Yeah, you do; as much as you don't like them, they have a right to be confronted face to face.
If I saw somebody talking about you, I'd ping you. It's forum courtesy. Has been for years.
Is this an official policy of Free Republic?
If so, where in the by-laws is it explicitly and unambiguously delineated?
You must ping each and every person who you refer to-even in the most oblique, peripheral manner-or refrain from alluding to them in any way whatsoever.
Funny, because I've never come across that particular rule.