I get this once in a while during online games, it's normal to want to know where somebody is playing from. I just usually just say my country name. I once had a random teammate who is practically my neighbor, The server crashed before I can take note of his in game name.
this post was submitted on 15 May 2025
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I ask where people are, so I have a general sense of time zone and I know when to expect to be able to message them when they're awake
I got creeped out and blocked him. Is this normal?
Yes, it is normal that you blocked him.
a/s/l
Like Country or you street address?
Most of my random DMs are some sort of business marketing pitch or slow burn confidence scammer. I wouldn't volunteer any real information about yourself until you get to know them better. And even then, especially the crypto scammers, are willing to do the slow burn because they're going for a larger jackpot of your life savings.
I tell everyone "I have a policy for never doing business with anyone I never met face to face."
Guy from HK in my DMs trying to get me to video call him.
There are plenty of scammers out there too, but some people are just lonely or curious. They might’ve just recently got internet and the only interaction they’ve had previously is from within their slum.
Yea its normal.
Where you from buddy? Catch me outside how 'bout that? /s
But like. Dude. In the past, people could only talk to people nearby. Now, you can just yell at anyone in the entire fucking world.
ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! How COOL is that?
What you from?
I'm from Eastern USA, my country currently under hostile enemy occupation. (Save Our Souls pls)
Depends on what part of the world you come from, where do you live? If you provide your home address I can also read you your horoscope.
Yeah it's normal, it's one of the first things I ask or get asked when I meet new people online.
It's cool to meet new people from all around the world, so knowing where someone's from is really interesting and gives people stuff to talk about too!
Plus, it's very helpful, because once you know where someone's from you know their timezone, what sort of weather they deal with, you might have some insight into their culture etc to better ensure you don't offend them, or maybe you've visited or love something about their country so again you now have new things to talk about :-D
Anyway yeah, similarly with wanting to know someone's age, location is often one of the first questions we as strangers ask each other in online conversation.
Age is also super useful to know, are we talking to a 12 year old? A 20 year old? A 60 year old? Knowing their age will better inform us of how to have a positive and respectful conversation, it'll inform us of what part of their life there in and thus we can take guesses to their generational cultural norms and interests, if they're likely to have a career, or be married, or if they're likely still in education studying for their masters, etc etc.
You don't need to know an EXACT age, just as you don't need to know an EXACT location, but "I'm in my 20s from England" is a more than appropriate response :-)
Bottom line: Always trust your gut if someone seems weird online (especially if they're pushy for info you're unwilling to share), but don't assume they're weird just because they want to know some basic details like A/S/L 👍
I'm in my late 30s from Australia, now you don't need to ask. G'day
I remember 9/11, but not the fall of the Berlin Wall. And I was about as far away from both as you can get.
Blocking out of the blue seems over the top to me. I'd rather just confront him about his behavior and see how he reacts. Maybe he just phrased it weird and didn't mean to come off as creepy.
If not, well, then you know
If you are polite to a potential scammer on the phone or on the internet, you are giving them a chance to persuade you into being scammed. Block at will.
Not blocking does not mean giving away personal information or being scammed. Yes, if people find this a hard thing to do, by all means, block them. But if you're not incompetent and just set your boundaries, there may not be reason for an outright block, that's what I'm saying. Again, it may very well be a slight misunderstanding
Meh. The internet is a large place. Block indiscriminately. There's no reason to have an uncomfortable interaction. OP doesn't owe a random stranger anything let alone an explanation.
Well maybe but if op enjoyed the conversation somewhat, blocking 'indiscriminately' would certainly be out of place
Personally I only ask after interacting for months, and I only offer mine the same way. By that I mean in positive interactions.
I agree with others that say it might be an awkward way to get to know you
In general though I just don't like to be DM'd unsolicited without me ~~stalking~~ following the account and get to know the vibe
This is why I just don't do microblogs. I'm just an uninteresting and uninterested specimen of humanity
So idk why someone would want to randomly know about me through DM
This sounds like a weird person at best or the prelude to a scam, stalking, or social engineering at worst. You stick with your standards and don't doxx yourself to passive aggressive douchebags, however insistent they may be.
It's a reasonable question but it's unreasonable to insist without providing a reason.
In the context of the Internet, yes that is a valid question in my opinion. They don't want your literal address, they want to know your nationality. Being from place x generally means you also speak language y and have a cultural background of z.
It was perfectly normal when he asked the first time, but creepy when he asked again. The “not being cool enough” bit was flat out rude.
Not wanting to doxx yourself is more than reasonable, and I’d expect an internet user to understand that. Blocking him was what I would have done, too.
I think the second ask and comment are suspicious. I can't stand people who act entitled to your information. I'd block them.
I mean, it is fine to ask for more details if it can help solve a specific issue, say that you ask a question about tax law, but neglect to add what country you are from, then asking for your location is fine, but just out of the blue, nah.
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