Poll: Have you ever stalked a specific person on the Internet?

[ohya]

Hi, so personally I did this a few times before. I searched up their name on google, sites, forums, etc. So I can learn more about them, find out what they do, where they're active at and such. I dont know exactly why I had the urge to stalk a specific person and find out what they're doing, I just felt an attachment.

It can be really interesting, to be honest. You can find out things about someone that you never knew about them before.

Have you ever done this yourself?

 

[Queen Michael]

Nope. Never have. Especially not my ex-girlfriend. Certainly haven't kept googling her for years. No siree-bob.

 

[Nickolai77]

I've done it in the past as part of my preparation for job interviews. Google the interviewer's name if I know it, see if they've got a linkedin profile and see what useful information I can garner from there. I once found out that an interviewer had a history degree like me, so I consciously mentioned I had such a degree in the interview.


And yes, I'll admit to having googled the name/common user names of one of my exes in the past out of curiosity to see what they were up to.

The funny thing is, I found out she had been doing the same!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I've had to do so to make sure the producers I was looking at working for didn't have bad reputations for f*cking over their crews after the work is done.

For non-work purposes? Never.

 

[Barbas]

...Huh. Is this one of those borderline threads? I suppose it depends on how far you go with it.

The punishments for it vary in the US -- which is where the Escapist's offices were located -- depending on what damage you do.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2261A

Nope. Never have. Especially not my ex-girlfriend. Certainly haven't kept googling her for years. No siree-bob.

That's...good. Yes, that's good!

OT: No. The only information I've seen about people is what they put on their public profiles - presumably because they're comfortable with people reading and knowing it. Weirdly, that isn't often the case. To some people, simply reading and knowing that information, then demonstrating that you do in conversation, is often seen as creepy or stalkerish, and enough to give them license to insult you - though in some cases, I've found, not actually to your face, which is something I personally find weird and cowardly. Stalking is no laughing matter and doing it with intent to cause harassment or physical harm is a particularly grave one.

 

[Diablo2000]

You! Yes, you, Adrian...

Now with that out of the way, no, never. It's rather creepy and if weren't, I probably don't have to time or energy to stalk anyone either way.

 

[Lieju]

I've had to do so to make sure the producers I was looking at working for didn't have bad reputations for f*cking over their crews after the work is done.

For non-work purposes? Never.

Yeah, pretty much this.

I'm afraid I don't really care enough about people's personal lives to stalk them.

 

[Olas]

I feel like the term "stalked" is a little misapplied when it comes to the internet. All you're doing is looking at stuff those people (or their friends, etc) voluntarily put up for others to see, right? Perhaps it's weird to be so absorbed in a person's online activities that you never miss a single update, but it's not exactly like closely following them around in person.

Anyway, no. I've never "stalked" anyone. People aren't really that interesting.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You! Yes, you, Adrian...

Old school Yahtzee references? You're a dying breed sir, I salute you.

 

[grey_space]

Nope. Never have. Especially not my ex-girlfriend. Certainly haven't kept googling her for years. No siree-bob.

I laughed at this. That's my greatest temptation to cyberstalk in any way, shape, or form. Just to check out their facebook profiles or somesuch out of some sense of morbid, self-flagellating curiosity.

Then I realise that's ridiculously creepy and sad thing to be doing and I don't.

As for others...no I don't care about them enough.

 

[visiblenoise]

When I had my Facebook account, I often felt like a stalker. I got it out of my system though.

 

[TallanKhan]

I haven't really stalked anyone online. I have occasionally googled job applicants which can be an eye opener.

 

[The Choke]

I swear this is why I deleted my Facebook.

I've definitely online "stalked" potential employers and (here comes my guilty wince) people who ask me out. These days no matter how nice a person seems, I put their name in the search engine before the first date to find out if this is going to be one of those things where later I'm telling an officer, "but they seemed so normal!"

 

[FPLOON]

Well, I don't call it "stalking", per se, if they're already internet-famous and shit... *gets slapped*

But seriously, I sometimes do it just out of sheer curiosity... I sometimes don't know why, since it could be because of their internet name or their internet avatar just to name my most common reasons, but it usually ends with me going back to my corner, too "scared" to even try to talk to them face[time]-to-face[time] in text form, at least...

I'm almost the internet equivalent to Helga from Hey Arnold only without the love, hate, or admiration for people with football-shaped heads... I think... I really don't give two shits about your non-internet life, anyway...

 

[Ihateregistering1]

What is internet stalking anyway? I mean, unless you've literally hacked the files on their computer, all you're doing is looking at things they voluntarily put up for the world to see anyway.

I'd differentiate it from real world stalking since real-world stalking requires a significant effort on your part to follow someone around and keep track of them, while looking at someone's Facebook page too often takes seconds.

Buuutttt, the one thing I will confess doing is that I did check an online dating site once to see if my ex was on there. This wouldn't normally be huge, except that she lived in a different state, so I had to put in highly specific looks and age range to find her. I'll confess it did feel a little weird.

 

[Ieyke]

Yes and no.
I'm an information addict. I look up EVERYTHING.
So I've looked up basically everyone I know.
I kinda passively keep track of certain people important to me, but I don't so much obsessively focus on a specific person in particular.

 

[Handbag1992]

If people piss me off online I like to find out who they are and where they live. I never do anything with the information, I just put it in a text file and think "Hehe, I could fuck with you if I wanted".

 

[Cidward]

I'm also confused to see the term "stalking" applied to stuff like researching possible employers. This is really basic stuff and an interviewer should look poorly on a candidate who doesn't take the trouble to do their research, imo.

Stalking to me requires more effort, and is more invasive, than Googling information that people put up outside of any kind of privacy filter. If you're going to the trouble of using dishonest means to get a Friend request approved, or using your significant other's password to spy on their email or social media messages, that's creepy and over the line, but Googling an ex doesn't seem at all weird to me.

ETA:

If people piss me off online I like to find out who they are and where they live. I never do anything with the information, I just put it in a text file and think "Hehe, I could fuck with you if I wanted".

OK, this is weird.

 

[Vault101]

yes....

....there was once someone here (who was banned) that since I found out they were in the same city as me I did a little digging and saw their Facebook

I know its probably odd but I found digging fun I suppose it was morbid curiosity as to who those "jerks" on the internet you meet really are...I found nothing bad and din't take it further

it was pretty funny to see they were friends with a shop owner of a store I used to frequent

EDIT: although I'd argue stalking is where its constant and on-going

 

[Blow_Pop]

I do currently "stalk" someone but it's more of a "I need to keep myself safe from said person" type of stalking then trying to find out anything about them.

The person in question is my ex who just got out of jail. And the stalking is making sure he's nowhere near me location wise. Even though his family still lives out here. And it's not obsessive. It's I check once maybe twice a month to see where he's at and see if he's still a few states away. Because I don't feel safe if he's anywhere near me. Dude's already raped me once I don't doubt that he'd break into my house and do it again. So it's stalking for safety more than anything else.

Otherwise I'll look the person up on google+ or facebook if I'm curious about them (unless they are famous then I'll properly look them up on the internet in general) mostly just to see if we have any interests in common and if it's worth my time to spend the limited amounts of energy I have to getting to know them and befriending them.

Also, I don't like the term stalking applied to looking people up. Stalking involves being more invasive of non publicly available information and tracking the person down EVERYWHERE. I don't go anywhere NEAR to that level. I just look up basic things that come up on whichever site (facebook or g+) that I find them on.