Profiles - why so embarrassed?

[claymore]

I'm glad you asked that one - I've wondered for some time and the responses support my suspicions that it is mostly to do with a valid concern that by publishing personal details there is the possibility of exposure to risk or threat.
thanks
best wishes
JS

 

[oldgit]

Jus a quick question .I would jus like to ask,does anyone know of a ggod marine engineer?

 

[coliholic]

Sorry Oldgit....

....can't help on that one. Don't think any post here

 

[oldgit]

Re: Sorry Oldgit....

~Roger Dodger..I cannot under stand whatever made me think it was worth a try.Ho Hum.Think I will go and buy some special marine hammers and do it myself cannot possiblly do a worse job .Bang Bang Ouch Bleed.Need drink etc.

 

[ArthurWood]

It's that Brit social hierarchy thing....in spite of all the silly excuses posted.

 

[coliholic]

Re: Sorry Oldgit....

I can see already your problem oldgit and why you need a proper Marine Engineer. You're doing things in the wrong order. There are ten steps to doing a professional job, these are:

1. Shake head and go "tch tch, this is gonna be expensive"
2. Have a drink
3. Do the Bang bang bit
4. Sit back, go "Hmm", have a drink
5. Bang, ouch, bleed
6. Oh Sh*t,
7. Have a drink
8. Fill in accident book, make insurance claim
9. Order new parts
10. Have a drink whilst waiting for parts to be delivered

Hope this helps. If only we knew a professional eh???

;-)

 

[oldgit]

Re:No No Noooooo

What about 9a
Sorry, no stock have to get from afganistan/bangladesh etc be about 8 to 75 weeks sir
or
9b Ha Ha Ha .You must be joking mate they have not made those since 1908 etc.

 

[ArthurWood]

So what's wrong with telling us what you do for a living? If you are not ashamed, are you embarrassed? If so why? We are all jolly good boaty chums together on this BB aren't we? So go on, tell us, be a big boy, even if it is embarrassing for you. And what has myopia to do with asking one's occupation? It might even elicit an interesting answer, although obviously not in this BB's bio section which is rife with supposedly amusing entries from people who appear to be either embarrassed, ashamed or paranoid about providing the correct information. Is it no longer PC to ask such a question?
p.s. notice how this fred quickly drifted away from the original question.

 

[adarcy]

Dear Arthur,

Well I am sorry you take that view.
I think there are a number of very good reasons why people may wish to keep some of their privacy and I don't think it helps to accuse them of being myopic or embarrassed.
Firstly I think it is important for people to have some control over their personal information, almost eveyone else seems to think it's their property. If there were no other reasons, that is good enough for me. If some people wish to be more open, that's fine but the converse is also true.
Secondly (and IANAL) if people were, for example, lawyers and gave an opinion without a disclaimer, especially if others could see they were lawyers, then they could be held to account for it and so may be effectively gagged.
Thirdly there has been a recent wrinkle where someone was accused of drumming up business or profiting by it. Normally one would expect them to "play the game" but they would have to add a disclaimer to everything they posted if they had indentified themselves as being in a certain line of business.

This has nothing to do with PC. As I am rabidly anti-PC, if I thought it was PC not to ask, I'd be asking all the time!

If you want to waste some time, look at my bio because there is very liittle in it. There is one member of the BB who knows my job and he/she has had the good taste not to spread it around because I have not volunteered it. We have to put up with this game on most skiing holidays and on the occasions when people will not "let it go" and we have to promise to tell them on the last day, without exception they have all agreed that we've done the sensible thing. No doubt that will have sent you (or you all) guessing my job but no matter what names I am called, I shall not publicly respond to anything on the BB and if people sent a PM I would only agree/disagree under conditions of confidentiality. The more ludicrous it got the more I would ask "Who is going to cry "Shame on you"?".

Sorry if this is a bit uptight, but I do think there is an issue of principle here.

Flame if you wish.

Anthony

 

[hlb]

Aha! Now you've let it slip "Anthony".
Now take my profile as an example of fully filled in. Honest and straight folward form filling.

Haydn

 

[paulineb]

Dear Doctor Anthony, I have this pain in my lower back .......

Am I close?

Pxx

 

[david_e]

Surprised it's not a headache after reading all of this post P! I think you are very close, or getting warmer as they say. Google?

 

[coliholic]

So maybe you're not the green half of this partnership then?

 

[paulineb]

Which partnership's that then ?

Pxx
Have a cool yule

 

[ToMo]

Excuse this Fred Drift, Haydn - the good news first, they fully opened the bluddy bridge today so no more backed up traffic on the A38.......the bad new is that in the spring they're closing the f.....ing tunnel so the backups will be back!

 

[ArthurWood]

Anthony - I accept your point that people have every right not to divulge their occupation, but with the exception of your specific case and the legal ones you mentioned, I wonder what the real reasons are. Personal info should be just that, but naming one's occupation is hardly likely to have the same value as home address, Social Security number etc is it? Besides, most on this BB use pseudonyms anyway. Are you implying that if I were in a pub chatting with people from this BB that the same people who don't give occupation in their bio would not tell me their occupation verbally? (except you, of course. Intriguing you are - spy, undertaker, traffic warden, GCHQ? The mind boggles). Are people in the UK generally so paranoid about such relatively innocous info?

No flaming, see! Regards, AW

 

[oldgit]

Arthur if you really want to see big british wibble wobbles ask a man or woman how much they earn, and then stand well clear you might just be far enough away in the jolly old US of A.

 

[jfm]

Re: Hang about Anthony!

Anthony I fully respect your right to privacy etc if that's what you choose. No prob, you are right there.

But two things I disagree

The lawyer point, and I know you sed YANAL, is wrong. First it is inconceivable someone giving advice on a chat BB could be found to have established a "duty of care" to readers, just by giving advice. And even if they had, it would not be BECAUSE they happen to be a professional in that field. I mean if two people give duff legal advice, and one of em is a lawyer and the other a bricklayer, they are in the same position. You can't say the lawyer is the only one susceptible to being sued, just cuz he is a lawyer. Anyway that's all academic, you dont establish a sue-me-if-I'm-wrong relationship with other posters on this BB. (And if I'm wrong on that...erm ... I could be sued, speshly as I'm kind of a lawyer eek! Worse still we could all sue paulsjeng if he tells us wrongly how to fix engines because he has said that's his job!)

Second point, more important. You seem to condone - if I'm reading you correctly - posts from which the poster might profit, provided the poster keeps secret the fact he has a commercial interest. I completely disagree with you on that, for obvious reasons. Any such post should state that the poster has an interest, regardless of whether the poster also explains WHY s/he has an interest by saying what his/her job is.

Best wishes

 

[ArthurWood]

Oldgit - I think you've hit the nail on the head! By extension, asking the occupation could be associated with pay range and then the Brit hierarchy/envy/two Ronnies thingy kicks in.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Hi Tomo, surely this doesn't affect Haydn, his boats well this side of the bridge. Must be a pain in the arse for you though.