Private profiles

[Lurker]

Every now and then, when I click on somebody's profile, I get:



I wonder, for what reasons do people mark their profile as private?

 

[Pontiff]

Sometimes people just only want those that follow them to view their profile, or no one to view their profile. Be it because they don't want someone to post a message on their profile, or maybe they like the 'security' of it so they aren't being stalked.

There could be many reasons as to why someone may hide their profile from the general public though. Some people go so far on stalking as to go to a profile, hit the little 'recent posts' tab to try and track when they are online or if they are online.

 

[Lurker]

There could be many reasons as to why someone may hide their profile from the general public though. Some people go so far on stalking as to go to a profile, hit the little 'recent posts' tab to try and track when they are online or if they are online.

Doesn't really work though. It is possible to find a person's posts using the general search functionality.

 

[Pontiff]

Correct.

or maybe they like the 'security' of it so they aren't being stalked.

If someone is determined they will always find a way. Some people like privacy.

 

[Lurker]

Fair.

 

[Dr Bellwright]

Sure, you can find posts, via internal search, or even using google with some crazy parameters, or hire somebody on Fiverr to create a python script to download and search

But in the end, this creates a clear message, that person is not currently interested in talking to new people. So that both of you don't waste time. If you want to just sit down and read their work silently – go ahead, that's not the point.

At least that is why I turned my account private couple of times.

 

[Lurker]

But in the end, this creates a clear message, that person is not currently interested in talking to new people. So that both of you don't waste time.

Thanks, that is a most likely the case. What confused me is that some people with private profiles actively participate on the social threads so it does not seem that they have a problem with interaction. In fact, the reason I asked this question was trying to see a larger version of a person's avatar when replying in one of the "... person/avatar above you" threads, and getting the "private" message.

[...] or hire somebody on Fiverr to create a python script to download and search

Aside:
Playing with Python scripts can be fun, and writing them on the site is a great way to learn! I wrote a small script to transfer an RP thread from another site to BMR (needed Vekseid's help to run it since it needed admin access to impersonate both myself and my writing partner when making alternating posts under our names). That was an interesting experience.