What do you mean when you say someone is "creepy" on the internet?

“Creepy” is when I get a very inappropriate PM on here. Someone directly asking you some very personal questions, for me is “creepy”.
I don’t agree with it only being specific to older men. Anyone is capable, it varies. So no, coming from a man over 50 is not “creepy”. When you’re an idiot you’re an idiot. You don’t get a pass for being young and/or attractive.
I don’t think it’s gender specific. Again, anyone is capable.

My initial impression is a male being too aggresive. According to society, men are supposed to wait for the green light, which is either some vague signals, or something more patent. If one cannot interpret the signals or body language, or is too socially unaware, they have reached creeper status. I’m aware this is subjective, though.

Creepy is determined by a gut feeling, for me.

Definitely not age related. There is creepy stuff coming from 14 and 15 yr olds, as well as 50 yr olds.

There are two creepy things going on that I see. First is using the anonymity of the internet to pester someone with sexually oriented questions and requests, as when someone asks another for a specific act or pictures.

The second is stalking someone, such as knowing about all of their Fluther answers, finding them on Facebook and other places.

I agree creepy is not age related. Creepy I associate wit either a feeling I am being stalked by a person, or they are too sexual in their conversation and don’t pick up on cues that they have stepped over the line. The line might be in different places for different people. I don’t think it is about demographics, but more about how well I know the person, and how confident I am that they are not going to get really weird and actually try to pursue me or invade my privacy when it is unwanted. I guess it also has to do with the consistency in which the person seems to cross the line. If I have known somekne for months or years, if they say a creepy thing one day I would just dismiss it. But, someone new, then my antenna is up that they just are typically innapropriate or maybe creepy.

I think creepy is more age-related than sex-related. I expect adults to understand social norms better than teenagers.

I think we all know it when we see it; not that hard to figure out.

@janbb Sorry for being so stupid. I don’t know it. Or maybe I’ve never seen it. So if you wouldn’t mind taking a little bit of time out of your busy life, would you please outline some criteria for creepiness? Or was this a stupid question? Thanks for the New Year’s self esteem boost! {{{{}}}}

I guess I’m wondering why you asked the question. Are people accusing you of being creepy? (And since you asked, my life is very busy since my husband walked out on me and i am running around the world trying to keep despair at bay. I have little patience right now for naval gazing so sorry for the snark.)

Nope. No one accused me. If you must know, not that it’s any of your business, nor relevant to the question, someone else mentioned that they had experienced a creeper, and I wanted to know what other people think of when they use the term. Pardon me for not thinking everyone has the same idea.

Please, you should know this by now—if you don’t like the question and you don’t have a helpful answer, just move on. Even if it is a social question. Denigrating the question (without even asking where it is coming from first) is beneath you. I hope.

Obviously you think I’m a stupid person or you wouldn’t have made a comment like that. I don’t know why you felt it necessary to put it in public. I’ll just admit that I’m stupid and don’t know what is going on here and I would like to understand, if that’s all right with you. This is, after all, a question and answer site. Last I heard, anyway. Did they change things in the migration to the new server last night?

My definition of “creepy” usually has to do with questionable sexual behaviors that are, obviously, predatory, innappropriate and invasive to ones privacy.

There is a sometimes member here that has, on various occasions, solicited certain women, myself included in a voyeuristic manner. PM’s asking for physical and sexual descriptors.

Anyone that lacks healthy boundaries is a creep IMO.

Yeah women can be creepy, but I’ve had to run away from way more creepy men. I don’t think creepy is age related. You get a gut feeling generally.

Two different people can walk up to you and tell you that they want to have sex with you, and physical appearance doesn’t matter, it’s if they look like they want you eat you up for dinner even if that’s not ok with you.

Soliciting sex, urgently asking, is pretty much always creepy. However, telling someone you fancy them and if it is mutual that maybe you two should take the relationship to a more recumbent position if that’s what they’d like to do… Is kosher in my book.

Creepy is hitting a young girl in the crotch with a newspaper when you walk by her on the sidewalk.

Creepy is hiding in a bathroom stall and peeping over at a women with her pants down around her ankles.

Creepy is lying to a woman saying that you are separated while you are still married.

Creepy is saying how nice the fabric is on a woman’s shirt while rubbing your hand up and down her arm and “accidentally” grazing her breast.

All of the above have happened to me. Can women be creepy? Probably, someone somewhere, But statistically, it is men.

Oh, by the way, creepy is also sending naked pictures of yourself to someone you met on the Internet.

@marinelife Thank you. Regarding the last—if the pictures are solicited, is it still creepy? Is it creepy to solicit such pictures?

@marinelife As soon as I can find them, I’m sending you nekkid pictures of myself in the bathtub when I was 3. Cause I’m a creep.~ Just kidding I have no digital copies. Would you take photos of when I was 23 instead? :D ~

@wundayatta ; Creepy (on the intranet) is when a guy crosses the line with sexual innuendo. It’s when They say things or ask things privately that they wouldn’t say or ask in front of either parties significant others. Creepy is when it feels like a guy is trying to see under your clothes even figuratively, when no indication has ever been given that you are willing to go there.

For me, creepy is a gut feeling. There are people I don’t feel awkward sharing things with that I won’t with others and I expect people to leave it to me as to what I’m comfortable with.

Okay, chill with snapping at the penguin, or I’ll be forced to stuff her smelly lunch into places that will make you uncomfortable. She commented and you took it the wrong way… again. Take a Xanax.

“Creepy” is something that you just feel sometimes. I’ve gotten creepy PMs and I’ve seen creepy comments. If something is “creepy”, I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I think creepy behaviour (online) is being overly suggestive without any encouragement or sending unsolicited naked photos.

Sometimes it can just be a sense. The person is overly familiar.

@marinelife

Haha..well, I can say I hold some sort of world record for being flashed by trench coats, in cars, in parks, on hikes. I seem to attract the jump out of the bushes types.

I am a magnet for flashers. lol

Creepy is when there is a lack of respect and boundaries aren’t observed. The creep imagines that everyone is secretly like him/her and this can be quite unsettling.

Creepy…is my wife’s cousin Chester.

If they give off that “I’m gonna track your computer, come find you, rape you, and kill you. Then keep your skull, and use it as a bed pan.” vibe, I might think they’re creepy. ;)

I have known myself to use the word “creepy” when someone’s behaviour towards me made me feel uncomfortable. I might also use it when I notice a friend of mine feels uncomfortable because of another person’s advances.

Warning: DISTURBING CONTENT…..

For the people who were wondering what inspired this question like @janbb did (which is understandable), I can explain it. @wundayatta asked another question about separating social and “sex” questions on here. I explained to him in a private message what that could turn into (based on my experiences on another site that has an “Adult Section”)—even went as far as saying I had asked a question on there about it because I was wondering how someone could be into bestiality at all (as I found it so disgusting and could not understand the appeal). At least one user on that site sent me a private message acting like I was into it and would go into detail about doing things with a dog. It was so gross and I found it creepy. @wundayatta found this gross himself and did not want to believe a word I said about it, but he took it as an opportunity to ask you all why you consider someone creepy when you do because the word “creepy” means different things to different people. So, yes, he’s right—he wasn’t called a creep. Someone else was.

Aggressive behavior along with asking too personal of questions. I still think the word creepy gets thrown around easily so I would say that (outside of the obvious) ‘creepiness’ tends to be subjective to each person.

@marinelife What is this…..I can’t even comprehend….......What the hell did you do when you saw the guy the in the bathroom?

@Blackberry It was at a state park. I pulled up my pants and ran out of the bathroom screaming. The guy took off across the park. We called the police. I don’t know if they caught him. I assume not since I never heard back from them.

Insane…... :(

@Blackberry but not uncommon. someone I worked with was arrested for videotaping women in the toilets of a local park.

@janbb O_O Not cool…....

@Blackberry Seriously creepy…

See… I don’t understand why they outlawed castration.

“Creepy on the Internet” for me is first, the obvious stuff…inappropriate and unwanted PMs, stalking from site to site, stuff like that. Less obvious is if someone goes on at length about their family and children, then in another context expresses sexual desire for girls or boys the ages of their underage children, stuff like that. My feeling is, if you want to talk about that, fine, but if you want to retain the respect of people on these sites at least use another account or go to another site.

And really, Wundy, such a slapfest at the penguin for commenting fairly mildly?

(Wearing a huge mustache) So, what are all you guys wearing?

@Blackberry A ponytail holder. Teeheehee.

@Blackberry : I just flashed on the “boob size” thread…didja miss it?

@JilltheTooth Yeah, I missed it :/
@WillWorkForChocolate Allllllll Riiiiight. :D

@Blackberry OK man, the tone of voice you said that in? Well it was creepy! :P