I'm a pretty guarded person online and rarely reveal detailed information about myself until I've known someone for quite some time. I don't have anything to hide and I'm a pretty social guy, I just like feeling safe and enjoy my privacy.
The thing is, even something as simple as revealing one's real gender can cause all sorts of issues. I won't beat around the bush: there's a notable portion of messed up individuals lurking in pretty much every online community. When I played WoW actively I had two different stalkers on separate occasions. One of them managed to piece together the information I'd given other people and found my Facebook account to begin harassing me there. The other sought to try and ruin the relationship between my partner and I so that she could have me to herself.
With that said, I don't think anyone should feel as though they need to avoid revealing stuff about themselves. They just need to be very careful and learn to recognise potential red flags. Perhaps this event really is simply one big misunderstanding, though it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
Luckily most people won't be in the situation that I and others have been in, though rarity doesn't mean it couldn't happen as unfortunate as that is.
The thing is, even something as simple as revealing one's real gender can cause all sorts of issues. I won't beat around the bush: there's a notable portion of messed up individuals lurking in pretty much every online community. When I played WoW actively I had two different stalkers on separate occasions. One of them managed to piece together the information I'd given other people and found my Facebook account to begin harassing me there. The other sought to try and ruin the relationship between my partner and I so that she could have me to herself.
With that said, I don't think anyone should feel as though they need to avoid revealing stuff about themselves. They just need to be very careful and learn to recognise potential red flags. Perhaps this event really is simply one big misunderstanding, though it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
Luckily most people won't be in the situation that I and others have been in, though rarity doesn't mean it couldn't happen as unfortunate as that is.