I am bothered by the fact that anyone on the internet can search the BP community and all of the forum topics, posts, profiles with our account information is available to anyone.

I have vulnerable questions and want to be honest and authentic in my post and engagement with other WLS patients, but due to professional reasons am wary of the inability to privatize forums to only BP registered users.

Has any thought been given to allowing user profiles to only be accessed by those who are registered users?

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that is the point of this forum. and its why you cannot delete any of your post. In reality anything you post online stays there forever. While you may say personal stuff you dont have to post anything identifying yourself... you can change details as you wish, But no i do not agree in only allowing registered users access... Lots of people come here and browse and search for answers without ever wanting to create an account... and in reality anyone can create an account in seconds and search.

I understand your desire to maintain your privacy. We all have our reasons why & how much we’re comfortable with revealing about ourselves. And certainly professional reasons is an extremely valid reason especially these days.

You don’t have to use your real name or include where you’re from, date of birth, or surgeon’s name in your profile or complete the about me section. Some information can be helpful like gender, your weight, type of surgery & surgery date. Anything else you reveal in your profile or posted content is up to you.

Whatever you decide, you can remain an anonymous visitor & use the forum as a reference site only.

I started as a visitor after I stumbled up the site & after a month or so I decided to join & post. The forum is a valuable resource providing information, support & understanding through shared experiences, advice, guidance, suggestions, recommendations, etc. It alleviates fears, strengthens resolve & gives confidence to those who are members or who just visit.

You can be anonymous.

Don't put your real or full name. Don't add a photo, don't mention names or companies you work at, Etc...

At that point you are just a random person on the internet.

I appreciate these tips to maintain privacy while still being able to engage the bariatric community. Thanks so much! I really appreciate the forums and the feedback that I have received so far. I also feel like sometimes you get out what you put in, but I need to be mindful of how much is public (location, pics, name, etc).

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