Intrusive questions

A bit harsh eazybee? I wouldn’t describe any GN’s as desperate for attention.

Mizuna: I'm guessing that TAAT = a thread about a thread
but I'm not certain.

I think that sometimes people just like to tell their own story - and, having done that aren't very interested in what anyone else says!

Aw, thanks very much for that Ash. The best Google could offer me was Two At A Time, for knitting.

I personally would never answer questions like ‘how many times do you go to the toilet’ as I’m pretty sure many of these threads are started by trolls - but I started out on MN & posted on there for years, it was ( & probably still is ) rife with trolls so I’m a bit more sceptical.
But questions about washing hair are pretty harmless imo.

TAAT = thread about a thread.

Desperate for attention?
Well anyone who starts a thread on here wants attention surely? doesn’t matter what the subjects about they clearly want to talk to someone. I’ve seen posters start 2 or 3 threads a day & some people seem to spend an awful lot of time on here - maybe they’re just really lonely?

I think it's good that we can talk about things on here that we might find difficult face to face.
The ones I am careful of are those asking about finance, for instance. Someone posted, ages ago, about what jewellery we owned, and another one about shares. I know that our precise locations are secret, but there are some clever people out there who can find out anything they want to know, if the target seems worth it.(I mean in the outside world, not on GN). Also, mentioning forthcoming holidays is dodgy, imho. I only ever mention holidays afterwards.
I know I am a bit paranoid, but it pays to be cautious I think.

Mizuna

What does TAAT mean? Google hasn't helped.

Thread about another thread, forbidden!

Have I just broken the rules then?

It's good to be naughty sometimes

Yes!

Foxygloves

Not a TAAT but about threads (some) in general.
OK tell me I can swerve them (and I do) but why this compulsion to ask intrusive questions or share personal information with total strangers? We have had threads on “shredding toilet paper”, “do you remember your first time”, how many people here bank with Coutts, “spending and saving habits, “how often do you shower/bathe”, “do you sit or crouch on public toilet seats” (yes, really) and “how often do you wash your hair” ?
On the basis that GN chatting is a bit like coffee with friends, would these topics really feature in your conversation?
Tell me to ignore them by all means. I fail to see why my, or anybody’s personal habits should be of any interest to anybody

Some people are less inhibited than others - which is neither a good or bad thing... it's just the way we are.

A person might ask, "how often do you shower" out of idle curiosity - or they might be showering three times a day and think they're possibly overdoing it and ask others how often they shower.

They are personal questions but hardly intrusive - there's no compulsion to answer and, even if you do, no-one knows who you are anyway.

Perhaps people's personal habits make them feel they're not quite 'normal' - and they think like that because they don't know how other people act... so they ask - that could be one of the reasons why such habits are of interest?

And as long as no one is being salacious or too probing - I really don't see why you're concerned about a matter which is obviously of no interest to you but, equally obviously, interests others!

They can be fun, but I think we do need to be in the habit of asking ourselves why some questions have been asked.

We would be instantly suspicious if, for instance, someone posted that they would love to take a trusting, unchipped, un-neutered, pedigree dog out for walks in your area while its owner is at work, please answer privately to a PO box, but if they missed out the details about what would make such a dog so attractive to them, and just offered the service, with the contact number an equally anonymous GN username, would you be as likely to believe that they had an ulterior motive and were likely to vanish with your pet?

People who are collecting information on whose house is ripe for burglary are not going to ask a straight question about what security you have, and whether you keep your tiara in the safe or on the dressing table.. They find out by asking other questions.

My tiara is kept in the bank.

My pocket-sized, trusting, unchipped, un-neutered, pedigree dog wears my tiara for walkies with the nice volunteer dog-walker. Come to think of it, they haven't come back yet from the walk they set out on last Friday week, and she never told me her address or phone number! That's OK - she has a key to let the pooch into the house if I am not home.

I wouldn’t dream of telling you my banking details but I’m quite happy to talk about hair, frocks and shoes .

If I don’t want to answer a question then I ignore it, but I am sometimes surprised by how much personal info some people are willing to share online, and not just on Gransnet.

If you dont like the subject of a thread and consider it intrusive you dont have to post on it. I assumed the one about Coutts was tongue in cheek. Silly me!

If some random asks me an impertinent personal question in real life they are likely to get a rather terse reply. I have a selection of excellent conversation stoppers.

🤣🤣 Elegran

I thoroughly enjoy those random questions which are a little “I wonder if/what other people ……” and wouldn’t ask in real life. The “do you remember your first time?” Was especially intriguing because such things were never discussed when I was younger and I enjoyed the variety of stories. I have also tried different soaps, routines, cooking appliances that would have not occurred to me. During the loneliness of Covid I appreciated the broad spectrum of posts: persaonal, trivial, informative, questioning - bring it all on, something for everyone and every mood.

I didn't think the Coutts thread was tongue in cheek, or a joke - if it was it backfired! (It was perhaps a bit nosey). Infact it was quite up my street and I was ready to profer as much information as I could, just like someone who offers advice on a cruise or another person who knows all about hair products.
It only becomes intrusive for me if someone persistently and unremittingly demands intimate detail on a personal subject I've only once had that happen on GN over my faith, and it was prying and unwelcome.

Tell me to ignore them by all means. I fail to see why my, or anybody’s personal habits should be of any interest to anybody

I dont think I answered any of the threads in the op. Or even saw or opened half of them. But each to their own.

People can be quite different to each other.
In how they think, post, and what they want to read.

Elegran

My pocket-sized, trusting, unchipped, un-neutered, pedigree dog wears my tiara for walkies with the nice volunteer dog-walker. Come to think of it, they haven't come back yet from the walk they set out on last Friday week, and she never told me her address or phone number! That's OK - she has a key to let the pooch into the house if I am not home.

LOL

biglouis

If you dont like the subject of a thread and consider it intrusive you dont have to post on it. I assumed the one about Coutts was tongue in cheek. Silly me!

If some random asks me an impertinent personal question in real life they are likely to get a rather terse reply. I have a selection of excellent conversation stoppers.

I agree, just don't read or answer.

Today I didn't bother to read but the title "How often do you wash your hair" - nobody cares about my hair, except my hairdresser.

Daily, thanks for asking!

In real life? Oh, IDK, when I feel as if I look a mess.

Elegran

My pocket-sized, trusting, unchipped, un-neutered, pedigree dog wears my tiara for walkies with the nice volunteer dog-walker. Come to think of it, they haven't come back yet from the walk they set out on last Friday week, and she never told me her address or phone number! That's OK - she has a key to let the pooch into the house if I am not home.

Minus tiara!
And minus a lot of other things too 😄

Never mind, perhaps the pocket-sized pooch will turn into a ferocious guard dog when she returns and he gets inside his own home.

I do think it's quite intrusive to ask people, at first meet/early days if they have children/grandchildren - not everyone does, some can't, much pain and sadness may be hidden under that intrusion.

The trouble is that sometimes perfectly innocuous questions degenerate into criticism of others. For example the thread on cruises starts with a completely innocent question asking for personal opinions but some posters use it as a criticism of those who cruise. The comment “Butlins at Sea”is not only untrue but does not answer the OP’s question and at the very least should be prefaced by a reference to personal experience.