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Please Rob Me

pleaserobme.com

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Re: Please Rob Me

#71

Post by Periodic »

cschneid wrote: post #39
yummyfajitas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding spring guns, fun fact: it is illegal for you to make your home unsafe for burglars and other lawbreakers in most US states.

More generally, boobytrapping stuff has lots of potential harm to lots of potential people. (gas company employees, police, etc). The fact that it's also harmful to thiefs is tangential.

My middle school got bitten by this. The roof collapsed on a burglar and he successfully sued the school. At the time he was not doing anything illegal (as he was outside a public school). The roof was unsafe and we have laws against that to protect HVAC technicians and the like.

That he was up to no good was irrelevant.

Re: Please Rob Me

#72

Post by axod »

Semiapies wrote: post #69
axod wrote: post #61

"burglarized" still makes me chuckle when I see it written. (It is not a valid word in English). edit: Yes, I know it's valid in American . Burgled (English), Burglarized (American English).

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burglarize Hmm. Which dictionary do you work for?

By English, I mean English. Not American English.

Re: Please Rob Me

#73

Post by PostOnce »

axod wrote: post #61

"burglarized" still makes me chuckle when I see it written. (It is not a valid word in English). edit: Yes, I know it's valid in American . Burgled (English), Burglarized (American English).

dictionary.reference.com: Origin: 1870–75, Americanism; burglar + -ize

It's old, it's popular, and it's well understood. It is certainly a valid word.

Saying you were burgled has a Mr. Burns feel to it. It's almost always burglarized or robbed in the United States.

Re: Please Rob Me

#74

Post by josefresco »

nostrademons wrote: post #68
jrockway wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why I suggested them. Lots of illegal activity all at once makes for the best reading.

Next up: PleaseArrestMe.com, highlighting all the illegal activity that people have put up on teh intarwebs for public consumption.

Don't forget PleaseFireMe.com and PleaseDontHireMe.com

Re: Please Rob Me

#75

Post by josefresco »

tbgvi wrote: post #18

Something tells me that heavy users of foursquare have already considered the implications of letting people know where they are at all times. I don't think this site will deter these people from checking in somewhere.

What about light users? Or users who give it a try, but then forget about it? I don't think we should protect people from themselves by banning it but there should be some warnings attached.

Re: Please Rob Me

#76

Post by josefresco »

jrockway wrote: post #14

To be fair, pretty much every single person with a job leaves their home empty all day. Everyone already knows this. I can't wait until I get to read about someone who decided to rob one of these people, but then gets shot to death by the spring gun they set up. Bonus if the spring gun auto-uploads to YouTube.

The issue is that unlike simply observing someone leaving for their regular job, with Foursquare you know exactly where/how far away someone is. If you're watching a house to rob, there's still a remote chance that they might come home randomly (sickness/forgot something). With these 'check-in' services there's no doubt that the user is X miles away and therefore X minutes away from returning.

Re: Please Rob Me

#77

Post by chrischen »

dzlobin wrote: post #37
yummyfajitas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding spring guns, fun fact: it is illegal for you to make your home unsafe for burglars and other lawbreakers in most US states.

This is true, I forget where but a few years back a burglar sued a homeowner and won because he entered a cabin and a springloaded shotgun blew off his leg

I don't get how they can win a civil case. Maybe if the homeowner broke a law and get criminal charges, but why did the burglar win for having no good intentions being in the house?

Same thing for the burglar school case. If the roofs weren't safe for hvac technicians, why does the burglar win the case? They should at least be able to defend their reason to be there, and the school should be charged seperatley for shifty construction.

Re: Please Rob Me

#78

Post by marcusestes »

barredo wrote: post #57
edw519 wrote: post #12

1. Programmers write apps that no one ever asked for but may be able to use. 2. Widespread adoption of apps that no one ever asked for but may be able to use. 3. Holy shit, what have we done to ourselves? 4. Programmers write apps to minimize the consequences of widespread adoption of apps that no one ever asked for but may be able to use. 5. Widespread adoption of apps to minimize the consequences of widespread adop…

You're talking about Google Buzz, right?

Zing!

Re: Please Rob Me

#79

Post by josefresco »

sorbits wrote: post #55
dangrossman wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I searched for my city, and found the most recent listing on the site. Clicked through to that Twitter user's profile, then to their website which was about yoga classes. On her yoga website, she lists her home address. It's in the WHOIS data of her domain too. Chances are it's not that rare to be able to get an address for someone that's connected enough to be tweeting their location all the time.

Does the web site also list class schedules? Because that is also a source of “when she is not at home”, as someone else already said, most people who have a job are out during the day, so finding “empty homes” is not exactly rocket science. Also, in addition to “empty home” you also want a place where no-one hears you if you break a window or similar, a place where it is easy to leave with the stolen goods without b…

Take it even further. Scout the location, observe the 'regular' schedule (of leaving for work/school) and then use Twitter to make certain they are not close to home.

Re: Please Rob Me

#80

Post by Semiapies »

axod wrote: post #72
Semiapies wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burglarize Hmm. Which dictionary do you work for?

By English, I mean English. Not American English.

Ah, UK English.

Not sure why UK English vocabulary should apply to this site; it does not appear to be based there, and the people who make it appear to be from the Netherlands.

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