Poll: PleaseRobMe.com

[D_987]

They are being reckless and irresponsible...mainly because their entire message is flawed - I could explain why but it has already been done so by a poster on The Next Web, via an article linked by PleaseRobMe.com...

This argument always strikes me as slightly paranoid. Telling people where I live doesn't (necessarily) make my house easier to burgle (any more than telling people the name, account number and sort code of my bank makes it easier to steal my money.)

1) The address of my house is public domain by default: all you need to do is walk down the street, and you'll see it (along with hundreds of others.)

2) Many houses OTHER than mine are empty. Often they are empty during the day, when a majority of people are at work.

3) Knowing that I am not at my house is not the same as knowing that my house is empty.

4) Knowing that I am not at my house, and that my house is empty (based on correlating and cross-referencing the 4sq logins for me, my wife, our domestic help, and any visitors who may be staying with us this week) is not the same as being able to crack our various locks or disable our alarm systems.

Most breaking & entering is -- I believe -- opportunist crime. I don't believe that the great majority of B&E is carried out by criminal masterminds.

Furthermore, I believe that the level of smarts & education and the access to sufficient technology to optimize break-ins according to feedback on geolocative services could probably earn you greater money with less risk in almost ANY other field of endeavour than breaking and entering.

If you're going to be paranoid, why not BEGIN by installing some security?

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/02/17/please-rob-me/

Pretty much, the whole idea of the site is flawed, as the chances of being burgled as a result of this kind of technology
is incredibly low, let people do what they want...

 

[yoyo13rom]

If you really want to track someone down, just two words: credit card.

 

[j0frenzy]

Exactly why I don't use Twitter.

Because you would post information that you were leaving your house and would get robbed? Seems like a silly reason, but if it is the only way to stop yourself then whatever.

Honestly, I would rather these people be doing it as a demonstration now than have some serial thief do it first and people actually getting hurt by their social network sites. This doesn't mean that Twitter is bad, it means that all social networking should be done responsibly.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

Meh, if you use Twitter then you deserve to be robbed of everything you have.

 

[JanatUrlich]

Haha I love that site! I laughed so much when a friend showed it to me.

Those crazy Dutch bastards <3

 

[Veret]

i think they are recklessly raising awareness.
I need a 'both' option.

Definitely this. They're teaching people not to get robbed by making them get robbed.

 

[geldonyetich]

I sort of like the idea of promoting Internet accountability by pointing out that anyone with the right tools and time can actually track you down and punch you for being a douche

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Is anyone else expecting a complicated scheme of someone arragning for a friend to "rob" they're house, and then sue the site? I can't wait, personally.

 

[Distorted Stu]

This acctulyl a really good idea. I liek it!

 

[Booze Zombie]

I think it's a bit of both, serious criminals would've realised this by now where as petty criminals might now actually think about it.

 

[Captain Blackout]

Due to the nature of the internet, they are doing publicly what is certain to be done by criminals, including hard core criminals privately. If dangerous net stuff is going to happen for certain, would you rather it be public, or would you rather it be private and in the wrong hands?

Granted, this doesn't work for everything. Teen sexting cases that end up public and lead a prosecutor to think "Sex Offender charge under my belt! Freebie for me, just have to screw kids for life just because they were kids!"

SOOOOO: I'm all for this concept, but oh lord even at our best there are unseen hazards.

 

[Captain Blackout]

Meh, if you use Twitter then you deserve to be robbed of everything you have.

Does that include if you're a dog? My do..... never mind, I'm not even going to try and make that joke. My dog would never forgive me if I got her twitter, I know it, and I wouldn't do it to her. [sub]and yes, there is twitter for dogs[/sub]

 

[driveBYargument]

It is reckless endangerment in a way, but its also the kind of point that people will listen too. People as a group tend to be stubborn, ignorant, and fickle who don't seem to answer to good intentioned warnings. When one side won't listen in a dialogue and all other options are exhausted I say its perfectly justified.

 

[Sjakie]

raising awareness is a good thing. Even if they would forcefeed you that awareness with a shovel to your face im still for it.

People are getting to ignorant of their own actions and the consequences they might have. Not-knowing has become an excuse when the shit hits the fan. And when people dont know, they always start to blame others or other things instead of taking a good, hard look in the mirror and wonder about what they should have done better in the first place.

In todays world it can be argued that you simply cant know everything, that is true. The law should protect you from most of those things imo, but to simply be aware of a lot of those things can save you a shitload of trouble.

After all it only takes ONE (criminal) asshole to abuse your ignorance/gullibility/naïveté (sp?) against you

 

[antidonkey]

Anybody dumb enough to tell the entire internet when they aren't going to be home for extended periods of time deserve to has their shit stolen.......and also to have the stupid beaten out of them with a sock full of quaters.


However, what these guys are doing at that website is fundamentally irresponsible. There are better ways to go about what they're trying to do.

 

[oktalist]

If someone got robbed as a result of the information they found on Please Rob Me, or say an estranged boyfriend stabbed someone based on that info, would the creators of the website have any responsibility for that?

What about the company that manufactured the knife used in the stabbing?

Websites don't rob people; people do.

This is just like posting scripts online which exploit security vulnerabilities in software, which I wholeheartedly approve of, because it encourages developers to release updates to fix the issues.

 

[Koganesaga]

People are stupid, and because people are stupid, they need smart people to show them how stupid they are, and these guys got the right idea. Morons who foolish insist on updating everything to do (I wonder if people set it to masturbating) are asking for trouble, and disgustingly social people should be grateful for some kind soul to give them a chance to correct themselves before it's too late. As for those who has been whatevered as a result of the site had it coming one way or another.

 

[oktalist]

Pretty much, the whole idea of the site is flawed, as the chances of being burgled as a result of this kind of technology is incredibly low, let people do what they want...

I see it as more of a general privacy awareness thing, not specific to burglary. Telling the whole world your precise location at all times is just stupid, and can be dangerous to yourself and those around you.