Post your profile

So true, Lee! It alps makes us more of a community.

Basic information such as State does not allow anyone to track you (phony name with a state listed maintains full anonymity but provides necessary information to assist with answering many travel questions.

When I first joined the forum, I was reluctant to fill out my profile. Part of that is my own nature, and a basic caution with respect to social media and knowing who's out there. Over time, I became willing to fill out more. But I can understand that some people will not feel comfortable sharing their personal information, no matter how limited - at least at first, and perhaps ever.

Still, to the original point, providing some basic information as part of the question being asked, can also help the responders with an appropriate answer. However, that's also something that new posters will learn with time spent on the forum.

As an aside: a nice little writeup on the use of the phrase "none of your business" and various alternatives.

To be clear. No need to give your real name and even your city. Give yourself a phony name and then list your state. No invasion of privacy, no one is gonna break into your house while your gone. But it can really help with answers. Posters can provide enough useful information to those trying to help them with substantive answers to their questions while maintaining privacy. And if you have preferences for large cities, small rural areas, museums, art, hiking/nature, etc that can go far in assisting you.

A perfect example is “how bad is jet lag flying to Rome”....well that potential answer takes on whole different meanings if your flying in from Hawaii, California, or New York.

Personally, I don't think I have ever looked at someone's profile when I am responding to a post. I try to answer the question as posed, and not tell the person who's asking about public transportation that they should rent a car instead.

Now, I'm waiting for a chance to say "pettifoggery"!

EstimatedProphet -- I'm sure you will find an opportunity to use the word "pettifoggery" in a sentence; it took years, but I was finally able to use "antepenultimate" (heard it in the Sixties in "Have Some Madeira, My Dear")

Maybe I’m the only one, but I know on several occasions I’ve checked people’s profiles for location. Questions about things like jet lag, appropriate clothing and wisdom of renting a car and driving immediately after landing are influenced by location. “How cold is .... in March ? will feel different for someone from Hawaii or Florida than for someone from Alaska or WA. “I’m renting a car at CDG and driving to Normandy, will I be tired?” Is different for someone from NYC than someone from the west coast. It saves me asking the poster for more details or spending time giving a useless answer.

Make up a name, post your state/city. Then, when you ask how much is airfare to Paris, people have somewhat of an idea where you are coming from. No one is going to steal your identity from this kind of generic profile.

This is the perfect chance to pick a name that you always wanted to have. Yes, your parents named you after Aunt Edna, but you always wanted to be called Esmeralda. Go for it.

What can’t your name just be your screen name? I left mine and went ahead and put my state. I agree that info would be helpful to a responder.

On the subject of politeness, It would also have been polite for the OP to have prefaced his request with "Please".

Posting your location is really helpful. You will get different answers depending where you live, at least on larger forums like Tripadvisor (here I assume everyone to be North American unless they state otherwise), and that is for a reason. People are used to different things depending on where you live.

You will get different answers depending where you live, at least on
larger forums like Tripadvisor (here I assume everyone to be North
American unless they state otherwise),

For some questions and answers it's also important to distinguish American vs. Canadian. For example, money related topics such as exchange, credit card or general banking. The differences between the two countries systems are immense. There is no point in me answering a money related question from an American and no point for an American to answer a question from a Canadian.

On the subject of politeness, It would also have been polite for the OP to have prefaced his request with "Please".

I hope that's just sarcasm. There a couple of people on the French forum of Tripadvisor who always call out people for not saying please and thank you.
As to the Profile, I think at the very least listing the state is a good idea, for the many reasons stated by some of the comments, and others. Now I'd better go check my profile and see what it says.

For some questions and answers it's also important to distinguish
American vs. Canadian. For example, money related topics such as
exchange, credit card or general banking. The differences between the
two countries systems are immense.

True, and the more information the person asking is willing to share, the easier it is to answer the question.

Hell I'll tell you guys pretty much anything you want to know. I've got nothing to hide.

If I used "pettifoggery" around here they would think I was a bit of a dandy.

I really don't see the point of the profile.

Any travel question that I post here can easily include details like my age, my family size, the ages of my children, - IF I think these details are relevant. And if a responder wants more details than I give, they can ask for them (which is what I do when I respond to travel questions.)

I don't really want answers that make assumptions about me and my travel interests on the basis of my age, my personal details, my previous travels, etc. My actual travel circumstances and needs will usually be inconsistent with my profile information anyway... for example, why should my children concern anyone if it's just me and my wife traveling? Or why do I want to be stereotyped? I'm 67, but I'm more likely to want tips on outdoor metal concerts than on spa treatments.

Russ, I see from your profile that you haven't posted anything, not even your "interest" in Heavy Metal concerts (which you just revealed). But you did post you location, Paradise (Calif.), and a lot of us were immediately concerned for you at the time of the fire. (Don't you remember people posting their concern.)

I would like to think that those of us who frequently post here are like a family (we fight just like one, but we do love each other). So tell us about yourself, we'd like to hear.

Lee, i remember well many of us being worried about Russ. Good point.

@Lee: Thanks for the note. I mentioned just the "practical" problems that I see with profiles in my last post. But there's more to it. I once thought about providing not just my hometown, but also my travel "resume", as many have done. I was thinking that maybe my travel tips would carry more weight with real-world stuff to back them up. But the truth is that it's just not in my personal wheelhouse to do so. I really prefer to share only those personal details that are immediately relevant to a fellow poster's forum question, or my own.

It was really VERY nice that so many of the forum members sent their wishes my way back in 2018. And at that time, in that context, it made perfect sense to me to share some personal details here. Over the years, I've shared quite a bit in one-on-one private messages with certain members, sometimes after getting tangled up in helping them with itineraries and the like. I've stayed in touch with a couple of those forum members for several years now and hope that we'll continue our online friendships. I guess it sort of takes an extended conversation to crack me open, and I guess the pm system is the context I'm comfortable with for personal stuff.

I generally don't refer to profiles... when I've done so, I've found that the skimpy information there can lead to bad guesses on my part. So I just try to focus on the forum text. It doesn't bother me that others are open with their profile information. And I hope it doesn't disturb others - or make me the black sheep of the forum "family" - that I am somewhat more private there and on the forum.

@Russ: I'm a metalhead too!!!

Lee,

Thanks for posting this reminder about profiles. I've found out many times in the past that it helps to at least have some idea on where people are travelling from (which also indicates which country they live in). The profile doesn't have to contain a lot of information but even a city, state or province would help.

Lee, I so agree. I have a collection of sweatshirts and jackets that I have bought on trips because I stupidly did not think about or realize how different the weather was where I was going. It never would have occurred to me that I would need a sweatshirt anywhere in July, but I had to buy one in Maine. And someone visiting the southern US the first week of October last year would probably not have brought sleeveless shirts and shorts with them.

Any travel question that I post here can easily include details like
my age, my family size, the ages of my children, - IF I think these
details are relevant.

Yes - but if they don't change often I find it easier to include them in the profile. One way or the other is fine.

If your place is relevant then please at least include your country, maybe your state, maybe your city. The city alone means very little to me (though I did assume "Paradise" didn't mean that you were dead and gone to heaven). It can be in USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand for all I know.