(Topic ID: 196004)

What's your opinion on publicly displaying where you are from on pinside

By pacmanretro

6 years ago


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  • 137 posts
  • 69 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 years ago by ImNotNorm
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

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    There are 137 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.
    #1 6 years ago

    Was just discussing with a couple people about how a lot of people do not fill in their location information.

    I am curious as to why? Is it a privacy thing? Or maybe nobody has heard of your town?

    Maybe you are in a different country....or maybe, you are my neighbor!

    I understand privacy issues, but recently I have had a few thoughts on the issue...

    When involved in a discussion in a thread, it makes sense if someone doesnt respond for a long time when they are on other side of world.

    Also, if you are trying to help a fellow pinsider I either finding a machine/parts, or in a repair, or for a local venue, or for a friendly invite - it is hard if you don't know where they live.

    Ohh, and especially for parts/machine sales or WTB...seems to happen a lot.

    "Hey bud!, you want to come to Chicago for a pinball night?" .... "sure!!!, except I live in Australia"!

    You get the picture...

    So? Just curious on other peoples takes on this, or reasons to disclose location (or not to as well)

    Mods, if I placed this in wrong category, please move appropriately.

    #2 6 years ago

    I wonder if people get harassed or something. I notice a lot of collections are set to private as well. I think it's cool to see what games people choose personally.

    #3 6 years ago
    Quoted from pacmanretro:

    Was just discussing with a couple people about how a lot of people do not fill in their location information.

    Sometimes locations are disabled in someones settings and they don't know it. We've gone through that a bunch where people thought they were listed but weren't.

    But yeah some people are close & crazy

    #4 6 years ago

    See, Mine says Rockford, IL (which is legit enough). I technically live in small town right next to Rockford, but when I first set it up, I figured people that were somewhat close would know Rockford so went with that (only a mile or 2 diff....not like hours).

    The game collection thing is probably a whole different category... I mean, I dont hide my games I own, but don't publicly care to list every single machine I have either....

    Though, I did always mean to list at least my major players that are set up currently (never got around to it though. Lol).

    So, on the full profile aspect, I'm just as guilty.... still, just curious on others takes.

    #5 6 years ago

    I obviously don't have a problem with it, but I think people are tired of providing every detail of their life online. Half of the places you go to now in your daily life want your email address, date of birth, favorite food, mother's maiden name, shoe size, SAT scores etc.

    #6 6 years ago

    We are pretty quickly finding out that most Pinsiders are honest genuine people that love the hobby. Plenty of good things to be found on this site and plenty of help if and when you need it. I am curious on others opinions on this too.

    #7 6 years ago

    This is the first "site"I have ever been on! I have nothing to hide from my fellow addicts! people see where you are ,like us in the 'NorCal"club! We get a heads up on stuff our friends have,close by! Some folks are large operators,and don't want it all in the window so to speak! People are here on different levels of play as well! Some (like me) seem like ants to those who achieve billions on GB and B66 and the like! So there is also a learning curve here as well! And,yes.the con artists sure are here too!

    20
    #8 6 years ago

    I have no problem posting mine when necessary. I think it should be a requirement if you want to know the truth. For years I've seen hundred of postings of either "for sale" or "Wanted To Buy" and the people don't list even there general location. Sometimes people will put something stupid like " The Ozone State" and now I'm supposed to try and figure out where that is before I bother to contact them because if you ask them a lot of times they still wont tell you where and they say something like "the east coast". ARRRGH!! It's not like someone's going to come rob you or something so get over it already!! I've done SOOO many deals over the years because people would see my location and phone number and call me before anyone else because I was easy to get ahold of and I ended up buying there game.
    Yeah it's a HUGE pet peeve of mine on here and RGP.

    John P. Dayhuff
    Battle Creek, MI.
    269-979-3836

    #9 6 years ago

    As the OP said makes it easier to wait for reply coming from a different timezone. I must admit to trusting more those that disclose their details, obviously nothing to hide and makes it more comfortable dealing with them.
    And yes I am in Australia pacmanretro

    #10 6 years ago

    Hi my name is Boyd , I like outdoor fun, long walks on the beach , oh wait wrong website

    #11 6 years ago
    Quoted from boydsc331:

    Hi my name is Boyd , I like outdoor fun, long walks on the beach , oh wait wrong website

    Tell me more boyd!

    #12 6 years ago

    accountability. we have a small scene here and i try to make sure i dont say anything so stupid someone calls me out. so every time i post i think: what if everyone in league reads this?? doesnt always work but whatever.

    17
    #13 6 years ago

    I don't think it is wise to give your house's exact location on the map. I see no issue giving the town though.

    #14 6 years ago

    Just Posted, now you know where I live. Really whats the big deal.

    #15 6 years ago
    Quoted from indybru:

    Just Posted, now you know where I live. Really whats the big deal.

    Barrington!? Hey, that's in Illinois! Now I gonna ask to hang out!!!!!! lol. JK....

    Your attitude is right on point for me...

    Maybe not exact literal addresse, but who cares. A general idea of how close can be nice.

    Don't get me wrong guys, I totally get worrying about the crazies out there...

    #16 6 years ago

    Most of us who have been here on Pinside and/or other pinball related sites online know of stories of pinball machines being stolen from a business or home.
    The problem with listing both your address and collection of machines in general is not if your avg Pinsiders can see it, it's if thieves can see that info.
    Yes, I know most thieves don't steal pinball machines, but why risk it. What if your wife and kids are at home when they break in? Maybe they steal your guns or other valuables.

    My posted location on Pinside does not point directly to my house, but it is within 15 miles or so.

    #17 6 years ago
    Quoted from Pinball-is-great:

    Most of us who have been here on Pinside and/or other pinball related sites online know of stories of pinball machines being stolen from a business or home.
    The problem with listing both your address and collection of machines in general is not if your avg Pinsiders can see it, it's if thieves can see that info.
    Yes, I know most thieves don't steal pinball machines, but why risk it. What if your wife and kids are at home when they break in? Maybe they steal your guns or other valuables.
    My posted location on Pinside does not point directly to my house, but it is within 15 miles or so.

    Agreed Pinball-is-great. Just google "Stolen pinballs sold on Craigslist" as it comes up every time I put in pinball. Mine is true with a town of 30,000 it's not that easy of a find and right now I own none!

    #18 6 years ago

    I'm way too private. I don't want anyone knowing where I live!

    #19 6 years ago

    If the public knows what an owner has in a collection and is easily identified what else might a person own?
    Think about that for a moment.
    General forums are slightly different from other more controlled websites.
    This goes hand in hand with your location, so I frontloaded this point first versus location alone.

    No one should show an accurate location on a map of where they live, just general town center point, if they are inclined. Otherwise, this invites issues against personal safety and at minimum invasion of privacy.

    Other reasons are presumption of pride regarding the "look at me" factor which old collectors prefer not to participate. This wears off over time. This generates illogical envy for some. This is especially true when a person owns very rare, desirable, and expensive game titles, prototypes, or even artwork. Inquiries and "offers" are frequent, and often unwelcome.

    Others provide no information out of desire to conduct trolling behavior and keyboard courage. I was privately threatened by pintards on this website, along of accusations and attacks of identity, knowledge, and experience. Highly negative, childish behavior.

    Established collectors most likely know a specific individual probably already know who they are, what they collect, and how to reach them privately, if required for support or assistance.

    #20 6 years ago

    I agree, I wouldn't put my exact address out there, but I live in a smaller town, near a "larger" community. I don't see the harm in putting the city, if you feel it is way to small and easy to find you, put the nearby larger town, its still close enough for most of what we would do. I also am a semi private guy, I don't have facebook or other social media presence, but I don't see the harm.

    #21 6 years ago
    Quoted from Insane:

    but I live in a smaller town

    Understatement of the year!
    I have my city shown, but understand why some folks would prefer not to. No big deal either way for me.

    #22 6 years ago

    The not listing your collection thing;
    I dont get that one. This is pinside, we all collect, trade, offer advice and opinions.
    Why hide what you have? Some have more than others. Some have a one or two. Its what we do, buy expensive toys. Showing your collection I feel gives both a buyer and seller a little street cred when you go to do either.
    Location; its a big planet. Showing your city with a forum name isnt going to bring a bunch of crazies to the house. Same as stated above, when you go to sell a pin lets buyer know if they should bother to pm you.
    Show your collection and location with pride.

    #23 6 years ago
    Quoted from Ericpinballfan:

    The not listing your collection thing;
    I dont get that one. This is pinside, we all collect, trade, ofder advice and opinions.
    Why hide what you have? Some have more than others. Some have a one or two. Its what we do, buy expensive toys. Showing your collection i feel gives both a buyer and seller a little street cred whem you go to do either.
    Location;

    I just got tired of the " hey do you want to sell_______ pin from your collection" emails.

    #24 6 years ago

    Good topic, I just think most people just don't fill it out or don't know how to. Prob only a few that really don't want their location known.

    #25 6 years ago
    Quoted from starfighter:

    I just got tired of the " hey do you want to sell_______ pin from your collection" emails.

    Really? Ive only had one email asking for my TOTAN. I mostly get guys selling mods or parts because you post something in a relevent thread.

    #26 6 years ago
    Quoted from starfighter:

    I just got tired of the " hey do you want to sell_______ pin from your collection" emails.

    I get these a lot too, so I can understand why people don't list their collections.

    #27 6 years ago

    I set mine as my city, but my exact address isn't accurate. I just randomly input some postal/zip code.

    #28 6 years ago

    No problem listing my area or games here. Like others on here I don't list my exact location only because I live in a smaller town outside of the city. By listing my collection it makes it easier for others that own the same game to pm me for pictures or help with a problem with there game. Never had a problem with people messaging me to sell games. I've actually sold one game this way. That's one out of about 200 pm's. What does bother me is when people list stuff with no location. Many times I would have bought something but didn't know where they were and by the time they answered me it was sold.

    #29 6 years ago

    I'd love to see the probabilities on targeted robberies based on posting one's city. Think about it for a moment, first you need to find criminals that target pinball machines. There is a reason why people steal electronics, guns, jewelry, drugs and cars. Pinball machines are heavy as hell, hard to transport and hide, and most importantly, extremely difficult to convert to cash. Second, these pinball thieves need to frequent Pinside looking for people in nearby locales. Third, they need to somehow determine the exact street address based only on a city. Finally, they have to do a good bit of casing to assess when occupants are there or not, alarm systems, presence of dogs, weapons, etc. A heck of a lot of effort for very little money.

    No doubt pinball machines do get stolen from time to time; however, I bet these are typically businesses, where you know the location, casing is easy and you can already line up manpower, transportation and conversion to cash or homes that dishonest people visited for other reasons (e.g., appliance repair) where, again, all the tough tasks are easily addressed or they are oddball crimes of opportunity where someone breaks into a home stumbles into a pinball machine and thinks 'hey, this would be neat to put in our place'. I'm confident that posting your city on Pinside does not increase the likelihood of having your machines stolen.

    #30 6 years ago

    I have actually had more than once where people see I have coin op stuff and they think that there is money piled up in them or something.

    One instance years ago, I had a row of arcade games in a storage space. I got a call in middle of nite that my door was open over there. So had police meet me out there (cop went in first with gun out!). After all clear, cop wanted me to see what may have been taken. I looked around, said nothing taken and he looked at a few games with coin doors open and wanted me to make sure there wasn't any missing cash. I explained they were just my games not for money and just got a kind of funny look. Lol.

    Long story, just pointing out that some people that don't understand the concept of coin op games in a home may want into the game for possible money etc.

    Kind of like " hey, those games at that house are coin operated, I should break into that house over the neighbor's to see how much cash is in em!".

    Not too likely to ever happen I realize....just a thought.

    #31 6 years ago

    I just typed my name and state into the computer and in all of Minnesota there are only two of us. And it gave me my name, phone number, address, sex and age. So I don't think there is any more harm letting Pinsiders know where I live.

    #32 6 years ago

    I love seeing others games. I'm a big fan of the gameroom thread. Sometimes when someone comments or something I will click a profile it's cool to imagine different lineups and is interesting but I'm not going to click on every name. I thought possible it was do to harassing and that would suck. Because other members can see my collection I have meet a couple of great people that pm'd me with questions about a game. I'm not a bragger or have I meet any others that are. Pinball is just so awesome and amazing it is a shame if others have experienced anything different from showing other fans of pinball their info.

    12
    #33 6 years ago
    Quoted from GRUMPY:

    I just typed my name and state into the computer and in all of Minnesota there are only two of us.

    Seriously, there's got to be more than two grumpy people in Minnesota.

    #34 6 years ago

    Haven't you heard of "Minnesota Nice". BTW I'am an import from California so I brought Grumpy with me.

    #35 6 years ago
    Quoted from dothedoo:

    I get these a lot too, so I can understand why people don't list their collections.

    I get like 2-3 per year, so I guess the games I have are not that collectable.
    Basically though I don't mind those emails at all. It's nice to know that someone else has the same taste in pins that I do.

    John

    #36 6 years ago

    I like your taste and style.

    #37 6 years ago

    I like to see the location when someone posts. If they are local, or even semi local, maybe we can meet up. Another member here who is local wanted to play my Metallica before purchasing one. Since he could see I was local, it was easy for him to drop a pm asking to come over and test out the game. I have met a few other locals through here as well, although there are a few locals on here that I have never met or talked to.

    If people are passing through Reno, they are welcome to stop by as long as I don't have other plans. I have been to other gamerooms while traveling, and it is a great experience.

    I actually prefer to use my real name as well. I am on a few different game forums, and this is the only one that I use an alias on (just haven't bothered to figure out if/how I can change it). I try to talk online just as I would in person, so I don't really have a need or desire for an alias.

    #38 6 years ago

    Mine is a nick name I've had for 30 plus years and helps with work and putting it on score boards plus I have never meet another Buzz and I'm the same here and real life good and bad.

    #39 6 years ago

    Then there is the surprise factor! My Avatar is from reading sword & sorcery fiction along the lines of Conan the barbarian stories by Robert E Howard! Come to find out,Another Hawkmoon(77) pop up! I asked him where he got HIS Avatar from,and he said, It's a town somewhere in Australia!Who'd a thunk it

    #40 6 years ago

    I don't buy from people who choose to not list there city.
    My general rule is if your hiding something what's going to stop you from hiding something on the machine that I buy from you.

    #41 6 years ago

    I take pride in living in "Kitsaptucky"!

    #42 6 years ago

    I post my city and my put name at the end of each post I make and my collection is public. My screen name I have had since I first got online way back when! (yeah I guess I'm old!!) but I don't hide behind it as I said I post my name in each thread. I generally try to go by the rule that if you have nothing nice to say say nothing... Yes I get the do you want to sell XXX, to which I answer nope and move on. Which can be annoying but not that big a deal... Generally IF (and that's a BIG IF) I have a game for sale...most that know me will know about it and it will be gone without ever having to post it onine. I'm not generally one to sell games...again those that know me know this! I understand why some would not want their location posted (but as others have said I don't have my exact local posted just the closest city) As someone stated most that are interested have contact info outside of internet sites and can contact me if they need pics or help with something and if not I generally try to answer PMs if I'm near my computer.
    In this day and age, it is not that difficult to find someone if you really want to...and then you have those on social sites like FB that post there every move, and what they're having for dinner...so I really don't think that by posting your city and name on Pinside it is going to open you up to anymore "issues" than not posting it will...
    To each their own...

    Phoebe

    #43 6 years ago

    I have no problem listing my city. I also enjoy looking at the map seeing all the little dots of pinsiders all over the world.

    My collection is public for members (past apprentice) since I have no issue at all with any members seeing my games but I figure Google already has enough data on me as it is.

    #44 6 years ago

    Under no circumstances whatsoever would I divulge that I live in Washington, NJ. On an unrelated note, love to share my pin collection with locals if that sort of thing happens anymore.

    2012-06-14 23.18.43 (resized).jpg2012-06-14 23.18.43 (resized).jpg

    #45 6 years ago

    I'm parked in front of your house right now.

    #46 6 years ago

    I could see an argument for blocking location and collection info from non-verified members and non-members. Maybe that is already the case?

    edit . . . looks like you have options on who can see this info . . .

    My Pinside » Settings | Pinside.com (resized).pngMy Pinside » Settings | Pinside.com (resized).png

    #47 6 years ago
    Quoted from rosh:

    I could see an argument for blocking location and collection info from non-verified members and non-members. Maybe that is already the case?
    edit . . . looks like you have options on who can see this info . . .

    "Friends" doesn't come up as an option for me.

    #48 6 years ago

    i live at 45 railway place, i am not home during business hours, i dont own a dog, my neighbor is old andblind and i bought my home security system from Jaycar

    #49 6 years ago

    Because I'm a Nomad. Too much work constantly updating my location. Gotta go where the buffalo are.

    #50 6 years ago

    Sorry to bother you PopBumperPete but are all 41 on ground level by chance.

    There are 137 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.

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