware of privacy. I'm going to extend him some and stop publicly showing his image.

This post has been edited by sassm: 16/10/2010, 12:14 PM

[~Mintie~]

My child signed the release paperwork when he trashed my vagina.

In seriousness, no I don't have an issue with it. I have many photos of my child on FB and I frequently update my siggie on here. It's my choice, I'm comfortable with it, and until he is old enough to say "Awww mum, I don't want my photo on there!" I will keep doing as I please

[husband1.0]

I have decided that my current sig (due for replacement any day now) will be the last one of my older child. He has reached a point where he no longer looks like a generic tot, has schoolmates who may recognise him, and is reaching an age where he has started to become aware of privacy. I'm going to extend him some and stop publicly showing his image.

I like that. Quite a balanced attitude.

Now, to please some people around here: I'm going to go and GOOGLE myself!

[autumntree]

I've tried Googling myself and nothing shows up either. I'm thankful I have a common name.

I don't have a common name so if there was any returns on a google search of my name it was be most definitely me. Nothing comes up at all when I search it.

DH has a common name so even if he ASWed all over the net, tracking down which results were actually him would be really hard and time consuming. I don't have that luxury.

What would happen if you could be googled? Would someone know your name?

I can be googled, because I currently work for, and have previously worked for organisations who have websites to provide information to internal and external users. What's so different to being named on teh interwebz to being named in an annual report - or signage in a building?

Well I wouldn't care if it were for something work related (but that isn't going to be the case for me!) But I google people sometimes when I am bored and the amount of embarrassing or super personal things that come up sometimes shock me. I'd hate it if I'd posted stupid stuff under my name when I was younger. Just like some of the really silly things some of DDs friends put on Facebook now. They will most definitely cringe when they come across it years from now.

[Gangnam Style]

With a sig on a forum and possibly DOBs or other identifying details, teamed up with posts written about your life it is very very easy for someone to have many details about you. A child on an ad cannot even really be identified and someone seeing you walk down the street does not know that Johnny will only eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.

We're talking about photos. Not all of the above.