<p>I don’t tell any of my friends about this web site because I don’t want them to identify me. Last year, prior to spring break, I had been posting on cruise critic, another great forum. We had a roll call and were all planning on meeting until some very “undesirable” characters started posting and I decided to skip the meeting. I felt bad, as I had given out kids’ first names and ages. ( I learned my lesson.) To my surprise, my kids ended up meeting at least 5 of the other posters’ kids just by mentioning they were from Toledo. All the kids knew their parents had been communicating. So the kids met, but most of the parents did not meet.</p>
<p>I once read an email on one of the Stanford threads and had a strong hunch one of the posters was a classmate of my S, who he’d had as a partner in a math competition (someone I never met.) So I asked S if so and so had applied to Stanford. He said he had no idea and asked my why I wanted to know. I told him, he asked her and my instincts were correct.</p>
<p>my second d found out I had been posting and e-mailed me telling me I was an “idiot”. Since then I don’t talk about her at all.</p>
<p>My kids know my sn and don’t seem to really care. This site has been an indirect help to them on many occasions.</p>
<p>My children know nothing about this website. They have their Facebook and my husband is on “Linked In” which is career oriented & real names are used, kind of like networking. </p>
<p>I also belong to a Yahoo group based on a particular breed of dog we own.</p>
<p>My son knows my screen name and often he will ask me whats up on “my” forum . He knows I have posted about him and is fine with it. He is in music and occasionally someone will ask a question in his area and I’ll ask him what he thinks and post his answer. He knows that alot of his success in getting into college came from information I received here on CC. I also read and very occasionally post on another forum where I
am very careful about my and my families anonymity.</p>
<p>My two older kids have stayed as far away from CC as possible. They know I spend time here, but they haven’t wanted anything to do with it. If they came looking for me, they’d find me; my sn is a variant of an old email address. (I tried for months to get CC to let me change my name, but gave up eventually.) And while I try to be careful not to post too many specifics, I know I’ve left various breadcrumbs here and there. Nothing that would really offend either one of them, but still.
Timely, I agree with the posters who say you’ve already been made, and nobody’s mad - stick with timely!</p>
<p>My older D (graduated from college) said that she checked CC sometimes to see what I was posting. She knows my “stage name.” I was surprised that she would silently “stalk” me. Who knew?!! Must have been a slow day…I wonder if she posts on CC…</p>
<p>Being as my D went to a super-selective college some of whose students were prolific posters on CC during the application season and not afraid to admit it, there were some of her acquaintances that I recognized from CC. Turned out not to be a big deal.</p>
<p>MY kids have no interest in reading or posting online, but when D1 was in HS I discovered one of her close friends on the board- the old PR one- because he used a family name in the screen name and I knew the family well. I was very careful to not post for a few months and tried to avoid being recognised.</p>
<p>In general I tend to mix example experiences a bit in some postings, esp about friends, so that they would not quite be recognisable to any one actually involved- similar on the key points, but enough different so the person would not be sure it was them</p>
<p>On this board, my kids appreciate what I have learned and one DD is not all embarrassed by it. As a freshman we figured out a girl in her dorm posted here and I met her.</p>
<p>Same DD has a merit award that ends up with tons of question postings on the board for that school. Since she worked in the scholarship office for several years and processed the scholarships, she is kind enough to give me the answers to post when kids are going crazy trying to figure out how it works</p>
<p>I haven’t recognized anyone from real life, but I have recognized a couple of people who were on other fora. (Both with similar and completely different screennames.) I haven’t seen anyone I recognize as coming from the same school as my son, but I know some of his friends did check out CC at least occasionally.</p>
<p>Like some of you, though my kids knew my sn, they never thought to look what I posted. Who cares? But S2’s roommate (hello!) knows about all the goings on here and that there are sometimes “interesting” conversations.</p>
<p>I’m not changing my sn. I’m too close senior member and it has taken me 4 years to get here! Besides, my youngest is already in college, so my posting is pretty much limited to answering questions when I can. If I need to answer someone who is having trouble with her slovenly, procrastinating, daydreaming child, then I’ll just PM her!</p>
<p>This is what stinks about your kid going to a smaller school. With a big state U, what are the odds?!</p>