In order to check that he is not A) a psycho B) married or C) the drummer for a crap nu metal band (hey, this is the kind of men that I seem to be meeting lately) you run their name through Google.
Is this:
1) totally rational and sensible in this day and age, and a very good preparation for dating in the modern era
2) completely psycho and creepy and bordering on stalking
3) A slight invasion of privacy, but hey, if they didn't want their name out there, they shouldn't use the internet
or what?
Have you Googled someone before you dated them? Has someone you've dated admitted to Googling you? What are your thoughts?
― kate, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― sarah, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
the idea of someone i just met googling my name without me knowing is supa creepy
― Chupa-Cabras, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― C J, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
A guy did it to me once, and I totally freaked about it. Because first off, the level of investigation. He didn't just run my name through, look at a couple of sites, go "Oh, she's in a band, OK" and leave it at that, he signed up to our mailing list and lurked on it. Second, he continued to do this after I had already told him that I considered him googling me as an invasion of my privacy. (I met him through the internet and never used my real name - he figured it out from my old email address.)
― UMM, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― Maria, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
And hey, if I were totally au fait with what I was doing, I wouldn't be asking this question in the first place, would I? I was wondering if I was being over-sensitive for not liking being googled, or if googling was indeed creepy.
And take your caplocks off, it's giving me a headache.
― Norman Phay, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― brg30, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― jel --, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
I'm not trying to suggest that it is evil, but if I learnt that someone had Googled me so early, I would be very uncomfortable with them.
― Martin Skidmore, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― bnw, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― Ron, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
So, that's how I feel about it. Obviously there are unsavory people out there, and I wish for people not to meet them.
― nathalie, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― Douglas, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― Josh, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
Personally, I think it's hilarious that a google search for my dog's name turns up quite a few real results, but a search for me will only turn up a memorial that I wrote for a college friend. I should be more careful with my pup's name on the interweb. ; )
― lyra in seattle, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
sez YOU!
Since the process of typing someone's name into Google is such a simple, quick, cost-free process, and the information is all Public Domain it's surely not that big a deal. Now, if a prospective date hunted down my credit history or police record, say, that would be sorta disturbing.
― petra jane, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― felicity, Saturday, 27 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
Interested in Hip-Hop, Foreign Movies and Internet Broadcasts?! I actually selected that?!
― jel --, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
And CJ, you mean that CJ is not your complete name?
― Martin Skidmore, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― C J, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― DV, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
We are *so* through.
― Martin's date, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― di, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― Martin's Other Date, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― dorito, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
I won't defend using the Google results to start stalking someone, or hacking in order to find out information that is generally considered to be private and sensitive (e.g., financial or medical records).
― j.lu, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
I have talked to both of those women today, and made a date with one. I decided I wanted to meet the one I like best first.
My email obviously made no mention of the message-board post I came across where she got all unattractively huffy and histrionic about some comment she found inappropriate.
― nabisco, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
― bnw, Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
i'm actually quite interested in an older woman that i've met a few times, so i did a google search on her because i was curious about roughly how much older than me she was (although i was also keeping an eye out for lines like 'C***** lives with her husband in Port Hope'). i found the bio attached to one of her CDs, which told me which degrees she had got, and now i know she's about five years older than me and unmarried. i wouldn't feel comfortable googling for anything more significant than that, but i also won't blurt out "i searched your name on the internet!" before we get to know each other.
― Dave M., Sunday, 28 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)
yeah. what aldo said.
i also think it's ok to google new people. why not?
and you actually found someone you liked on okcupid? i think i'm using it wrong...
oh, loads of xposts. just tried it for myself, and searching for 'a2lette' comes up with 'springfox crushes' and young dems stuff. so boring!
― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:40 (twenty-one years ago)
I mean, if we *were* to meet up, it would be kinda foolish *not* to tell him my full name. Or something.
I'm just creating fuss for the point of fussing because I'm really not sure that I should be dating again so soon. So I just shouldn't really think of it as dating, I should just think of it as meeting another nice internet bloke like my ILX friends.
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:53 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)
― TOMBOT, Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)
I had an OKCupid date a couple of months ago and before I'd even Googled her there was a trail indicated she was friends with an Ilxer so the cat was well and truly out of the bag.
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:05 (twenty-one years ago)
(The thread about "yet another MOJO Beatles cover" posted to the MOJO Board, I'm sorry, but this irritates me.)
I just get the weird feeling that this sort of thing shouldn't be done, but how would one complain about it?
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:06 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:07 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:11 (twenty-one years ago)
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:14 (twenty-one years ago)
want a gmail invite? i've got several...
― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:15 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:15 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:17 (twenty-one years ago)
― ___ (___), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:18 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:18 (twenty-one years ago)
you may want to take it down or insert no robot tags.
― DJ Martian (djmartian), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:20 (twenty-one years ago)
― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:21 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)
Stop copying ILX threads onto even more disturbing sites, please!
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:24 (twenty-one years ago)
― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:25 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:27 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:51 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)
― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)
― kelsey (kelstarry), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 14:26 (twenty-one years ago)
― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)
Oh my god, after all that paranoia that he had googled me and I'd scared him off with my bizarre rambling, I sent a tiny message asking "Did my email get through or did I scare you off?" and it turned out that my email got EATEN BY A GIANT FRACTAL CANTOR SET OF NOISE INTERFERENCE and never got through and he was glad that I got back in touch anyway.
(Sorry - I realise that at this point, no one cares about my love life, but I still was amused by the anthropomorphic image of how emails get eaten by the internet.)
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:07 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:11 (twenty-one years ago)
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:16 (twenty-one years ago)
Good grief!! That must have been pretty freaky!
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:36 (twenty-one years ago)
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:39 (twenty-one years ago)
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:48 (twenty-one years ago)
Is there any way to point out that I kinda care without sounding creepy?
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:51 (twenty-one years ago)
― colette (a2lette), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:52 (twenty-one years ago)
― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:53 (twenty-one years ago)
― PinXor (Pinkpanther), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:54 (twenty-one years ago)
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:57 (twenty-one years ago)
I just feel really awful sometimes (especially in the light of that thread about high maintainance friends) when I bang on and on about this crap.
― Super-Masonic Black Hole (kate), Friday, 3 September 2004 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)
― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 3 September 2004 12:00 (twenty-one years ago)
― ken c (ken c), Friday, 3 September 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)
C or D? Googling an old crush and seeing they haven't aged very well
― bobby bedelia, Friday, 25 May 2007 23:18 (nineteen years ago)
I have been zabasearching the fuck out of people lately. I now know how old all the managers in my office are now!
― Pleasant Plains, Friday, 25 May 2007 23:20 (nineteen years ago)
zabasearch is avery scary thing
― bobby bedelia, Friday, 25 May 2007 23:22 (nineteen years ago)