in this day and age on a public forum it is just not safe for people to give their true names, addresses etc. Maybe moreso for women but not necessarily.

Well I for one have not suggested that anyone should give out their address. As for safe, well I'm a sample of one, admittedly. I post controversially and provocatively at all times if I can. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet (I'd much rather someone else did that for me ;-) ), I'd guess, in all humility (honest), that I've accelerated the posting to this thread by about double. I've done it here and on a number of other forums for at least twelve years. You'd think that after all I've said about Israel that Mossad would be on to me by now. After all I've said about abortion and those wicked anti-abortionists you'd think I'd have had death threats (they are evil bastards after all). Actually, my phone was bugged in the 1980s when I was an active CND member! But my true name is Steve Shaw and I live near Bude and I would not go ex-directory even if you held a knife to my throat. No-one to date has threatened me or lobbed a brick through my window, and I say what I want to say. I like that. Yes there are nasty people around. But I never suggested that all our real names are flaunted for all to see. Just that they are in our profiles so that other MEMBERS OF THIS BOARD can see who they're talking to. Just like you do down the pub. Stop pretending that there's anything "social" about talking to people you know only as gnu, Sanity, Hawk, Ake, Teribus and so on. Yeah, even Jeri, Musket, achmelvich and punkfolkrocker. There you go. Saying what I think, hang it all.