16.7704, -3.0057

July 8, 2009 10:46 AM

Entering your location (lat/long) in your profile gives a street address in Google Maps when you click on the icon. This seems to be new, and fairly accurate. My guess is that some people do not want others to see this and will want to obfuscate their location.

I live within a half-mile of my profile's stated location, but intentionally made it the middle of the expressway, because, y'know, I don't want you all showing up looking for beer and waffles. You can obfuscate by changing the numbers slightly until you achieve your desired location, or you can use this map to zoom in.

posted by desjardins to Etiquette/Policy at 10:46 AM (137 comments total)

I want people to come to my house, climb onto my circle bed, take of their clothes, and jump around while I take photos. Is there a way to clarify that in my profile?
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:51 AM on July 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I found the same thing when we first launched it.

Caveat gps-mtor.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:51 AM on July 8, 2009

I think I just entered my zip code which gives a dot in the middle of my (small) town. Migh tbe a good option for some people.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:52 AM on July 8, 2009

Astro Zombie, I love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my Astro Zombie you'll be.
posted by GuyZero at 10:53 AM on July 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Is this related to the recent spate of spousing?
posted by blue_beetle at 10:54 AM on July 8, 2009

jessamyn, that link now goes to a specific street address, which probably doesn't belong to you. You should probably check and see if the resident of that address has been getting any fan mail.
posted by desjardins at 10:55 AM on July 8, 2009

I am leaving for the grocery store right now, I'll be back with beer and waffle ingredients in 20 minutes. I have delicious maple syrup. I hope to see you all soon.
posted by little e at 10:57 AM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I also have a video camera. Draw your own conclusions about how this relates to the maple syrup.
posted by little e at 10:58 AM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Mine goes to someone else's house. I hope they've got beer and waffles in.
posted by IanMorr at 10:58 AM on July 8, 2009

Are you saying that if you enter your exact location into your profile, people may be able to find out your exact location by looking at your profile?
posted by odinsdream at 10:58 AM on July 8, 2009 [16 favorites]

I want people to come to my house, climb onto my circle bed, take of their clothes, and jump around while I take photos. Is there a way to clarify that in my profile?

With all those spouses, I'm sure some would accommodate you. :D
posted by zarq at 11:00 AM on July 8, 2009

Do I have to take off my clothes, then jump around, or can I take off my clothes while jumping around?
posted by little e at 11:01 AM on July 8, 2009

This post reminds me of the time I tried to go to desjardins' house for beer and waffles at 3 AM and almost ended up getting hit by an 18-wheeler.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:03 AM on July 8, 2009 [8 favorites]

You're welcome to visit me in the bell-tower of our cathedral.
posted by jouke at 11:04 AM on July 8, 2009

...climb onto my circle bed...

If you really had a circle bed, you would be the coolest person in 44.948, -93.329, and that's every word the truth.
posted by Sova at 11:04 AM on July 8, 2009

Are you saying that if you enter your exact location into your profile, people may be able to find out your exact location by looking at your profile?

That's what worried me when I was setting up this info, so I put in an approximate lat/long, which is intentionally off by about a mile. I didn't really want a "this is my exact house right here" marker showing up on Google maps, since it'd be awfully easy to find with that.

I would be surprised if other people with similar concerns had not already applied this kind of intentional error to their own lat/long.

However, I am surprised on a regular basis, it seems.
posted by FishBike at 11:08 AM on July 8, 2009

I do not actually reside at the Burbank, CA Costco (although I could if I were wily enough).
posted by infinitewindow at 11:08 AM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Apparently, I live at Don's Motel. It sounds seedy, but is actually rather clean, and the staff is pleaseant. They do not charge hourly rates, but I cannot hold it against them. I have never found a dead hooker under my bed, nor have I found anything living under my bed, including bed bugs or cockroaches (this is actually somewhat of a negative, as the 7-11 down the street does not serve raw treats). They do not ask any questions of my potentially nefarious activities or my suspicious countenance, or the fact that I only leave the motel after sundown, and return before dawn.

Overall, I like MeFiLiving at Don's Motel.
posted by jabberjaw at 11:10 AM on July 8, 2009

Yeah, I just removed everything after the decimal point when I noticed it.
posted by reflecked at 11:10 AM on July 8, 2009

Do I have to take off my clothes, then jump around, or can I take off my clothes while jumping around?

I'm easy.

If you really had a circle bed, you would be the coolest person in 44.948, -93.329, and that's every word the truth.

Based on how many times it has been discussed in this forum, my circle bed is arguable the most famous bed in Minneapolis.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:13 AM on July 8, 2009

can I take off my clothes while jumping around?

The last time I tried this (got foot caught in PJs) I fell and hit my face and wound up with a gushing nosebleed which was not so great as foreplay goes.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:15 AM on July 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

Probably made for a great photograph, though.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:16 AM on July 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

I put in the zip code for the town next to mine and I think the dot lands on a bike trail which is kind of awesome.
posted by FunkyHelix at 11:18 AM on July 8, 2009

Oh, I see your point. Google Maps is now doing reverse lookups to address if you feed it a lat and long. And there is no way to tell it you didn't give it an exact address, and it doesn't seem to pay attention to significant digits. Like if you type in "42, -74", it maps it to a house.

Wonder if there is a way to turn it off?
posted by smackfu at 11:22 AM on July 8, 2009

My arrow points at the street in front of my building, but I'll be happy to bring the waffles and beer and lawn chairs out if you want to meet me there. The weather's nice.
posted by little e at 11:28 AM on July 8, 2009

I do, in fact, live in the middle of Lake Michigan. It's cold; I like it. Plus, I don't have to chase kids off my lawn.

(I think I also put in my zip code, but I no longer remember).
posted by crush-onastick at 11:35 AM on July 8, 2009

I stopped using the geotagging on Flickr for this reason. A lot of my photos are taken in or around my house, and I didn't need my apparently vast fan army of not-fooling-anyone transvestites to know exactly where I live.
posted by Juliet Banana at 11:38 AM on July 8, 2009

Mine puts me in the wrong town entirely. Sneaky!
posted by sarcasticah at 11:40 AM on July 8, 2009

If you zoom all the way in on my location, you can actually see me standing on the back deck waving at the camera.
posted by ook at 11:41 AM on July 8, 2009

I live in an apartment building, good luck finding me! Though now that I look at it, Google has the wrong address for me anyway, so you're doubly out of luck!
posted by Grither at 11:48 AM on July 8, 2009

"You're welcome to visit me in the bell-tower of our cathedral."

I thought I was the only one who used the bell tower euphemism!
posted by klangklangston at 11:50 AM on July 8, 2009

Mine goes to the local Country Club, which I have no issue with at all.
posted by wheelieman at 11:50 AM on July 8, 2009

Also, yeah, haha, I live like two blocks away from where it says I do. The only way to get my real address is to feign interest in foursquare.
posted by klangklangston at 11:51 AM on July 8, 2009

My lat lon is in the middle of a golf course 5 blocks from my house.
posted by bukvich at 11:58 AM on July 8, 2009

Are you saying that if you enter your exact location into your profile, people may be able to find out your exact location by looking at your profile?

Also, if you post a picture, people will know what you look like. I am very disturbed by all of this.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 12:00 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

So that's why my neighbor has been receiving bouquets, bomb threats and bow-tied gorillas.
posted by Kattullus at 12:03 PM on July 8, 2009

My location icon links to my arch enemy's address, under the assumption that my arch enemy and my cyberstalkers need to join forces to present a proper challenge to my mighty warrior skills.
posted by zennie at 12:05 PM on July 8, 2009

I use my work address for my lat/long. Please, feel free to stop by my office, my students never do. Actually, when I just checked it had the address for a different part of campus. With tweaking I could get as close as the parking lot between my building and the one next door.

Note: I do not work in the parking lot.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 12:06 PM on July 8, 2009

I can see my house from here!
posted by backseatpilot at 12:13 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

According to the arrow on the Google map I live in a bush just a few feet from a baseball field. I hope they have wireless.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:16 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I was just wondering what that 500-foot tall, pink Water Tower with an 'A' on its side was doing, sticking out of my back porch. I woke up, and one day, there it was. A!

(...and I had just gotten used to the giant upside-down pine tree growing out of the living room window.)

IYKWIM
posted by not_on_display at 12:17 PM on July 8, 2009

I have no waffles or kinky trampolining/photography set up, but I got an Xbox and 3 controllers. Who's up for some castle crashers?
posted by juv3nal at 12:18 PM on July 8, 2009

Beer and waffles with desjardins will be my new goal in life.
posted by jasper411 at 12:19 PM on July 8, 2009

I originally entered a zip code and now see it does resolve to a residential address that isn't mine. So now it resolves to the parking lot at the Caltrain station. It might feel to me like I live there, but I don't.
posted by ambrosia at 12:21 PM on July 8, 2009

My location is completely accurate.
posted by adipocere at 12:24 PM on July 8, 2009

Mine goes to a spot 15 minute drive away, plus a mile hike into some thick woods.

Which, of course, is where I keep the porn hidden. Go check it out.
posted by paisley henosis at 12:25 PM on July 8, 2009 [4 favorites]

Whoops, sorry Kattullus. You might want to get to his mail before he does today. Look for the crudely wrapped package addressed in crayon with a Virginia return address. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU OPEN IT (it's probably really hungry by now).
posted by little e at 12:26 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I live at the junction of "We are sorry, but we don't have imagery at this zoom level for this region" Ave. W. and "We are sorry, but we don't have imagery at this zoom level for this region" Street North. Waffles are optional.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:26 PM on July 8, 2009

I live within a half-mile of my profile's stated location

So all we have to do find the chick selling BBQ out of the back of her car...
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:33 PM on July 8, 2009

Funny.. Mine gives a very sensible address range, 480-604. It this a big city vs. small town thing?
posted by Chuckles at 12:33 PM on July 8, 2009

Which, of course, is where I keep the porn hidden. Go check it out.

"Oily Taters?!"

"DTMFAing?!"

"Giving It Well On Longboats?!"

FUCKING PERVERT.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:40 PM on July 8, 2009

I live like two blocks away from where it says I do. The only way to get my real address is to feign interest in foursquare.
posted by klangklangston at 1:51 PM on July 8

Don't be so sure klangklangston. A quick look at your profile and adjusting for residual kerfuffle, I'm pretty sure that I found your house. For your privacy I won't post the Google map, but correct me if I'm wrong - you live in a split level gingerbread house with a gumdrop sidewalk and licorice fences. And your neighbor appears to live in some sort of giant shoe. Am I right or am I right?
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:42 PM on July 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

My concern is that some of these locations do not lead the the actual residence. God forbid, if something should happen, and Catherine Willows notices the wrong Google Map location, she may incorrectly assume that some murderous fiend has deliberately planted that location to point out where the body has been buried, and Nick Stoakes has better things to do with his time then dig a hole in the ground.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:47 PM on July 8, 2009

I have my actual location, plus or minus 50 feet or so. If someone's so worked up about something I've posted that they feel the need to stalk me, it'd probably do 'em some good to step away from their computer for a while and get some fresh air.
posted by xbonesgt at 12:54 PM on July 8, 2009

You should probably check and see if the resident of that address has been getting any fan mail.

I am off to write a bunch of letters!
posted by cjorgensen at 12:56 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I live in the middle of the street, right behind the provincial archives. Seems dangerous. I should just switch the address to the law building, it's a stone's throw away¹ anyways.

1. A trebuchet-thrown stone, that is.
posted by Lemurrhea at 12:56 PM on July 8, 2009

It seems I live with 10 other Mefites at 2-98 Rockland Ave, Maynard, MA.

I bet all we do is argue over what CD is going to be played.
posted by bondcliff at 12:56 PM on July 8, 2009

If someone's so worked up about something I've posted that they feel the need to stalk me......

It's been several years, but I experienced physical injury from an internet stalker that tracked me down. He went to jail; I got careful.
posted by reflecked at 1:03 PM on July 8, 2009

Mine is bang on our doorstep. Please note that while desjardins will only give you access to the nearest road-side diner, you are all welcome at our house for beer and waffles.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:06 PM on July 8, 2009

My family has also suffered at the hands of an internet stalker who became a physical stalker because we were not careful enough.

In the case of ZIP code entries, think the pinpoint location is the centroid of the area assigned to the ZIP.
posted by bz at 1:10 PM on July 8, 2009

Mine seems to be near a house we once lived in. I wonder if I should send the folks there some pancake mix or just an apology.
posted by Cranberry at 1:13 PM on July 8, 2009

Huh. I never noticed. Somehow it has me living in the synagogue next door. I think this should keep most MeFites at bay, so that works. (Because that place is lousy with toddlers all day long.)
posted by heyho at 1:15 PM on July 8, 2009

Fantastic! I just moved into the Governor's Mansion.

It's kinda messy so I'll probably split to the Four Seasons down the street.
posted by txvtchick at 1:18 PM on July 8, 2009

Google cunningly pretends that I'm living ten houses up. That'll fool 'em.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:22 PM on July 8, 2009

I'm still in a ditch in a building site, with a couple of back-hoes burying the evidence.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:22 PM on July 8, 2009

I live behind the museum. I've noticed however, that several of my Mefi neighbours seem to be incarcerated in Mt Eden Prison. I guess that's why we don't have meetups very often.
posted by Miss Otis' Egrets at 1:24 PM on July 8, 2009

hey, that's out the back of the Dolphin Hotel (ie pub)
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:25 PM on July 8, 2009

"Don't be so sure klangklangston. A quick look at your profile and adjusting for residual kerfuffle, I'm pretty sure that I found your house. For your privacy I won't post the Google map, but correct me if I'm wrong - you live in a split level gingerbread house with a gumdrop sidewalk and licorice fences. And your neighbor appears to live in some sort of giant shoe. Am I right or am I right?"

No, that's the creepy house across the street that's always covered in ants.
posted by klangklangston at 1:40 PM on July 8, 2009

I put my geotag on the corner across the street. That way, I can hide behind the bushes and spy on my stalkers.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:41 PM on July 8, 2009

"Ha HA! I've outwitted possible stalkers because I didn't put down my home address, but instead (some exact measure away from my house)! They'll never find me!"

That's flawless logic, that is.
posted by Pronoiac at 1:44 PM on July 8, 2009

The geographical center of my zipcode is in a much nicer neighborhood than where I live. I wonder if they'd notice if I moved into the carriage house?
posted by catlet at 1:46 PM on July 8, 2009

I want people to know where I live, so, years from now, it will be easier for tour guides to find it and point it out. "This is where the magic happened ..."
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:48 PM on July 8, 2009 [4 favorites]

what - when david copperfield made you vanish forever?
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:50 PM on July 8, 2009

Just a heads up for people in Alabama, where you can still get up to twenty years for obfuscation.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:51 PM on July 8, 2009

(nothing personal; just the best i could think of so early in the morning...)
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:51 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well this is interesting... Clicking on my location link seems to indicate I've moved to Kazakhstan somewhere along the line...

"Kazakhstan greatest country in the world, All other countries are run by little girls. Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium, all other countries have inferior potassium..." Etc, Etc...
posted by Rewind at 1:54 PM on July 8, 2009

Mine shows me living in a field near a county park.

This is accurate.

I am a raccoon.
posted by quin at 2:00 PM on July 8, 2009

OH MAN HIT WITH THE DAVID COPPERFIELD GAMBIT.

That stings, man; it really stings.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:04 PM on July 8, 2009

That explains the mask.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:04 PM on July 8, 2009

little e: "I also have a video camera. Draw your own conclusions about how this relates to the maple syrup."

Throw in a camel, a waterbed and a fifth of Captain Morgan....
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:07 PM on July 8, 2009

I clicked on my icon, and the location that came up in google maps was totally wrong. It shows me as living in Canal Winchester, when in fact I live in Columbus. I double-checked the latitude-longitude numbers against a google map search for the actual location, and they match exactly. What gives?
posted by Maximian at 2:10 PM on July 8, 2009

I live in a former mine! Instead of beer and waffles, I offer lead and zinc (by candlelight).
posted by ssg at 2:10 PM on July 8, 2009

Just set your location to a post office. Then fanmail will be mailed to a post office, which everyone knows creates an infinite feedback loop that will lead to the collapse of the universe and/or the United States Postal Service.
posted by ALongDecember at 2:13 PM on July 8, 2009

I hope the mormons won't mind if I crash in the temple for a while. I promise not to fill the baptismal font with Boone's Farm.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 2:14 PM on July 8, 2009

I am off to write a bunch of letters!

Jackass.
posted by desjardins at 2:15 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Beer and waffles with desjardins will be my new goal in life.

And thank you for posting your picture so I know who to watch out for.
posted by desjardins at 2:34 PM on July 8, 2009

I now live in the middle of the street, between two pubs.
posted by Artw at 2:43 PM on July 8, 2009

Even if I type my exact address into Google Maps, it points to a house about a block away. Always wondered whether I should complain and where I would direct my complaint. Now, I guess I'll just leave it alone.

Gotta love the London street confusion. My street changes names 4 times in the span of 5 blocks.
posted by vacapinta at 2:49 PM on July 8, 2009

I apparently live in some kind of clown store, which actually explains a lot about my life lately.
posted by OolooKitty at 2:50 PM on July 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

It shows me under a bridge. But that was BEFORE I got sober. How did they know?
posted by netbros at 2:51 PM on July 8, 2009

I'm in the San Francisco National Cemetery.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 3:40 PM on July 8, 2009

Yep. I still live at the rose garden at the park.
posted by Mitheral at 4:00 PM on July 8, 2009

Hmm, mine's gone from being in the sea to being in a yard on the other side of town.

Anything location-related here is just reminding me that there are no other MetaFilter members nearby, sorry. Boo, sucks - I'd have fed you and ginger-beered you, and all.
posted by carbide at 4:04 PM on July 8, 2009

Mmm, Irish ginger beard.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:09 PM on July 8, 2009

I live in a giant bucket (in the middle of nothing in particular).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:14 PM on July 8, 2009

My exact location can be found with internet 0.0 technology called the phone book
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 4:38 PM on July 8, 2009

Postal spammers already appear to have my name and address...
posted by Artw at 4:40 PM on July 8, 2009

Whoa ... I did notice when they started displaying the street number, but I just clicked on a few users' locations and Google showed the occupant's full name and how much their house cost. As in "Real estate at this address: $184,900, 1 bed, 1 bath‎". Public information, I know, but suddenly so accessible.
posted by bwanabetty at 4:52 PM on July 8, 2009

Valuables: heirloom jewlery, plasma television, low mefi user number
Work hours: Monday - Friday, 08:30-17:00 MST
posted by ODiV at 5:18 PM on July 8, 2009

reflecked, can I ask for details? You've aroused my curiosity...
posted by diocletian at 5:49 PM on July 8, 2009

Oh hey, clever title, desjardins!
posted by Kattullus at 6:27 PM on July 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

I wish some mefites would visit...it would double the number of mefites in town. Anyway, the addresses given are a range on the street in the town of 200 I live in. I'm not too worried.
posted by schyler523 at 6:31 PM on July 8, 2009

diocletian... No problem privately. You have memail.
posted by reflecked at 6:46 PM on July 8, 2009

I'd love to see the page for someone whose location information shows the value of their house. Anyone care to volunteer the fact their profile shows this?
posted by Mitheral at 7:19 PM on July 8, 2009

All these funny people and not one has yet claimed to live IN A VAN, DOWN BY THE RIVER
posted by yhbc at 7:23 PM on July 8, 2009

are you kidding? I aspire to vandownbytheriverhood.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:34 PM on July 8, 2009

It looks like I'm currently living in the Texas School Book Depository. I do not remember entering this into my profile but I guess I should say I'm sorry, America, for all of the pain and turmoil I caused you back in the 1960's. You know, when I distributed all of those school books to your children.
posted by item at 8:33 PM on July 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Hah! My co-ordinates are for the back yard, and you can't get there unless I let you in!!
posted by pompomtom at 8:45 PM on July 8, 2009

I'd rather people park on the access road to the left than on the indicated driveway if possible. There's more room over there.
posted by majick at 10:24 PM on July 8, 2009

Eh, maybe I'm not paranoid enough or something but after seeing this thread I actually went in and fixed it so it did point to where I live. I don't get the fear that people on metafilter might actually figure out where you live!!!1!1!!1
posted by Justinian at 10:27 PM on July 8, 2009

Justinian: I don't get the fear that people on metafilter might actually figure out where you live!!!1!1!!1

Some people tried to firebomb my old apartment about a year ago... they were never caught... could be one of you guys...

naaaaaah... besides, I was at a meet up in Australia... no one would go so far as to meet me in Australia to keep me from my apartment in Rhode Island while they throw a molotov cocktail in there... seems most highly unlikely :D
posted by Kattullus at 11:24 PM on July 8, 2009

mwahahahahahHAHAHAHAAA - he doesn't suspect a thing!!!

wait, did i just say that out loud?
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:44 PM on July 8, 2009

Ohs noes! I should've known when you arrived wearing that conspicuously distracting hat!

UbuRoivas was asked to be a part of a wedding group photo because of his hat.
posted by Kattullus at 11:49 PM on July 8, 2009

well, it was St Patrick's day!

it's obligatory to wear the traditional Irish cermonial hat - made entirely of the finest foam & velveteen, and shaped like a big glass of Guinness, with shamrocks spouting out the sides, for some esoteric ritual reason.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:07 AM on July 9, 2009

Hey stalkers, I don't live in Booval at all! The suburb I live in has an even sillier name than that!
posted by h00py at 12:41 AM on July 9, 2009

Through several moves now, I have always selected the location of the nearest prison for my GPS co-ordinates. I have lived:

In Wormwood Scrubs (London)
In Pentonville Prison (London)
The Dubai Women's Department of Punitive Rest (UAE) - a pretty lulzy name for a prison, what?

If my stalkers want to find, they'll have to break into cellblock C first!
posted by atrazine at 1:09 AM on July 9, 2009

Ah that reminds me! Ive moved house. I better update my profile so it POINTS DIRECTLY AT MY ROOF.
posted by gergtreble at 1:16 AM on July 9, 2009

Oh man, this is half the fun of the coordinates! Every time I move to a new town, I get to choose where I'm going to "live" in that city. I've lived in museums, parks, and boulevards, and I've spent ridiculous amounts of time tweaking the numbers so that I'll be sitting exactly on my favorite bench in my favorite square.

I've probably spent more time picking cool places for my metafilter coordinates than I've spent actually commenting on metafilter.

on preview, I like the prison idea! I think that's going to be my next abode.
posted by mosessis at 3:58 AM on July 9, 2009

If you want to get to my location, you might want to use a sea-worthy vessel.

When she was new to the internets, my wife had a stalker from Taiwan email her semi-public information about herself and thinly veiled threats. She doesn't use her real name in public forums anymore.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:52 AM on July 9, 2009

If one is concerned about being found perhaps one should leave the fields blank? Other have done this with their name and gender and everything else. Kinda like skipping over threads that aren't of interest. Just a thought.

If you want to discuss this further, you can check my profile and come over to my house and we can talk about it over coffee and my amazing view of Killington.
posted by terrapin at 5:06 AM on July 9, 2009

My street changes names 4 times in the span of 5 blocks.

One goes through 3 towns and two counties in the 0.8 miles from the turn off of Route 14 on the way to my house.
posted by terrapin at 5:15 AM on July 9, 2009

Fortunately it costs, like, $16 to take the elevator to my place, so I think I'm safe from unwanted visitors.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:35 AM on July 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Mine points to my usual seat at my favorite bar. It seems like a better way to locate me.
posted by nicepersonality at 7:44 AM on July 9, 2009

All these funny people and not one has yet claimed to live IN A VAN, DOWN BY THE RIVER

Now that you mention it, I am in the woods next to the river. No van, though...my new bike is sorta van-like, though, for a bike.
posted by epersonae at 7:46 AM on July 9, 2009

If one is concerned about being found perhaps one should leave the fields blank? Other have done this with their name and gender and everything else. Kinda like skipping over threads that aren't of interest. Just a thought.

Well, that's no fun at all!

I've always tended to obscure my identity online. It's a habit I picked up when I was 14 and fascinated with sci/sci-fi chat rooms. a/s/l indeed. The obsfuscation has served me well when I've been in more high-profile situations, with my own amateur stalkers and hate mail and such. Tsk.
posted by zennie at 8:41 AM on July 9, 2009

I just mapped myself to the closest bar, which is probably where I'll be anyway if someone is looking for me.
posted by sebas at 8:50 AM on July 9, 2009

Pool party at my place!

Give me a week to move in and get settled, then it's BYOW(affles).
posted by jaruwaan at 11:43 AM on July 9, 2009

terrapin writes "If one is concerned about being found perhaps one should leave the fields blank? Other have done this with their name and gender and everything else. Kinda like skipping over threads that aren't of interest."

There are quite a few advantages to having at least a city listed in your profile. You show up on on other users nearby lists and if you ask a question in askme people can relate answers to your location. Plus we've done some cool stuff with people's locations in the past, maps and that kind of thing.
posted by Mitheral at 1:17 PM on July 9, 2009

I'll chime in on this....

terrapin, I don't want to be anonymous; I just want people from the internets to not come to me uninvited.

I want to participate with the flow of ideas here; I don't want to censor myself out of fear that someone will take offense and decide to show up and school me... or, conversely, decide that since they're in the neighbourhood, they should drop by and tell me how much they like me (yeah, you say...not likely.....but that's happened).

Most of you are fine people. Some are not. Some of the scary people here are probably the callow immature showoffs they seem, but statistically there's a good chance that some really are a bit dangerous.

I am not interested in being controlled by fear imposed on my by a psycho's actions, and I don't feel like I'm being a control freak to want that small layer of obfuscation.
posted by reflecked at 5:03 PM on July 9, 2009

terrapin, I don't want to be anonymous; I just want people from the internets to not come to me uninvited.

Yeah, the weird thing is that I posted this because someone said "since you'll be in the area, you should stop by my place." I assume the person meant that in a general way, but I clicked on the profile to see how far away it was. And I got an exact address, which I don't think this person knew would happen. Now, this person doesn't know me except through my postings, so what if I really did spontaneously show up on the doorstep after the vague invite? I would sure be creeped out by that.
posted by desjardins at 8:07 AM on July 10, 2009

This thread has brought up an interesting point that caused me to change the co-ordinates in my profile a little bit. Now I apparently reside in Lake Ontario.

I hadn't put my exact lat/long anyway, due to the small, but non-zero probability of Lunatics from the Internet^tm showing up at my place. Of course, somebody who really wants to could probably figure out my address some other way.

But I don't want something bad intended for me to happen to some stranger across town instead. And that relies on said lunatics actually trying to verify that the marker does indicate my real address, and realizing "ha, suckers, that's not where I am after all."

So now the marker is where quite obviously nobody lives... to protect anonymous strangers from lazy lunatics only.

Has anyone seen my tin foil hat?
posted by FishBike at 8:26 AM on July 10, 2009

But FishBike, won't they just confuse you with bicyclefish anyway?
posted by desjardins at 8:43 AM on July 10, 2009

But FishBike, won't they just confuse you with bicyclefish anyway?

He's who I'm worried about!
posted by FishBike at 8:49 AM on July 10, 2009

I'm so disappointed that my lat/long just puts me in another neighborhood. With nicer houses even.
posted by elfgirl at 9:15 AM on July 10, 2009

Actually, um, my waffle iron is in the shop (really). Visitors are encouraged to bring waffle-izers, cast iron preferred. I'll take care of the waffle batter and the chicken frying.
posted by majick at 9:22 AM on July 10, 2009

It shows me living in the middle of 95. I'm not too worried about anyone finding my house from there as if they tried to navigate the traffic involved, they would probably just give up and cry.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 8:09 AM on July 13, 2009

Mine's way off, though I have now found out that I have a street view, and due to construction, can even tell roughly when the car went by!
posted by cjorgensen at 2:34 PM on July 13, 2009