AskMe peoplesearch diceyness

November 15, 2006 11:07 AM

You can run, but you can't hide.
posted by JekPorkins to Etiquette/Policy at 11:07 AM (29 comments total)

And so AskMe becomes the accomplice to sgtserenety's plot to exact violent revenge on Victor Reynolds -- a man who, though held out to be the sgt.'s brother, is actually the arch nemesis of serenity's band of roving assassins.

I always wondered how Bill tracked down Beatrix on her wedding day. Now I know.

Am I the only one who wonders about the true motives & identities behind this AskMe?
posted by JekPorkins at 11:08 AM on November 15, 2006

Funny how sgt. and his arch nemesis have the same last name.
posted by amro at 11:13 AM on November 15, 2006

Funny how sgt. and his arch nemesis have the same last name.

Because nobody has ever lied about their identity on the Internet, or harbored ill will toward a family member.
posted by JekPorkins at 11:21 AM on November 15, 2006

Yeah, that kind of squicked me out too, so I flagged it.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:23 AM on November 15, 2006

Just to clarify, I don't think it's terrible for members to ask for people-finding resources on AskMe, but this feels like the asker wants AskMe itself to be his people-finding resouce, which makes me uncomfortable.

That, and the question is a rambling mess.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:26 AM on November 15, 2006

sgt.serenity's brother doesn't have cameras.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:29 AM on November 15, 2006

Where's Matt's server been hiding?
posted by orthogonality at 12:39 PM on November 15, 2006

Any question about people could have base motives at heart. It's just easier to speculate on this one.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:49 PM on November 15, 2006

Even worse is the question below his:

"Just went to my dentist. The receptionist (f) was hot. It didn't seem right saying anything. How should I have handled this and can it be retrieved? ps - i'm shy!"

Is it just me, or is this guy planning on asking this woman out, seeing her consistently over a period of two or three years, marrying her and having three children by her, and then running away with a younger woman after 10 years of marriage?

I can't believe we help people like this.
posted by tkolar at 1:04 PM on November 15, 2006

Matt and I had a talk about people looking for specific details about other peoplea while ago. What happens is peopel post all sorts of personal info that they find on zabasearch (including all sorts of crap like home phone, SSN occasionally) and the thread becomes an admin nightmare, esp if there is some sort of dicey reason the person wants to information. We really don't want AskMe to become stalkerfilter and except for looking up deceased relatives, will often pull post that are looking to track someone down and this is already in the FAQ.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:08 PM on November 15, 2006

tkolar: It's just you.
posted by InfidelZombie at 1:10 PM on November 15, 2006

We should combine those two questions:

help me find the receptionist at my dentist. she was so hot, but i broke her camera, so she moved somewhere else. does anyone here know her?
posted by poppo at 1:11 PM on November 15, 2006

I take umbrage with your comment, tkolar.

You forgot the part where he picks up a hooker, contracts syphilis and loses his senate seat.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:16 PM on November 15, 2006

We really don't want AskMe to become stalkerfilter and except for looking up deceased relatives

Its already become sicksuspiciousf**k filter, so why not go the whole hog ?

Yes, i am actually looking for my brother- thanks for being so insulting about it.
posted by sgt.serenity at 1:43 PM on November 15, 2006

JekPorkins writes "Because nobody has ever lied about their identity on the Internet, or harbored ill will toward a family member."

Sgt. been here kind of a long time for the former (in fact his sign up date precedes the introduction of AskMe) but the latter is a possibility I suppose.
posted by Mitheral at 1:48 PM on November 15, 2006

Never post while drunk.
posted by crunchland at 2:09 PM on November 15, 2006

Um, how drunk is drunk?
posted by R. Mutt at 2:25 PM on November 15, 2006

Why no "hull" tag?
posted by gigawhat? at 2:25 PM on November 15, 2006

thanks for being so insulting about it

Oh stop being so thin-skinned and whiny. She's not being insulting to you, just noting they'd talked about the potential future danger of AskMe becoming a stalker resource, and pointing out that's why it's already in the FAQ that you shouldn't use the site that way.

Get mad at yourself if you have to blow off steam at someone.
posted by mediareport at 3:07 PM on November 15, 2006

Man, you've been a bellicose prick lately, Mediareport. Dude's looking for his brother. Maybe, just maybe, that's something you might feel compassionate about, instead of going out of your way to be a douche.
posted by klangklangston at 3:16 PM on November 15, 2006

AskMe deletion whiners really drive me crazy, but ok, I'll stop now.
posted by mediareport at 3:27 PM on November 15, 2006

It's interesting when people look for compassion on an internet message board, and then they are shocked and surprised when they don't find it. It occasionally happens here, but it's so rare, they rightfully ought to be shocked and surprised when it does instead.
posted by crunchland at 3:48 PM on November 15, 2006

So it's OK (and newsworthy, mentioned in library journals, and maybe Jessamyn sorta took a little credit for it) if we use a phone book from 1938 to find somebody's grandfather's apartment in Warsaw...but not ok if they are alive and in Aberdeen (Scotland, not Maryland).
posted by fixedgear at 4:40 PM on November 15, 2006

fixedgear, jessamyn specifically said dead people were ok.

Dead people don't throw a shitfit when they show up in a Google search for their name and call you at 2am demanding complete and total wiping of the server. Also, you can stalk a dead person all you want, but they won't put up much of a fight (you may need a shovel though).
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:49 PM on November 15, 2006

I'm dead, and I vote!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:00 PM on November 15, 2006

Another Chicago Democrat heard from!
posted by briank at 5:17 PM on November 15, 2006

I have a brother too, that I've never met. He's seven years older than me, and I suspect I will never find him.

*cue violins*

At least now I know not to ask AskMe. I'll keep my serious questions to myself, and use the green for chatfilter questions about paint and lawns and cleaning supplies.
posted by exlotuseater at 5:31 PM on November 15, 2006

can a uk citizen pursue a defamation case in the us ?

answers on a postcard please.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:11 PM on November 15, 2006

It's interesting when people look for compassion on an internet message board, and then they are shocked and surprised when they don't find it.


maybe thats why your sites only got 600 users mate.

Keep going though crunch - i'm about to flame out and you're just the guy to do it - oh how happy you'll be : )
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:20 PM on November 15, 2006 [1 favorite]