I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day... • Hacker News Board

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#101

Post by _lex » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 12:23 AM UTC

ridejoy wrote: post #82

jonnathanson wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, this would work beautifully if the startup were actually involved in solving traffic or transportation problems. Ridejoy, for instance. If Ridejoy had pulled this stunt, it would have been very cute. That said, I'll give the man his props. This is ingenuity. Perhaps it's misdirected, to an extent. Perhaps it'll backfire. But it's something different. It is clever, regardless of whether we find it enjoyable or…

Funny, we considered flyering the entire auditorium during Startup School last year, but decided that was too annoying and ended up flyering just the bathrooms instead. No one got the fake grimlock references, sadly...

I got it, and I was thoroughly impressed.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#102

Post by jack-r-abbit » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 12:28 AM UTC

bdcravens wrote: post #85

I probably wouldn't respond this way, but: if I see you touching my car, my personal property, and you're not wearing a law enforcement uniform, it would be well within my right to respond as if you're stealing or vandalizing my car. I can't speak to SF, but in many areas, when the police respond to the physical altercation, they'd be asking me if I want to press charges.

As annoying as it can be to come out and find someone has placed a flyer on my car, I very, very, seriously, highly doubt that I would NOT be charged for assault if I was to beat them up for it. But I'm willing to look at evidence in the contrary.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#103

Post by 7402 » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 2:49 AM UTC

Dylan16807 wrote: post #94

7402 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"California Vehicle Code 10852. No person shall either individually or in association with one or more other persons, willfully damage or tamper with any vehicle or break or remove any part of a vehicle without the consent of the owner." This is an all-purpose section that, for example, makes it possible to arrest someone who is walking down the street trying the handles on car doors to see if they are unlocked - eve…

The word 'tamper' can seriously be applied to checking if a door is locked and causing no change whatsoever? I hate legal speak.

Context matters. (See, for example, http://hollister.ca.gov/Site/html/gov/office/police/document... ).

Interpreting "Legal speak" is not like a compiler checking syntax. It's more like interpreting a project's specifications in a way that makes sense. Just as in any important job, judgement matters.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#104

Post by ajasmin » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 3:10 AM UTC

austenallred wrote: post #31

People (both on HN and potentially IRL) or going to get a little frustrated with you for doing something like this. It's a little self-confident (maybe even pushy), will be very controversial, and walks the thin line between awesome and illegal. Which is exactly why I love it. Heck, let people call the police, go to jail for a couple of days or pay a fine, make a big ruckus about it, and make sure your company gets m…

I'm not sure how distributing flyers is perceived in California but I'd be really surprised if anyone ends up in jail for this.

At least it shows these hackers are willing to go out and some promote their ideas.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#105

Post by tptacek » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 4:06 AM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #35

cheald wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not have a smartphone? They're a very common way to install apps. Heck, I sometimes scan QR codes right off my monitor.

I've been in continuous ownership of at least one smartphone since the iPhone 1. I have yet to scan a QR code "in the wild" (i.e., while not testing software that's QR-code related). I'm willing to bet I can tap the install button for a given app faster than you can scan the equivalent QR code and hit install. The challenge is for iOS. The workflow for scanning and actioning on a QR code is tediously slow. Unlock you…

QR codes might be workable if the camera app automatically detected them.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#106

Post by Dylan16807 » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 4:39 AM UTC

7402 wrote: post #103

Dylan16807 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word 'tamper' can seriously be applied to checking if a door is locked and causing no change whatsoever? I hate legal speak.

Context matters. (See, for example, http://hollister.ca.gov/Site/html/gov/office/police/document... ). Interpreting "Legal speak" is not like a compiler checking syntax. It's more like interpreting a project's specifications in a way that makes sense. Just as in any important job, judgement matters.

Yeah, context matters a lot. And right next to 'tamper' it has 'damage' and 'remove'. Tugging a handle should be equivalent to staring in the window. Very suspicious but not a violation of this particular statute.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#107

Post by shock3naw » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 7:03 AM UTC

matznerd wrote: post #40

xb95 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, I came here to note the "its" problem. I won't try the app or look any further, because anybody who can't be bothered to use proper grammar on a publicity stunt sure as hell isn't going to release a quality product.

That is not a just correlation. Someone who is creative enough to come up with something like this, probably has a creative app as well. It is nearly impossible to put out a product without any minor mistakes.

There's a huge gap in the complexity of getting your product perfect and not making grade-school level grammar errors on a 20 line 'parking ticket.'

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#108

Post by Xcelerate » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 1:09 PM UTC

bdcravens wrote: post #84

Xcelerate wrote: post #4

I must admit -- it's an ingenious way to pitch your company.

Selling your product by putting flyers on people's cars: yes, totally original.

No, the fake parking ticket part. I've never seen anyone do that, so it qualifies as "original".

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#109

Post by protomyth » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 3:08 PM UTC

phogster wrote: post #32

protomyth wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would seriously caution people against making it a close copy (particularly of money) of an official document. Depending on the situation, there are state and federal statues backing up the local ones. // sorry to be a killjoy

I think the word you're looking for is "statutes".

I think autocorrect felt otherwise :(

I really don't get the "word I typed is in the dictionary, but autocorrect thinks it found something better" use case.

Re: I just left 200 fake parking tickets at YC Demo Day...

#110

Post by protomyth » Wed, Aug 22, 2012, 3:10 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #44

unreal37 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How close does that actually look to a real parking ticket? It doesn't even say the word "parking" on it or mention a fine $ amount. This is just innovative guerrilla marketing.

It's littering.

yep, and some city's take using their name pretty poorly with the word "VIOLATION" pretty poorly.