As a main expat forum is soon to leave the scene this forum was suggested as a potential site for the many members wishing to keep in touch. I joined several years ago but found the way the site was organised made it very difficult to navigate but the die hard mods refused to accept that there was anything wrong with it. I see now that it has changed to the more acceptable format and has grown although it seems to have a more “commercial” feel. The other issue I had was being constantly badgered to post a photo of myself. The attitude was either do it or depart. I was wondering if this is still the case. There is no way to contact the admin to ask privately so the only way to get an answer is to join up and ask here on the public forum. Can anyone shed any light on the current requirements? I tried wading through the very large “terms & conditions” but all that came to light was that use of the site was subject to the laws of California. That in itself is a worry.
Quite simple really: real names and real photos, nothing-to-hide open forum where it’s nice to know who you’re talking to 
PS : are you a Sphincter by birth or through marriage, I’ve come across a few in my time and wondered if they were relatives of yours?
Morning Aardvark.
Good morning … Thank you for reading the terms and conditions of this Forum.
Please will you amend your registration details to show your correct, full name.
Many thanks.
Well Andrew, I have nothing to hide but am very aware of identity theft which is rife these days. It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to put together a huge amount of info on a person these days when people happily give away all their personal stuff by posting it online. Farcebook etc. have proved to be a very rich vein of identity info for crimial types as well as targeted advertising mailing lists. I do not wish to make it any easier for them.
And good morning to you. 
No Stella, I will not…for the above reasons. And I have still had no answer to my actual question. Is it or is it not a requirement of the forum to post a photo? Given your connections to the USA on might as well send the info direct to the NSA.
its just manners to be honest, after all you know who you are talking to and we then know who we are talking to. I would not also refer to @cat and @james as die hard mods they work hard to provide a nice pleasant place for us all to communicate and get along.
there is noting that can be gleamed from a real name on a forum alone. Identity theft is from people posting way too much info like their address and date of birth etc. Hope to see you change to your real name so we know who we are conversing with.
Real name is all we require @Aardvarkly
How can someones identity be hijacked by their name alone? If you believe that to be the case do you use the moniker Artemis Sphincter offline too?
If you are having difficulty with the Registration Page, I can do it for you… just let me know your full name… 
Many thanks
I think you might be wasting your time with this one Stella
Aardvarks are nocturnal, so might be back later…
I was brought up to never use bad/rude language… but I reckon I can call someone a Sphincter without my Dad turning in his grave… 
He’s a decent guy and to be fair this is the first forum where I’ve been asked for my full name so I can appreciate where he’s coming from.
Hi Tim… do you actually know this guy ?? (not you in disguise ?)
It’s simple… if you want to join… you follow the rules… if not… goodbye and good luck… it’s not rocket science…
We’ve been on the same forum for years and he’s okay (IMO) but I think he’s put off by the rules so will likely go somewhere else. Be warned though, this is just the start of the exodus and I fully expect to see other familiar names appear over the next few weeks. It’s quite funny really, several other forums are gloating over the close of what is (soon to be was) the biggest of the French forums.
Anglo info going down?
The FE forum is closing.
never heard of FE just this and anglo info which i left because its just full of rude people who shout and swear allot
im sure most people will be happy to use their real name though. id love to be Mr Happy Paws but every time i used it some muppet reported me for using a fake name. (not here) so i just use it as a extra name now.