To list or not to list your guns in your signature?

[Hokkmike]

I used to have all of my guns listed as a part of my signature here. Then, one time, I stopped somehwere and somebody asked me about a particular gun that I owned. I didn't know this person but they knew about me and this firearm. For some reason, it irked me.

I also thought, that like publishing an actual serial number for a gun on the internet, which I don't think any of us would do, that my gun list might be too confidential.

I know many of you do list your collections, and I am not trying to be critical - but do you think it is wise?

 

[igpoobah]

No, that is why I don't.

 

[Thernlund]

I'm not a fan of signature lines anyway. People (myself included) tend to over complicate them. Often, it's all just advertising or some form of marketing.

To directly address your point, some things I don't mind making public, some things I do. For example, my DL# is still my SS#. Every time someone sees it I get "Ooooo... better get that changed!" Pffff... If someone is going to thieve my identity they'll do it one way or the other. I never really thought ID theft was a crime of opportunity. It does take some effort.

On the other hand, I'm a bit sensitive about people I don't know knowing what firearms I have and where I keep them. I suppose I let these things come out now and again and that doesn't bother me. But I don't want to just scream it from the roof tops, ya know? I guess the same principle holds with my SS/DL #. Not like I'm posting it on the internet, but casual glances don't bug me.

Ehhh. Can't live in fear, eh?


-T.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I just wish people would keep their sigs to two or three lines.

 

[JWarren]

I personally don't think it is all that wise to list any possessions on a sig line. Anything worth having is worth not advertising.

Now, that said, it would not take a person too much effort in searching all my posts to get a good idea of what I have. So maybe I am not as wise as I'd like to believe.


As for signature lines, I think I am still under the wire of being overly-complicated.


-- John

 

[JWarren]

Jorg wrote:

At least it's not like that guy who has some nonsense extolling the differnce between his Hummer and some other vehicle in big colorful letters. I still have no idea why he think a gun board would care what he drives or how is it mechanically different from something else, but he obviously thinks declaring the uniqueness of his vechicle is important enough to his sense of self-worth to include in every post, despite the fact I've never seen an extended discussion about the commonality of auto parts on this, or any other, gun board.

Every time I see that I think the same thing.

But then again, if I had a vehicle that I paid that much for and got that crappy of gas mileage-- and one that I'd probably not be willing to put in conditions it was built for in fear that I may scratch the paint-- and one that it is a nightmare to get a parking place for because it is as wide as it is long...

Well, it BETTER do something for my ego or else it is less than useless to me.

The ones that always make me roll my eyes are the people who mistake something in the signature for the content in the thread and start replying to it.

OK... now THAT is funny.


-- John

 

[Thernlund]

...it would not take a person too much effort in searching all my posts to get a good idea of what I have.

That was sort of my point... I'm not the fearful sort so I don't mind the info being out there. But I'm not going to just hand it over on a silver platter. I'll make it take some effort, without putting in too much of my own. For me, that's a nice balance.

The bloggers often put it right out there, and sometimes I wonder what the hell they're thinking with some of the stuff I read. Nothing wrong with blogging, but sheesh. Sometimes the candor makes me wonder. That's how people get dooced.


-T.

 

[JWarren]

Thernlund, yep... I think you and I see it the same way.

Its kinda like we aren't so far out there as to bury everything and putting a "treasure map" in some frozen ground meat.

But we aren't going to leave it all on the front porch either.


-- John

 

[Lonestar49]

hmmm, let me check.. lol

...

Sometimes could appear as over-kill, meaning listing a ton of weapons owned, or "supposedly owned"..

Me, I have only what I have, and in the long and short scheme of things, I find listing them a possible help in answering those with questions about certain guns, one way or another.

Yep, awhile back I got several PM's about one of my guns, then another, and it appeared suspicious, as it went from North to South, like more of hunt for what I felt they were worth..

And I read IIRC, Doc's statement about some that actually list their city and state.. which I never did, nor would do, as giving a detailed map to where the guns were, etc., and I took my small list down.

Then after the fear of the possibility of a home hit wore off after some 3 or 4 weeks, looking at my big German Shepherd, the alarm system, etc., I just felt like no real need to be running away here..

So, I put it back up, and to-date, have not had any suspicious PMs or post replies, etc.

I also like the signature line/s as well, some are a little big, but hey, in all, I like them because it says something about the individual that allows one, me, to form some kind of mental picture of the character of each sig line, to smile at, agree with, or disagree with, but like Freedom of Speech, we all have a voice and an opinion, etc., and that's what real freedom is all about.

Having differences, and being able to express them, agree with them or not, but with a civil manner, with respect, as that in itself makes for minds to change, bend, give a little, or hold the line, but not go to character assignations with our differences..


Ls

 

[Grandpa Shooter]

I wondered about the sig lines with a bunch of guns listed, then I linked back to myself when doing a search and it scared the bgb's out of me. Woke up one nite wondering just how much I had given away while responding to threads, or in ones I had started. Did a search at 2 AM under my name and came up with 15 guns I had talked familiarly about.

Sure doesn't pay to give much away does it?

 

[Gunnerpalace]

I find no problem mentioning what you own (IMO unless you own a one of a kind thing) as long as you don't mention your location (city/address) name,phone,SS,DR,the common stuff. Oh and don't mention your storage areas.

 

[Black Majik]

I actually find it annoying, to constantly see the same list on every post they make. I enjoy reading the quotes on some of the signatures, many are quite brilliant. But for some reason, I've always felt that people that post their guns in the signatures were either new to shooting or trying to prove something. Rarely, if at all do I see people that've been here for a long time with large collections post their collection in the sigline. Can you imagine if Tamara or Gixxerman1000 posted their collections? Omg.

People with large collections tend to never have their guns posted in the sig line. People under 20 guns usually has their listed... Hmm...

But, that's JMHO...

 

[phoglund]

I certainly don't mind discussing what I have, after all this is a discussion board largely about firearms. But listing them in a sig line would make kind of a large signature and I suspect boring reading unless your interests coincided with mine.

 

[MakAttak]

I don't know if you noticed, but many of us have at least one of our guns in our name... (points to the number of .45 names)

 

[Glockamania®]

Adding your collection to your signature just invites others to inquire.

It helps make the day interesting.

I'm waiting on picking up two more Glocks, then I'll add it onto my sig.

 

[grimjaw]

I want to inventory my stash in my sig when it reads something like this:

Heckler & Koch MP5A3
Heckler & Koch UMP45
AKS-74U (with that oh-so-special selector setting)

Until then, I don't have much to brag about.

jm

 

[Regolith]

Call me paranoid, but I prefer not to hand out shopping lists to criminals. Or Government officials. But I repeat myself...

 

[siglite]

The paranoid guy in me says it might make me a target for theft.
The tinfoil hat guy in me says it would give the bad ole gubbment a shopping list when they kick in my door.
The realist in me tells the other two, "shut the $%# up, stupid."

 

[Grizzly Adams]

To me that's like responding to a thread about a month or so back that asked how many guns do you own. I don't advertise! IMO a signature should say something about you not what you own.

 

[waffentomas]

Signature lines have gotten out of control anyways - latin phrases (yes, I know latin) long quotes, lists of guns...yada, yada, yada.

I stopped even reading them years ago - who cares?

 

[Hoppy590]

i dont, just cause its not needed or relevant at some times.

some people here could crash the server with the lists of guns they have

Dstorm, Styeraug,MJ im looking at you guys!

 

[Roadkill]

I agree.

 

[mainebear]

Maybe I'm just paranoid but no guns in my sig. uh uh, no way.

 

[RKBABob]

My sig line is my Christmas wish list. Now everybody on the 'net knows what I don't have....
and what I probably won't get, either.

I don't think I'd post what, if anything I do have. Its just creepy to have info about any of my desireable possesions in the public eye. It would feel like leaving an inventory of my belongings nailed to my front door.

 

[OpFlash]

I don't see any reason for it other than vanity. Also I don't want to broadcast what I have to anyone who may try to use the information against me or relieve me of them somewhere down the road.

I expect there are diligent federal agents lurking gun boards with "files" on those of us who match certain keyword searches and/or who obviously store vast amounts of weapons and ammunition. Why make it easier for someone to knock on your door someday and say may I have your weapons please? Now that I've made it virtually certain I am in the above mentioned group , let me also say this:

The current state of the law allowing undocumented private sale of firearms is the most powerful firearm related freedom we now possess, and all efforts should be made to preserve it. Without it you will need to provide a paper trail for every weapon you have ever owned, as it is now there is no way for anyone to know if you sold your weapons legally via private transactions, so you could never be made to produce them. If we loose this right then gun registration has become a reality.

This freedom is what the media likes to portray as the "gun show loophole". In fact I hope to sell my SKS 'D' at the local quarterly gun show this weekend, as I have done with many others. I am with guns like I used to be with sports cars, love 'em and leave 'em. I've probably got 1/6 the number of guns I've ever bought, if that many, and I don't have to worry about someone forcing me to prove it.

Sorry for the slightly OT rant.