Outted on WSO

I think it is hard to figure that out as long as you don't mention the country or the companys' names

Friend of mine posted a topic on the B-School Forum. Based on the schools he was admitted to, and his reasoning for going, I figured it out. Of course, a bunch of guys at my previous firm know my user account as well. No negative circumstances however...

I know the username of this one kid in my intern class - he PMed me once a long time ago. I figure out who he is from reading his posts (some posts were "interesting", aka he wouldn't repeat it in real life). That being said - he's a good guy in person. And no, he doesn't realize I'm the guy he PMed cauz I never talk about my school/graduation year (or maybe he does, who knows...).

Someone a couple of years above me figured out who I was at my company. Got chatting to him and it turned out pretty well!

I think you have to conduct yourself with the expectation that you'll be outed at some point, not just on WSO but everywhere on the Internet. That's how I handle business, anyway. I've said some pretty reprehensible shit at times on this site, but nothing I wouldn't stand behind if/when I'm outed.

No negative results, actually. The people I've talked to on WSO have been more than receptive, sometimes not even afraid to divulge their identities.

After I did a Q&A I had someone reach out to me when they figured out who I was via my bio on our company website. I thought it showed some initiative and I was happy to do an informational interview. Maybe I'm just justifying it for my own sanity, but I'm not overly concerned about my anonymity (to a certain extent).

I'll echo what Eddie said. My general rule of thumb is to not post anything that I wouldn't say while out for drinks with coworkers. I'm sure I break this rule from time to time, but sometimes we get pretty drunk at work gatherings too...

yeah, as happy hours have become more and more common, more of the users know each other offline. That being said, we take anonymity seriously and want to make sure if someone wants to stay anonymous they can. (why we allow people to edit their own posts indefinitely, change their username easily when they first sign up, etc)...

I think it's always smart when posting anything online or in an e-mail to think twice before sending. In many cases that can become a permanent record - and if someone figures out who you are because you are sloppy about giving too many details (and they care enough because you're being an asshole), it could hurt you.

After going to last year's conference, it was pretty easy to infer who a few of the more prominent members on the site are. They were all generally nice and helpful and I'm obviously not going to do anything negative with that information.

There was a guy on here a while back who didn't conduct himself very well (older members, you prob remember who I'm talking about). If I recall correctly he was at BX IB, and a co-worker figured out his identity. He got into some shit and left the site.

Figured out some guy from my schoo working in my old company. Also figured out who IP is.

My user name is my real name and my linkedIn is on my profile, I'm not one to hide behind a pseudo identity. Then again, i am not important :)

Conduct yourself as if your real name is attached to this account. I've met a ton of great people on this site and it is full of industry professionals or people who soon will be. Being outted is only a worry if you are being immature or saying horrible shit.

I've met some pretty cool people (that I went to school with) through this website. Assume that people CAN find out who you are, so you don't post anything that will hurt you down the line.

I'm pretty open about who I am, regularly mention it in the chatroom and PM hahah. Only reason I don't publicly say it here is due to the company I work for and getting sued or something. But yah, conduct yourself as if it was your real name. I've met many awesome people on WSO and frankly, it's the reason why I post here. To build those relationships.

I just surprised that the people who went to my school are party animals in real life, yet here they are so serious. This makes me appreciate the vulgarity and humor of other WSO users.

I definitely think its a good thing that more people are getting to know each other with how common Happy Hours have become. It basically adds to the experience here and actually allows better networking/connections.

I dont have a problem with what anyone posts here for the most part as long as they have a coherent argument behind it and can watch as its ripped apart (if I or anyone else can). But agree that for your own sake, probably not the smartest idiot to post something you're not willing to defend.

My goal here is to still meet Swagon and shake his hand.

I think it's not hard for industry people to get a good idea of where others may work if they're open enough about it. I've definitely had it happen but never regretfully... yet. That being said I like my anonymity quite a bit since, like Eddie, I'm sure I've said some pretty reprehensible shit on here as well, and been open about my background (which I can't say I do in person as much).

I'm a chimp.

I don't see what the big deal is, my real name is Tra (pronounced 'Trey') Desalot, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out who I am.

The people you walk past when you're out getting lunch in Midtown are, for sure, members on WSO.

I've figured out the identities of a couple people on this site. They've said some really douchey things that made me change my impression of them slightly, but nothing that drastic.

You could probably figure out who I am from my posts, if you knew me in real life. That said, I keep a very low personal profile online. But I feel that I can stand by my posts on this site.

No facebook, LinkedIn locked down, etc. I have a personal twitter, but I keep it clean-ish. Even if you power search me ("name" AND "company") or ("name" AND "school"), you won't come up with anything. Note: this is less paranoia, and more having an awful family that would probably try to extort me if they had my contact information.