Outed BIG TIME

[I Am Paula]

I belong to various forums, with various interests, this one being the only one concerning gender. I used different names on different forums.
Yesterday I started a controversial thread on another forum. ( a big one, 80,000 active members) When the thread got to name calling, and feelings were hurt, someone Googled my picture. (matching images search) and up comes every post I have put on CD.com
I am not stealth, but on different forums I see no reason to explain myself. I am Paula, that's all they need to know.
If you post pics on this forum, remember, they are public access.

[Krisi]

How did they get past the security? And what is a matching images search?

Of course I have always said, anything you put on the Internet is out of your control.

[I Am Paula]

I had never heard of a matching images search. Perhaps a more computer savvy member will help. Every post I have made with this avatar came up. Not a huge concern to me, but it could be devastating to someone deep in the closet, or working under a different name.

[lesli]

google will search for images using facial recognition, and it may use similar matching for the rest if no face is available. i have seen tons of things from them that i thought were private, but their web crawlers seem to get into everything.

[I Am Paula]

Thank you. It makes me realize why so many of you use a cartoon, or a picture of a kitty as an avatar.

[arbon]

I'm very sorry that happened Paula.
Yes it is easy to search pictures on google and need to be careful when you are using the same imagine in different places.

[Andy66]

Meow. I didnt know Google could do that. Scary. I almost never show my real picture anywhere because I dont want employers and coworkers too much into my personal life. I also dont want to be bothered by my ex in laws in another state. Also a little self conscious because I couldnt even pass in the dark.

[Jenessa]

The thread title is misleading, IMHO. You weren't outed by this forum, you were outed by a member on another forum due to something you posted on this forum. That said, I use reverse image lookup all the time when someone posts pics (and the content seems off) claiming its their wife/GF/SO, car, house, whatever, there are A LOT of people who steal images off the net and claim them as their own. Now, I am in no way saying you did that, just why it sometimes gets done and how.

[Dianne S]

I gave it a try on a few pictures of my (guy-mode) self. Nothing remotely connected with this site came up, so I guess I'm safe for now...

Google's algorithm might need some work. These two images were in the list of "visually similar" images to me.

binl.jpg bin2.jpg

EDIT: More experimenting... I searched on my profile picture and one result from this site came up. But I don't have this profile picture anywhere else, so it's not a big deal.

What did please me is that 95% of the "similar" images of me in guy mode were males and 95% of images "similar" to my profile picture were females.

[Nigella]

ANY image posted in the "public" forums can be searched for by google.

As Krisi has said, nothing put on the internet is safe, just as RL, the moment you say something to anyone else, it is public, no matter who you tell. The internet is never safe, hackers are everywhere.

[Dianne S]

hackers are everywhere.

Well, it's not just hackers. If you post something on the Internet, it's the equivalent of standing in the busiest square of your home town with a megaphone and yelling it for everyone to hear and then carving it in granite in a way that can never be erased...

[STACY B]

Don't make people LOOK for you an no one will know where you are? Just saying, I wonder why people look for other people? But they do, Like I have seen it on Face book, Someone say something the others don't like an BAM!! Your screwed.

[karenpayneoregon]

So sorry to hear this happened to you. I moderate over on Microsoft forums (C# and VB.NET programming languages) for the past several years which of course is different topics then here but the rules of the road should be, be polite and if there are people getting out of control talk to them and calm things down.

Best advise is to not lower yourself to their level.

[PaulaQ]

I'm sorry you got Doxxed Paula. (That's the slang term for what they did to you.) If they only mentioned your activity here, you are lucky. There is typically quite a bit of searchable public information available about all of us, and a recent tactic of TERFs is to Dox trans men and women, particularly those who are in vulnerable situations.

If you want to be stealth, you really have to have no searchable connections to anything trans. Indeed I would recommend having the most minimal online presence possible. Facebook is right out - it'll auto-out you by finding connections to people who knew the old you but not the new you.

I know you aren't trying to be stealth, but I mention this for others who aren't out.

[Krisi]

I'm assuming it was only the avatar photo that was matched? The ones in the photo gallery are supposed to be safe because you have to be a member to see them.

They aren't of course because many members leave their computers on and logged in to this site and others share their passwords. Or a disgruntled wife could easily copy pictures and post them elsewhere. And you don't have to actually be a crossdresser to join. There's no test. Anyone could join just to see photos of crossdressers and they might come across your photos.

[Rianna Humble]

Krisi, please do not spread misinformation about the security on this site.

The Picture and Video Gallery is only available to members of this site. Any member sharing pictures from that section with any non member is in breach of the user agreement. As you are well aware, you cannot

join just to see photos of crossdressers

[Krisi]

Not "misinformation".

I don't believe there is a test to see if a potential member is actually a crossdresser. Unless you know something I don't, anyone can join and post, whether actually a crossdresser or a pretender. Once that person has made X number of posts, he or she can view the gallery. Remember, this is the Internet. Not everything here is what it is made out to be.

As far as "in breach of the user agreement", as a former IT person, I know that few users read the agreement, much less take it seriously. I'll bet many members are letting their wives read posts or view pictures. Some have come right out and said it. There's nothing a site owner or moderator can do to stop this.

[Rianna Humble]

Precisely misinformation, but you knew that already.

As for your false claim that there is nothing that can be done, that is simply another attempt by you to spread FUD.

[Dianne S]

User agreements are like security cameras. They let you punish the perpetrator after the fact, but are not much use in preventing bad things before the fact.

I would caution anyone who posts anything on to a forum he/she doesn't control to treat it as public information, no matter what. Better safe than sorry.

[kimdl93]

So, Paula, what now?

[Lexi_83]

I would caution anyone who posts anything on to a forum he/she doesn't control to treat it as public information, no matter what. Better safe than sorry.

Sounds like very good advice in this day and age.

I typed in Lexi_83 and it turns out to either I get around a really, really lot or it is a very popular internet handle. But one of the Google images was a dog with bunny ears.....

[VickiTheGamer]

Scary stuff yet....kinda exciting in a way too. :P

Quick additional edit to this. I just gave it a try using my Avatar name "VickiTheGamer" just to see and sure enough, something came up. It popped up from a thread in here. This thread was what was connected to the pic:
http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...st-Breast-Form

Interesting stuff. Now to see what can be figured out from that......and awayyyy I goooooo.

Ok, one more edit. Did a bit o searching for my various images and not a lot to worry about in my opinion, BUT I will say, I sure did see a lot of hair styles I just loved.

[I Am Paula]

I think everybody searches themselves from time to time, it's good practice just to find out what's there. I was appalled that someone can search my avatar from another site, and all my content from this, and some other sites comes up. I knew never to use the same name twice, that's easy to search.
Once again, no harm was done, except 80,000 people that really didn't need to know my status, do. If I had been closeted, or say on a company website chat, this could have been bad. My own ignorance of the power, and workings of Google are to blame. Many of us just type away, with little thought about who can see it.

[Krisi]

Searching on "Krisi" turns up a million random hits but "Krisi" + "crossdressers" takes me right to this forum and a list of threads I've posted in. Clicking on "full view" takes me right to the open forum where you don't have to be a member and my avatar is displayed with my posts.

By design, nobody in "real life" knows me as Krisi and my avatar wouldn't be recognizable so I'm pretty safe on that.

Obviously, some of us don't care if people know we are crossdressers or transsexuals. For others, it could be a marriage or career killer. Think about it.

[jules]

its the internet.
i try and watch what i type and try not to give out to much information about my self or my wife.
i do slip up some times but shit happens.
in a nut shell there is risk in everything and you do on the internet so be always ready to accept the consequences because there might come a day?
just sayin thats all

julie