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Or, have some faith in humanity, considering: - This was just a fun bet between friends. Justin really didn't think it could be done and I wanted to show him h

Or, have some faith in humanity, considering: - This was just a fun bet between friends. Justin really didn't think it could be done and I wanted to show him how a little information goes a long way online. - Justin treated this girl well and she even knew about this bet. - "Look up online" != Stalking - None of the discovered information has been posted publicly online. This isn't even her photo.

jbg331 13y ago
When I told her about the bet she laughed and took it all in stride. She thought it was funny.
- masterzora 13y ago
  Did you tell her about it/get her permission beforehand? Or did she say something when you met her that indicated it would be okay? If so, great. If not, this is still in the creepy / douche canoe area and the fact that she happened to be okay with it after the fact doesn't really change that.
abalone 13y ago
> - This was just a fun bet between friends… she even knew about this bet. No, from what you guys have said you didn't tell her about it until after the fact. That's super douchey and retroactive permission doesn't change anything. If you grabbed a girl's butt and she laughed it off as "fun between friends," it doesn't make it ok. You need to ask permission first. If you think cyberstalking is only bad if you add doxing to it, then you don't understand cyberstalking.
- philfreo 13y ago
  She knew what was going on, not just after the fact. I've just re-read the definitions for "stalking", "cyberstalking", and "harassment" and I can assure you none of what we did qualifies given the actual scenario of how things really occurred.
  - abalone 13y ago
    That directly contradicts what your colleague says. He says when she found out about it she laughed it off. So which one of you is telling the truth?
    - mikeash 13y ago
      It's not impossible to "find out" about something before it's over, you know. The white knights in this thread need to calm down just a wee bit.
- vacri 13y ago
  Calm down. The engineers were proving to the sales guy that it's possible to get this kind of information online. They weren't seeking any advantage over the subject at all, directly or indirectly. Keep in mind that the information that they were looking for could just as easily have been volunteered by the sales guy in other circumstances, so it's not like this information was tightly under her control in the first place. "What's her name? Where does she live?" - these are pretty common questions when discussing romantic liaisons with friends and colleagues.
abalone 13y ago
> - None of her information has been posted online. You are totally lying. I just saw your other comment on this where you admitted you posted her pic in a Facebook ad. I will quote: >This is the closest I've heard to one of the ideas that we expected to work, so I'll share. >- Create an ad on Facebook with her picture. >- Target people that went to her high school within 4 years of the range of years we thought she graduated within. Was only a few hundred people so the cost of running the ad would likely only be a few bucks. >- The ad copy / landing page just needed to be convincing that we weren't stalking her. We went with the "help us win a bet" approach but the "lost camera" approach would have been good also. >Ultimately we got the answer sooner from another approach after we found out that we had another picture of the girl that Justin didn't know we had. So we canceled the ad, but I think this would have worked if given enough time. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6369859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6369859 I especially like the part about making the ad copy "convincing that we weren't stalking her."
- philfreo 13y ago
  The ad was honest and even described the bet. "stalk [verb]: to follow, watch, and bother (someone) constantly in a way that is frightening, dangerous, etc." -- merriam-webster This very much was not the case. If it makes you feel better, the ad was also taken down very quickly.
  - masterzora 13y ago
    If it makes you feel better, the ad was also taken down very quickly. This would be much more meaningful if you hadn't already stated that you took it down because you already got the information you wanted.
  - abalone 13y ago
    It's interesting you claim the word "honest". You lied about posting her picture online. Not only did you post it online, you targeted her classmates and let them know she was flirting with some douche in your company! Yeah, no one would ever possibly be creeped out by that. You think it's ok because you have good intentions. Guess what? So does every other creep. It's not up to you to decide whether your actions are frightening. You took a bet that you could stalk (message all her classmates!) and dox (post her picture online!) a girl without her permission and without even the slightest self-awareness that it's invasive behavior. And then you tried to lie about key details. You, sir, are exactly the kind of male-privileged "brogrammer" that is giving this industry a bad name these days.

jbg331 13y ago

When I told her about the bet she laughed and took it all in stride. She thought it was funny.

masterzora 13y ago
Did you tell her about it/get her permission beforehand? Or did she say something when you met her that indicated it would be okay? If so, great. If not, this is still in the creepy / douche canoe area and the fact that she happened to be okay with it after the fact doesn't really change that.

abalone 13y ago

> - This was just a fun bet between friends… she even knew about this bet. No, from what you guys have said you didn't tell her about it until after the fact. That's super douchey and retroactive permission doesn't change anything. If you grabbed a girl's butt and she laughed it off as "fun between friends," it doesn't make it ok. You need to ask permission first. If you think cyberstalking is only bad if you add doxing to it, then you don't understand cyberstalking.

philfreo 13y ago
She knew what was going on, not just after the fact. I've just re-read the definitions for "stalking", "cyberstalking", and "harassment" and I can assure you none of what we did qualifies given the actual scenario of how things really occurred.
- abalone 13y ago
  That directly contradicts what your colleague says. He says when she found out about it she laughed it off. So which one of you is telling the truth?
  - mikeash 13y ago
    It's not impossible to "find out" about something before it's over, you know. The white knights in this thread need to calm down just a wee bit.
vacri 13y ago
Calm down. The engineers were proving to the sales guy that it's possible to get this kind of information online. They weren't seeking any advantage over the subject at all, directly or indirectly. Keep in mind that the information that they were looking for could just as easily have been volunteered by the sales guy in other circumstances, so it's not like this information was tightly under her control in the first place. "What's her name? Where does she live?" - these are pretty common questions when discussing romantic liaisons with friends and colleagues.

abalone 13y ago

> - None of her information has been posted online. You are totally lying. I just saw your other comment on this where you admitted you posted her pic in a Facebook ad. I will quote: >This is the closest I've heard to one of the ideas that we expected to work, so I'll share. >- Create an ad on Facebook with her picture. >- Target people that went to her high school within 4 years of the range of years we thought she graduated within. Was only a few hundred people so the cost of running the ad would likely only be a few bucks. >- The ad copy / landing page just needed to be convincing that we weren't stalking her. We went with the "help us win a bet" approach but the "lost camera" approach would have been good also. >Ultimately we got the answer sooner from another approach after we found out that we had another picture of the girl that Justin didn't know we had. So we canceled the ad, but I think this would have worked if given enough time. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6369859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6369859 I especially like the part about making the ad copy "convincing that we weren't stalking her."

philfreo 13y ago
The ad was honest and even described the bet. "stalk [verb]: to follow, watch, and bother (someone) constantly in a way that is frightening, dangerous, etc." -- merriam-webster This very much was not the case. If it makes you feel better, the ad was also taken down very quickly.
- masterzora 13y ago
  If it makes you feel better, the ad was also taken down very quickly. This would be much more meaningful if you hadn't already stated that you took it down because you already got the information you wanted.
- abalone 13y ago
  It's interesting you claim the word "honest". You lied about posting her picture online. Not only did you post it online, you targeted her classmates and let them know she was flirting with some douche in your company! Yeah, no one would ever possibly be creeped out by that. You think it's ok because you have good intentions. Guess what? So does every other creep. It's not up to you to decide whether your actions are frightening. You took a bet that you could stalk (message all her classmates!) and dox (post her picture online!) a girl without her permission and without even the slightest self-awareness that it's invasive behavior. And then you tried to lie about key details. You, sir, are exactly the kind of male-privileged "brogrammer" that is giving this industry a bad name these days.