Filling in Bio

Sailfree

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I can understand some peoples reluctance to fill in their Bio but why are so many shy about their boat details and Boat Name.

Is it really so important for some to be able to post on here with anonimity?
 

Pye_End

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Is it of benefit to post information?

Can see how knowing boat name etc can be abused - eg I have a 35 footer with PC on board and some other very fancy gismos, and wont be going down there for a couple of weeks, and here is where it is... (by the way none of this is true!).

Take whatever you like.

Perhaps I am too cynical.
 

smth448

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It depends how brave you are. If you put your boat name on the biog you mught upset someone on some thread or other, then your pride and joy could be at risk.
 

Sixpence

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I upset plenty of people but this is the internet , if people are sad enough to take things to the extremes of trying to damage other peoples boats because they had a tif in here then that person is a pretty sad individual as far as I'm concerned

P.S. Trevera is outside and I'm away for the weekend

P.P.S. The dog isn't , lol
 

webcraft

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[ QUOTE ]
Is it of benefit to post information?

[/ QUOTE ] What a strange question.

I at the very least want to see what type of boat the poster has got, and am very interested in their sailng area and the type of sailing they have been doing. This will help me make a relevant response to their posts.

Knowing someone's forum handle and the type of boat they sail is very unlikely to be a security risk.

There was a lot of discussion on this a few years ago, with people ( I think Brendan and TCM) proving that you could extract postcodes, life history and DNA samples from the bio page even after the member had erased everything from it - but in actual fact how many people have actually ever suffered in any way because of stuff they have posted in their bio?

- Nick
 

Sixpence

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I think it's possibly a case of not knowing that it helps rather than being lazy , as Webcraft said , if people want help or advice it helps if people can target the advice to the relevant area or boat
 

starboard

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I think it should be mandatory to fill in your BIO before being allowed to use the forum......I think little of folk that feel they have something to hide!!!

Paul.
 

Sans Bateau

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It would be nice if there were minimum details filled in, boat type, name, location; SW, Solent, east coast would be enough. Bit about experience is also nice. There does not have to be anything on there to worry the paranoid.

If someone is going to steal from your boat, they wont be 'casing the joint' from a damd computer!
 

Pye_End

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Is giving people interest in me and my boat enough of a reason?

Concerning targeting answers - yes this is probably useful, although hopefully any well worded question will have sufficient information in it, and besides if you need to know something else, then you could always ask.

Security risk - unlikely but possible?

Something to hide (not in response to you) - don't think so. Trying to think of something that would come in this category. Maybe people do have things to hide, but that is anybody's perogative.
 

Sans Bateau

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Well of course there is that, and for that mater, some posters, could and I say could, even have no boat at all, just claim to own one.
 

l'escargot

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[ QUOTE ]
I think it should be mandatory to fill in your BIO before being allowed to use the forum......I think little of folk that feel they have something to hide!!!

Paul.

[/ QUOTE ]
How is it going to be verified - send Keith round to check documents?

You would be unwise to base any decisions on what people have put in their bios.
 

jimi

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[ QUOTE ]
If there is no info on the person or boat it makes me personly less likely to respond to a queiry.

[/ QUOTE ]

and if you lernt to spel ....
 

Lakesailor

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It's not just boat details. Many times people register and ask a question the same day when the answer would be dependant, very much, on their location. However there is nothing in the biog to help the answerer.
So why not give these general details?

People seem to be getting paranoid.
 

tcm

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I must say I am very keen to get loads of advice, even from people who cannae even spell...

Yes, there was the extracting info business, and a while back some horrid peeps starting using info against a poster "Well, I bet that if I went to xyz marina now and found abc boat then it wouldn't be quite as secure as you make out..." or suchlike. Quite unlike the genteel and gentlemanly folk hereabouts these days.
 

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