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I was about to ask a question on SO PF&M when I realized that I had to disclose details that I would prefer to keep private. This wouldn't be a big deal generally but I am well known on several other SO sites and I would prefer no cross-association.

I'm not talking about PII; just overall information regarding my own personal situation.

Should I log-in via an anonymous browser and create a 'puppet' (not the 'sock' type) account to post my inquiry?

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  • 1
    No need to even create an account. Just open a private/incognito browser window and surf to the site, that should be enough. You will know it's working if the site top bar doesn't show any of your information. It'll show up as one of those userXXXX posts, and when you close the window, the cookie associated with that user will (hopefully) be deleted.
    – user
    Commented Aug 15, 2016 at 20:34
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    @MichaelKjörling - The OP won't be able to comment, edit, or accept an answer if they do that, though.
    – Bobson
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 11:30
  • @Bobson True enough. Maybe I should have mentioned that more explicitly, but I felt it was covered by the final statement of my comment.
    – user
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 11:44
  • Are you sure, hiding this account from the world (except stackexchange people) and having a different usename here will not help you?
    – azam
    Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 16:46

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Yes, it's allowed to have multiple accounts, as long as they don't interact with each other by cross-voting etc. This answer on meta.stackexchange.com is fairly definitive.

Of course, now you've posted this question, someone might still guess that an anonymous question in the not-too-distant future is from you, but it certainly won't be obvious or easy to spot.

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  • I could make minor edits to older posts that would effectively 'bump' them up in the general PF&M queue. (and yes, I realize the inherent dilemma in posting to meta; maybe a few days down the road)
    – user47387
    Commented Aug 15, 2016 at 5:10
  • Remember that things on the internet generally last forever, so make your decisions carefully!
    – Chris Cirefice
    Commented Aug 15, 2016 at 17:48

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