So, it’s no secret that I’m a member of several web sites which cater to more prurient interests (hell, my user name is always the same, and I use clear face pictures, so it’s not like it’s hidden). Many of these sites allow you to a) see who has looked at your profile recently and/or b) see if someone has rated your profile.
Yesterday, while feeding my ego checking those self-same sites, one of the pictures stood out as looking familiar. I puzzled a bit, it wasn’t the best or, I now realize, the most recent picture of him, but then it hit me: I work with this gentleman. Not directly with him, I’ve not addressed any legal issues in his area, but we usually see each other every other week or so in one of the cafeterias in our office building, often enough that I eventually recognized him, despite the more grizzled appearance in his online profile.
Now, this isn’t the first co-worker I’ve seen on such sites, nor the first that I’ve had confirmation of some of the rather naughty things they like to enjoy in private, but it is the first where I only have a casual, passing acquaintance with the gentleman (hell, I don’t think I even know his name in this case). But I’m wondering how to handle this. With the others I’ve known, I knew them well enough to be able to tease them a little bit about it in private, but as I said, I don’t even know this guy’s name, just that he usually orders a grilled cheese sandwich and which office he works in.
So how does one, or does one at all, acknowledge the recognition?