Profiles?

[Eamonn]

At one time I did have a lot of information about myself in the profile area.

I removed it because at times I found myself venting and thought maybe I had better protect the good name of the Council and the people in it.

I'm sure that you don't need to be Sherlock Homes to work out where I'm from and some of the things I've done.

There are times when I disagree with some of what other forum members post as there are times when they disagree with me. I can't help thinking that in some ways this helps make the forum a little more .... shall we say entertaining?

But I really have no need to know where the person who is disagreeing with me is from. Over the time I have been in this forum, I have made several friends. I have met a few forum members face to face, spoken to some on the phone and exchanged E-mails with others outside of the PM that the site offers.

Some little time back I questioned if we as Scouter's in a community reserved for Scouting related discussions have a responsibility to ensure that we do make the visitors to this site aware of where the BSA stands on the topics we discuss. I am aware that some forum members are from other Scout Associations, but the majority of the forum members do belong to the BSA.

We do not have any control of who visits the site or what they take from it. My concern is that some people will see something stupid or something that isn't approved by the BSA and because it was "On the net" think that it's OK.

I know that at times I have posted things that I thought were right and have been corrected, for this I'm grateful.

At times the disagreements are over things that are silly and have little or no bearing on what we do as Scouter's or to do with Scouting. I'm sure the legal department at the BSA didn't care what music was played at the Olympics !!

Many of us have our own pet peeves, many of us, myself included can't understand why if others are so unhappy or have such a big down on the BSA they remain in the BSA?

My take on the people who want to go skinny-dipping, paint-balling, Lazar-tagging, sod surfing, and all the rest of it. Is that's fine and dandy but don't in any way try and dress it up as a Scouting activity.

My real name, my geographical location and what my present or past positions in Scouting have nothing to do with me feeling this way.

Eamonn.

[cubleader6]

I agree but I sometimes like to see what experience others have, honestly I have yet to look at another profile although I did put lot's of info on myself in mine. I see profiles as a way to get to know someone a little better and feel that as far as what people take from this forum and what is and isn't OK with BSA, isn't there a disclaimer somewhere? I mean if someone reads a post that someone went skinny dipping and called it a BSA event (I hope that didn't happen, but hey I'm new, anything's possible)

I would HOPE that anyone with any common sense would not read that and think, "Oh we can do that? Let's plan that right now!"

 

It's kind of like the "here's your sign" joke...is it really needed to write on a bath mat with suction cups to hold it in place which side is down??? I guess so.....anyway my point is that as you said, you cannot control what people do take from here, but I don't see how putting info in your profile would hurt anything.

 

I like to know where people are from partly because, what if I'm going to some big event and another member is going to the same one? It may be easier for me to find that out from a profile. Is knowing that good or bad? I guess that depends......all I know is that if I become friends with people here (and I hope I will) I might want to be at the same Pow Wow as them or something

[msnowman]

I agree Eamonn. In another thread a poster asserted that if we weren't embarressed by what we say we should be putting our names and home towns on our signature. I used to put my name/town on my sig, but stopped when I realized it wouldn't take a lot to track me down if someone was so inclined. For me its a personal privacy issue, not one of "hiding".

 

YiS

Michelle

[Eamonn]

cubleader6

you make some very good and valid points.

At the time I removed my info. I was very upset with some of the antics that a FD in our Council was up to.

Of course I at that time thought I was right and he was a FCT (First Class Twit). I still think I was right! But I was aware that I was upset and while he FCT, he was a family man with three kids. I don't know who looks in at the forum. I don't know if some of the things that he was doing might have left the Council open to some sort of legal action? (I'd just read The Firm!!)

I do think that over time if we stay in the forum we do come up with our own mental picture of the other members. Of course sometimes when we do get to meet them we find out how wrong we were!!

Eamonn.

[cubleader6]

LOL I know what you mean Eamonn,

 

I guess if you become "friends" with someone here, that's when you can choose to give out your information.

 

msnowman, I read that post as well and thought it was pretty stupid. I do agree with your point. As far as that post, I saw it like this, whoever did post or PM to that person, obviously used their name on here and that is what everyone else sees you as, that is not "hiding" as far as I can see

 

As I've said in another thread, I really do love it here, you all are great!!!!

[cubleader6]

LOL I know what you mean Eamonn,

 

I guess if you become "friends" with someone here, that's when you can choose to give out your information.

 

msnowman, I read that post as well and thought it was pretty stupid. I do agree with your point. As far as that post, I saw it like this, whoever did post or PM to that person, obviously used their name on here and that is what everyone else sees you as, that is not "hiding" as far as I can see

 

As I've said in another thread, I really do love it here, you all are great!!!!

[Kahuna]

On this and other forums I visit regularly, I put very little profile information. You never know who you're going to po that may track you down.

 

I agree that it's safer just to exchange personal information with those who become your friends or otherwise have a "need to know."

 

You can pretty well tell after a while who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't (and you know who you are).

[Oak Tree]

I likewise don't put information into my profile. Primarily because I wouldn't want to post things that clearly identified other people around me, on the off chance that they might read some post about how they were being an idiot (although thus far I haven't posted much about personal actions of other adults in our units).

 

But also I did it because I didn't want to have a bunch of anonymous people gang up on me if they found my unit website and found something to criticize. Now, we don't go sod-surfing, but I'm sure people could find something they didn't like.

 

So I actually understand Mike's comments in the other thread. It's one thing to comment on generic situations anonymously, but when you pick out one specifically identified troop and write very strong words against it, I can see why he'd like you to identify yourself.

 

Oak Tree

[Backwoods]

For me the funny thing is, reading his indignant rant about the cowardly act (paraphrasing) of failing to put identifying information on your profile reminded me that I had wanted to do that for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. Well I did it, so feel free to look me up... if you like what I have to say that is! LOL ;-)

[Lisabob]

OK not to hijack the thread or anything but these off-hand references to "sod surfing" keep popping up...what the heck is sod surfing? Is this a prarie sport of some type??

 

Back to the thread: I don't have info in my profile for exactly the reasons Oak Tree mentions. I suppose that if anybody from my unit or district or council really wanted to, they could at least tentatively identify me based on things I've posted though. (And somehow I've missed the thread where people are getting criticized for not identifying themselves.)

 

Lisa'bob

[funscout]

Lisabob,

 

The sod surfing reference came about because of a scouter who posted his troop's website on the following thread: "Hippa Compliant Medical Authorization and Record Release." He posted this as a help to others, but in providing his troop's website, it was discovered that they do an unsafe activity that is loosely associated with BSA.

 

Sod surfing (this was new to me, too) involves boys sitting on wooden pallets that are towed behind a truck. The truck then pulls them across a grassy field, at up to 45 mph! Needless to say, that thread turned to safe scouting practices, and the issue of how much personal information to give out on forums.

 

A staffer has since removed the troop's website from the original post.

[Lisabob]

Egads, and here I had skipped over that thread, thinking it was bound to be a tedious legal-eeze discussion. Thanks for the clarification, funscout. Never a dull moment around here, is there.

 

Lisa'bob