Quote:
I also think it's a good idea to have a profile filled out on the BBS so people can see who they are dealing with. I would be more likely to respond and help someone who has a profile (and especially a website) where I can see they are not just another anonymous wanker trolling by the BBS. I'm probably more likely to respond negatively to someone who looks like they are trying to hide something than a person who is more open.

Everything you wrote, I agree with, except for this one.

I don't know how much of my profile I have filled out (I'll go look now), but I don't feel I'm "trying to hide something", so much as I just don't feel a need to share personal information willy-nilly, even if it is innocuous. I assume other people are the same. Sure, I trust you and many other board members reasonably well (without having actually met any), but I certainly wouldn't say the same of all the people who might wander through our board as a result of the google spidering.

I don't care if a person's profile is filled out. This is the web -- all that info could be fake, for all I know, and quite frankly, I don't particularly care. Perhaps that's because I got my start reading newsgroups, where there is no such thing as a profile. I think you'll get a better idea of whether someone is a troll by looking at their post history, and the demeanor of their posts, than you will by looking to see if they're anonymous. I can probably build up a more accurate profile of someone by doing that, than by reading what's included in the little profile section.

What little extra there is in the profile, is, for the most part, irrelevant to me. Knowing that you like snowboarding doesn't impact my view of whether or not you're here to genuinely take part in the BBS community -- I've met plenty of jerk snowboarders.

Cheers,

Edit: I note that I actually have a reasonable amount of info in my profile. Perhaps I should say I don't always feel like sharing info willy-nilly, and understand that not everyone does want to.