why disable your account??

Account disabled deactivates your account and preserves your handle. If you return you can reactivate and be the same.
Guesting is done for security reasons.
It hides your name (well except every time you have been quoted).
It doesn't preserve your handle, if someone chooses that handle and you come back you have to create a new handle. Originally Posted by rockerrick

Thanks Rod

The question is being asked because I am considering leaving the hobby. I always gather information and try to make informed decisions. I am doing exactly that with my hobby presence. I am not sure I will want to stay gone, and I hate to lose my reviews and whatever creds' I have for time served. I could just become inactive and just sign back on later. Hence, the question -what is to be gained by disabling the account.

The question is being asked because I am considering leaving the hobby. I always gather information and try to make informed decisions. I am doing exactly that with my hobby presence. I am not sure I will want to stay gone, and I hate to lose my reviews and whatever creds' I have for time served. I could just become inactive and just sign back on later. Hence, the question -what is to be gained by disabling the account. Originally Posted by diddleman

Disabling prevents anyone else from accessing it, say a spouse who stumbles upon the information or if you were to get hacked. Just a security measure more than anything else.

The question is being asked because I am considering leaving the hobby. I always gather information and try to make informed decisions. I am doing exactly that with my hobby presence. I am not sure I will want to stay gone, and I hate to lose my reviews and whatever creds' I have for time served. I could just become inactive and just sign back on later. Hence, the question -what is to be gained by disabling the account. Originally Posted by diddleman

Re-read post #9. If it wasn't disabled, let's say someone could log in with your password and handle. Imagine the "fun" they could have, posting on your account (This would actually be a LOT of fun).

There goes your decent rep. If you had one.

The question is being asked because I am considering leaving the hobby. I always gather information and try to make informed decisions. I am doing exactly that with my hobby presence. I am not sure I will want to stay gone, and I hate to lose my reviews and whatever creds' I have for time served. I could just become inactive and just sign back on later. Hence, the question -what is to be gained by disabling the account. Originally Posted by diddleman

Fair enough.

I think that disabling your account would be the way to go. Then, when and if you're ready to return, you can write a moderator or an admin, and they'll reactivate your account.

Your postings, and reviews, will remain intact.

Easy. Breezy.

Disabling prevents anyone else from accessing it, say a spouse who stumbles upon the information or if you were to get hacked. Just a security measure more than anything else. Originally Posted by GracePreston

The NSA or CIA or whoever already have it all on file....

The NSA or CIA or whoever already have it all on file.... Originally Posted by DSK

The NSA, CIA, and all the rest of the alphabet boys don't have anything on an angry, vengeful spouse.

So Disabling your account is like at the tanning salon when you go out of the country for a bit. You can "freeze" your account. Meaning, when you return, everything goes back to normal under your same name etc..

Guesting your account would be like if the S.O. found out...and you had to get the hell outta dodge-type-thing huh?

I think I would consider Disabling it if I ever got married....but yeah, even after 60 days of that, I'd probably be back for some "strange" if my future husband didn't want to participate!

XOXO
ItalianaPrincess

Keep in mind, you can always just PM a mod to have it disabled without making it public.

The handle will show "DISABLED" under the handle in your profile and posts.


As for the prying eyes question...It has been answered above.

Not trying to sidetrack this thread, but perhaps this would be an appropriate question for this discussion. If you are considering leaving the Hobby, but do not know if you will return and you are concerned with unauthorized access to your account, you have the ability to guest or disable it as you deem necessary. But let's take this one step further. What if any. I believe the proper term would be "fail-secure" is in place in the event that your departure is involuntary? For example; if someone is killed in an automobile accident. Wouldn't it be prudent to have something set up to automatically "erase" your existence; say after an established period of inactivity? I have often wondered how long an online trail would remain.

if we are informed of someone dies or is in jail, we handle the account appropriately.

NYr, I can appreciate that, but on a board where anonymity is preferred, how often does anyone make the connection? I'm talking about the guy who keels over with a heart attack or fails to survive a routine surgery and leaves an online persona that an SO could stumble on to. It would be nice to know that, after so many days, the persona would be as gone as he was.

Maybe there should be something like daty/o suggests...a time frame of inactivity would automatically disable your account. Should you want to return, just notify the Mods...?

"Time frame" to be determined, I guess...

There is on providers, they are disabled regularly for inactivity, don't know if same applies for hobbyist.

Noc