I really don’t care enough about this to expend the energy myself, but the short answer is yes…if you do a search for threads started by the OP, you’ll find s/he has a history of posting threads about inappropriate or illegal activities s/he likes or would like to do, many of them involving creeping out strangers.
Also, note the OP has pointedly avoided answering the question I put forward in post #9.
Kayaker obviously must be referring to the flashlight that Diamonds02 liked to shine into homes. Diamonds, we must know where you keep the flashlight!
I do glance into homes where the windows are wide open, lights blazing .. but I’d never stop to stare.
I think your focus is wrong here. Many people don’t bother to close their curtains, but it’s not a purposeful gesture, nor an invitation.
Okay, I’ll bite.
No, this is not normal behaviour. Glancing in the house for as long as it takes to walk by is normal, with the understanding that you don’t slow your pace, or keep staring if you’re observed by the occupants.
People are not leaving their curtains open in order for you to view their homes. Maybe they just haven’t got around to closing them since dusk fell, maybe there’s furniture in the way making it awkward to pull them closed, maybe they just like watching the stars in the night sky, but they’re leaving them open for them to look out, not for you to look in.
A friendly smile, wave, looking away and keeping walking is the best gesture to demonstrate your passing curiosity.
Don’t use binoculars after Labor Day.
I do it, not so much to see what kind of stuff they have, but because I enjoy looking in and imagining what their lives are like.
In my opinion, if you want to keep the interior of your home out of a passerby’s gaze, close your curtains.
Not if you do it in such a way that you could get caught, it’s not.
I see nothing wrong with glancing around at what you can see from the street or sidewalk, including what you can see through people’s windows, if you’re out driving or walking at a normal speed. Slowing down or stopping to stare, or coming onto people’s property to look through their windows, though, is rude and creepy.
I can’t help looking into windows when I’m walking past, but I never break stride.
I want to be able to look out my windows. That doesn’t mean I’m inviting you into my life. I shouldn’t have to barricade myself in my own home to keep prying eyes out.
That being said, I don’t think it’s untoward to glance at a home when you’re passing by. But if you’ve lingered long enough to “take note of the furniture, walls, and light fixtures”, you’re overstepping social boundaries.
StG
That’s why I wear my sunglasses at night. So I can watch your furniture, walls, and light fixtures.
If there’s enough time to get a glare and contemplate a return gesture, you’ve been staring too long.
Heh, I totally do this too.
Take a dog. If the occupants give you a dirty look, bend over and pick up the poop your dog has ostensibly just deposited in their grass. Stand up, nod briskly and walk on.
No dog? Stop snooping.
I ride my bike past a brownstone Courtney Love used to rent and while she was there I’d discreetly take a glance in the window while riding past. There wasn’t much to see and pictures of the interior were posted online anyway (I found out it was her house because of an article about how she was being evicted due to disagreements with the owner over the decor).
I think it’s only ok to look in someone’s window if you could plausibly be looking somewhere else, at the building in general, etc. Otherwise I can see anyone inside who catches you being very disturbed.
You are perfectly fine to look into any window you like imo, in basically any circumstances. They can draw the blinds/curtains if they don’t want you looking, which is what I do.
Hell feel free to play with yourself if you’re discreet.
I myself do not look into people’s windows, but that is because I have an autistic reaction to eye contact…
I’m starting to wonder how many Dopers are cat burglars out casing their next job.
This is why I line the inside of my windows with aluminum foil.
You should get a decomissioned cop car or taxicab, the kind that have a spotlight on one side of the windshield that you can aim from inside the car. Then you’d be able to look into houses where they haven’t left their lights on for some foolish reason.