"Hiding" your participation

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Hi friends and loved ones.

I remember back in the day, I could hide that I was online on MWO all of the time. I suppose I used that option because I didn't want people to know how much I cared, and that I was either always on the site, or checking in all the time.

But when I look back at it, and contrast it with places that count that as money, I see how wrong I was. Because MWO, after it was purchased, was never selling anything. (The site sold books and supplements before. It wasn't shady, it just wasn't good business.)

And I wonder why so many people are hiding that they've logged in. I know (online) a bunch of you, and know you've been around for a loooooong time. And you're posting, or responding, but it doesn't show up in the metrics, whatever the hell those are, but more importantly, in the little screen at the bottom that shows how many participate, how many are members, etc...

And if I got here and saw those numbers, back in the day, there's no way I would have invested the time and energy to get to know, say... 25 people who have widely divergent paths and their own language and their own cliques.

And if this is our own private chatroom, then how's it going to sustain itself?

ETA: The point is, if we hide ourselves as being online, as participating, we don't count. It's like taking 10,000 steps. It has to be quantified in some way. And that's true for anything else we participate in. And in this csase, it's truly altruistic for most of us.
Why did I do that in the first place when this site meant more to me than almost anything in my life? It saved my life.

[NoSugar]

Re: "Hiding" your participation

Hey, Ne

I 'hid' when I first joined because I was absolutely paranoid about being identified and took every step I could think of to mask myself. I now doubt that not letting it be known when I was online had anything to do with someone figuring out who I was but I wasn't thinking clearly about anything at that point!!

I would be happy to turn my green light back on but I have no idea how to do it. I remember it was very confusing to get it turned off in the first place.

So, if you can give me some instructions, I'd be happy to turn it back on!!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Re: "Hiding" your participation

Hey, Ne

I 'hid' when I first joined because I was absolutely paranoid...

Hi!!

Ah yes, the paranoia. For me it lasted for years. I didn't even register for the first year, just lurked obsessively.

And those numbers at the bottom of the first page mattered to me, a lot. Initally, I really thought this place was some sort of hoax when I found it, but I could see who was on here regularly and follow them until I finally got comfortable reaching out. In the Newbies Nest, of course. But it mattered that there were so many people here so regularly.

I don't remember how but I'll find out and let you know.

Nice to *see you again.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Re: "Hiding" your participation

I would be happy to turn my green light back on but I have no idea how to do it. I remember it was very confusing to get it turned off in the first place.

So, if you can give me some instructions, I'd be happy to turn it back on!!

Yay for the green light! Actually, that's kind of symbolic isn't it?

I'm going to educate myself more about how to take pictures and post them on here, but in the meantime, it's pretty simple. I think. ha.
I went to the Settings on the top right of the screen, right next to Log Out. Then from there to General Settings in the dropdown list. And from there to... Invisible Mode. You can toggle it on or off. So it doesn't have to be on ALL the time.

But wouldn't it be nice to see more than the same 20 or so names on that list of people who check in at the bottom of the front screen? Especially when we know that there are many members, people who have paid to keep this place going, and participate everyday and if you're a newbie, you wouldn't be able to tell.

The only reason I know is because I recognize you peeps from back in the day, but I don't see your usernames listed when I check to see who has been online. And like many, I want to know who has participated and where to go... Not just the threads I'm subscribed to or familiar with, but new things, too.

I don't want to call anyone out specifically. Many of you are the reason the site is still active and still helping people. I'm grateful to you. Thank you.

[NoSugar]

Re: "Hiding" your participation

I think I did it! We'll see...