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Naming no names...

I recently discovered that another user on one of the Stack Exchanges I frequent is a person I used to know in real life, who is still trying to chase after me despite my making it very clear that I don't want their company. This person has joined SE only in order to stalk me. So far they've posted one answer (to a question I'd also answered) and one question (which I believe was set in order to entrap me - the topic is a joke the two of us used to share IRL back when I used to spend time with this person), and participated in chat speaking almost exclusively to me.

When I joined SE, I tried hard to ensure my anonymity, mainly because I feared this person might try to stalk me. I no longer feel quite comfortable using SE, knowing that this user is following me around and watching what I do. But as far as I know, they haven't broken any SE rules.

Is there anything that can be done by SE administration? Are people allowed to join SE purely to stalk other people? Or do I just have to deal with it?

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    Is there a restraining order in place? If not, I don't think there isn't much that can be done here. You could create a new account and abandon the old. Leave the trail cold, so to speak.
    – Martijn Pieters
    Dec 24, 2014 at 21:11
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    However, you are mostly talking to the community here. You could contact the community team directly using the Contact Us link on the site, instead.
    – Martijn Pieters
    Dec 24, 2014 at 21:11
  • If the other person consistently votes for you / against you serially, then that's a punishable act. Other than that - all your activity here is publicly visible and there's even an RSS feed of all their public activity. What exactly do you mind?
    – John Dvorak
    Dec 24, 2014 at 21:12
  • @MartijnPieters Thanks for this! This seems to be the only real solution, but I'm reluctant to abandon all that reputation (both in terms of points and literally)! I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it.
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 24, 2014 at 21:16
  • Kind of related: meta.stackexchange.com/q/226499/162102
    – Monica Cellio
    Dec 24, 2014 at 21:17
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    If you do wind up abandoning your current account and starting a new one, it'd be worth thinking about how this person was able to identify your SE account in the first place.
    – David Z
    Dec 24, 2014 at 22:55
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    @DavidZ Good point, thanks. Carelessness on my part is the answer; next time (if there is a next time) I'll have to be more on my guard. This person probably won't leave me alone until one of us is in the grave ... but that's a personal problem and not an SE problem. Sorry for bothering you all with this.
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 25, 2014 at 0:12

1 Answer 1

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Almost everything that happens on Stack Exchange -- main sites, meta sites, most chat rooms -- is public. That means anybody can see it and interact with it. If you're not comfortable with that, then no, there's really nothing that SE can do to protect you from another user who isn't misbehaving. You both have the same rights to use the site.

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    Thanks! I guessed this would be the answer. Oh well, I was planning to leave SE soon anyway.
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 25, 2014 at 0:13

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