sizemik - I agree that anonymity is a two way thing. If I had my way I would use a survey service that didn't gather IP addresses at all. I didn't ask for it to gather IP addresses - it's just a residual part of the service. I certainly don't intend to disclose them to anybody, or use them for nefarious means. In many ways, it's a shame that the Society engenders such paranoia in all active/inactive forum members, including me. Cantleave will testify as to how paranoid I am about confidentiality when corresponding. What I can't get my head around is the habit of certain forum members (and even moderators!) to jump to the worst possible conclusions about people, without consulting fully and looking at all of the available facts. I certainly can't understand the name-calling and ridicule I've been subjected to on this very thread. Some of it I last experienced in the school playground.
A very mature lady who is well known to this forum said some nice things to me very recently. She said she was glad I had joined the forum because I brought "intelligence" to it, a quality that was lacking. Until now I didn't really understand what she meant, but whilst I don't consider myself the most intelligent of people, I now understand where she's coming from. I can personally name Blondie, Sizemik, cantleave, jwfacts, leavingwt as being genuinely mature and intelligent posters. I'm sure there are others I'm not so familiar with or can't call to mind, but there is also a strong element of cynical, vindictive, sensationalist and down-right nasty posters who I frankly have no time for whatsoever.
Any serious undertaking such as this survey will fall at the first hurdle so long as there are people like that around who can throw spanners in the works.
cantleave - believe me, I WILL be putting this down to "experience", that's why I've had it with this forum. I might poke my head around the door periodically to see what's going on (a tactic that I've noticed posters like jwfacts employs) but I really don't have time for the relentless abuse if I come up with a genuinely good idea, particularly one that requires money. It's really sad. I will of course stay in contact with you personally via email etc, it's just that I have enough problems in life without actively pursuing them on here.