Looking Up Information About A Public Figure Is Stalking?

[Walter Ego]

I was recently was accused of stalking by a public figure in the atheist/humanist community. The reason? I looked up easily available information about her on the internet and send her a PM to let her know I had made a You Tube video about her.

(The details for anyone interested can be found on the "Cat Lady" videos on my You Tube channel at the link in my sig.)

This woman has described herself as a "celebrity" in her home county in Florida and she uses her real name on the social media sites (and she's on all of them). She came to my attention because she hosted the controversial Rebecca Watson at a humanist conference last month. The PM was simply a heads up in case she wanted to respond to my video.

I'm a curious person. I look up info about people in the public eye all the time. Frankly, I think this woman is hysterical and paranoid (though perhaps for good reasons). I do think this is lowering the bar for "stalking," however.

 

[Irony]

I was recently was accused of stalking by a public figure in the atheist/humanist community. The reason? I looked up easily available information about her on the internet and send her a PM to let her know I had made a You Tube video about her.

(The details for anyone interested can be found on the "Cat Lady" videos on my You Tube channel at the link in my sig.)

While not nationally known, this woman has described herself as a "celebrity" in her home county in Florida and she has a huge internet footprint, She came to my attention because she hosted the controversial Rebecca Watson at a humanist conference last month. The PM was simply a heads up in case she wanted to respond to my video.

I'm a curious person. I look up info about people in the public eye all the time. Frankly, I think this woman is hysterical and paranoid (though perhaps for good reasons). I do think this is lowering the bar for "stalking," however.

You're leaving out some crucial info here. What "easily available" info did you look up? Looking up her speeches and positions on issues is fair game. Looking up her home address, details of her family, etc. is stalker behavior.

 

[Walter Ego]

You're leaving out some crucial info here. What "easily available" info did you look up? Looking up her speeches and positions on issues is fair game. Looking up her home address, details of her family, etc. is stalker behavior.

I looked up her public profile to she who she is and what her standing the atheist/humanist community is. Her home address and private life is of no interest to me. I know as much about her as I need to know and nothing more and plan to have no further contact with her. The stalking allegation seems to stem from "demanding her attention" (her words) by sending her a PM. Frankly, the woman is nuts, IMHO.

 

[Irony]

I looked up her public profile to she who she is and what her standing the atheist/humanist community is. Her home address and private life is of no interest to me. I know as much about her as I need to know and nothing more and plan to have no further contact with her. The stalking allegation seems to stem from "demanding her attention" (her words) by sending her a PM. Frankly, the woman is nuts, IMHO.

Yeah, nothing wrong with that. Sending someone a message that you made a video which discusses some of their arguments is simple good manners. If they're a real celebrity (not local or internet) it might be a tad difficult, but otherwise it's rather cowardly to argue against someone without at least giving them the heads up. As long as you didn't actually "demand" her attention you're clearly in the right here.

 

[banquetbear]

I looked up her public profile to she who she is and what her standing the atheist/humanist community is. Her home address and private life is of no interest to me. I know as much about her as I need to know and nothing more and plan to have no further contact with her. The stalking allegation seems to stem from "demanding her attention" (her words) by sending her a PM. Frankly, the woman is nuts, IMHO.

...I tried to watch your videos but it is struggle. I can only imagine the reaction of someone receiving a message from someone random on the internet to watch a long, rambling, desaturated fourteen minute diatribe on youtube calling me a "cat lady who hates fags." If you didn't intend to claim that EllenBeth was a Cat Lady who hated fags my apologies: but the video took so long to make its point I had to turn it off in boredom.

If you post rude things on the internet don't be surprised when people post rude things back. I think you should take EllenBeth's advice and "get a life" because posting twenty minute video's about people and then getting all butt hurt when they reply to you is not a normal thing to do.

And bringing your battles to a forum like this where you can continue to post one-sided stuff seeking validation is a pretty cowardly action. Post the entire contents of your conversation with EllenBeth and post her entire reply: or don't bother. From what little I actually managed to watch of the video what you are saying here is at odds with what she said.

 

[lionking]

...I tried to watch your videos but it is struggle. I can only imagine the reaction of someone receiving a message from someone random on the internet to watch a long, rambling, desaturated fourteen minute diatribe on youtube calling me a "cat lady who hates fags." If you didn't intend to claim that EllenBeth was a Cat Lady who hated fags my apologies: but the video took so long to make its point I had to turn it off in boredom.

If you post rude things on the internet don't be surprised when people post rude things back. I think you should take EllenBeth's advice and "get a life" because posting twenty minute video's about people and then getting all butt hurt when they reply to you is not a normal thing to do.

And bringing your battles to a forum like this where you can continue to post one-sided stuff seeking validation is a pretty cowardly action. Post the entire contents of your conversation with EllenBeth and post her entire reply: or don't bother. From what little I actually managed to watch of the video what you are saying here is at odds with what she said.

My view as well.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Internet "contact" lacks the social context of real world meeting.

Meet someone while waiting at a bus stop and chat. You exchange personal information merely by being there- sex, age, appearance, approximate socio-economic group, a whole swathe of what I call "Bus stop data".

Contact via the 'Net lacks all that.

One of several results is concern. Worry. It may be very low grade, but it's there. Who is this person? What are they like? What do they want? Why are they reacting this way?

We see it here in both parties. Each is surprised by the action of the other. They compound the situation by communicating those concerns to others they don't know through the same, context-starved communication channel. Positive feedback. Elevatorgate. Molehill tectonics.

Don't do stuff like this and expect to be asked in for tea. You can't do tea through a wire.

 

[WilsonG]

Your videos come across as creepy and unwatchable. Frankly, if I got a PM pointing me to a video using character-based epithets from behind an identity-concealing visual effect, I'd be using stronger terms than "stalker".

You could have more sensitivity for the experience of the person you wish to interact with.