local website-hitting below the belt??

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

There is a local website for the town near where I live. It has a chat room you can enter and/or several threads about local topics..the usual stuff..I never get into the chatroom..Over time there has been the same 5 people or so that have more or less hijacked the website and they are either in chat all day or they have to comment on every topic regardless if you want to hear their opinion or not..they tell everyone how the government should be ran/how you should run your families/basically every facet of your life..In my job I have to be familiar with several free 2 the public websites-Butler Co Clerk of Courts for example that tells you a lot about people..I know some of these people by name but I dont think they know me..I admit to one night in frustration looking up some of these characters..we are talking numerous judgements/divorces/domestic viloence/foreclosures etc.. is it wrong to have looked up this info?...is it wrong to tell them without mentioning anyone's name to take care of their own messes knowing what you about them??

[GoReds33]

I don't think it's wrong. Just remember, we all have our shortfalls. I lookup people all the time on those court websites. I do so knowing that somewhere, somebody could be looking me up. I think that telling them to fix their own messes might be going a bit far though. The power of the internet is anonymity, so I think it would be best to keep that comment to yourself. They don't need you to know that you are looking them up.

[Unassisted]

There are more clever ways to use that information than just laying your cards on the table. For instance, you can refer to a phantom "friend" or phantom relative who just happens to have the same situation as the person (or the person's victim). When you relate your anecdote about your "friend," to the person you looked up who's in the same situation, that's your opportunity to make known your strong opinion about the friend's particular predicament.