The Official Funny Stuff Thread™
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@boomzilla said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
1964 was the same year as Xerox introduced and patented the first commercialized version of the fax machine.
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@anotherusername said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
They find out you're taking pictures of babies in a public restroom and we won't be seeing your posts much longer.
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@JBert Eh, it was an inkjet, I wouldn't have gone for it myself... :P
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What dogs like to talk about
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@JBert
A follow-up news article about this guy getting dinged for petty theft would be the ultimate winner of this thread.Edit: Especially if he also got a bonus 5 years in prison for unauthorized access to a computer system (aka "hacking")
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@izzion there's nothing "theft" about it. It was in the trash.
Now, "hacking"... yeah that one could fly, if you get a sufficiently stupid and incompetent judge. Which unfortunately happens quite often...
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- In most urban jurisdictions I've lived in, the municipal code specifically prohibits taking items left out with the garbage by your neighbors and treats it equivalent to theft.
- He intentionally deceived the neighbor into throwing the printer away by making it appear defective via wireless trespassing. It's theft by conversion.
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@izzion said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
He intentionally deceived the neighbor into throwing the printer away by making it appear defective via wireless trespassing.
Did he force the neighbour to throw the printer out? No, therefore it's not theft by conversion. (The neighbour could have returned the printer to the store for a refund, but chose not to)
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@RaceProUK Or secured his printer.
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@lucas1 That would require the neighbour to be technically competent, which is far from guaranteed
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@izzion said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
He intentionally deceived the neighbour into throwing the printer away by making it appear defective via wireless trespassing. It's theft by conversion.
No it wasn't. It was an amusing way of letting whoever owned the printer that they should probably RTFM and set a password as @RaceProUK said the previous owner can't be that smart.
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@RaceProUK
Nigerian 419 scammers don't force you to send them money, either, but it's still considered theft
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@izzion No it is considered fraud.
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@izzion said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
Nigerian 419 scammers
People who fall for it should be prosecuted for fraud themselves as most of the scams are based on a fraudulent premise.
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@izzion said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
In most urban jurisdictions I've lived in, the municipal code specifically prohibits taking items left out with the garbage by your neighbors and treats it equivalent to theft.
That's interesting, because the supreme court ruled that it's okay.
I've only ever heard that it's usually illegal to steal recyclables out of curbside bins. But that isn't trash; it's designated for recycling and it's the property of whatever company also typically owns the bin in which it's been placed.
Anyway, if it's illegal to pick through trash, then it should also be illegal for police to search through trash without a search warrant...
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@RaceProUK said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
therefore it's not theft by conversion
It's still theft, because taking something the owner intended to throw away from a trash can without consent is still stealing in many legal systems, as unintuitive as that may be.
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Either way, somehow I doubt that his neighbor will want to prosecute if he ever finds out...
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
@RaceProUK said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
therefore it's not theft by conversion
It's still theft, because taking something the owner intended to throw away from a trash can without consent is still stealing in many legal systems, as unintuitive as that may be.
Whether or not it is a crime...it still is a pretty shitty thing to do.
E_FUNNY_NOT_FOUND
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@izzion The guy is an asshole, he should've talked to the neighbor and explain his printer was functional
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
@RaceProUK said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
therefore it's not theft by conversion
It's still theft, because taking something the owner intended to throw away from a trash can without consent is still stealing in many legal systems, as unintuitive as that may be.
Not that easy. In Germany it's a grey area where some judges think it theft while others don't. The rulings depend on the circumstances (i.e. the intent of the person throwing the stuff away), some examples (some a bit exaggerated to make the intent clear):
- If someone throws "confidential" material into the trash (say, some old love letters) then he probably intends for that stuff to actually go where no one will ever see it again. Hence: Theft.
- Same if a company actually puts a padlock on their trash containers. Again: Theft, with a side of damage to property
- It would also amount to theft if the trash containers are in an area where it's obvious that it's not a public venue (say, a back alley with a door, locked or not). Plus: You're most likely trespassing.
However, if you put the trash publicly on the roadside - that would most likely not be ruled as theft.
But at least in Germany, there are no fixed laws and thus judges have a lot of leeway to rule one way or the other.
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@Rhywden Sounds similar to the UK. AFAIK, it's not illegal to pull something out of a skip, but it is technically theft to go to the bins behind a supermarket and take expired food
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@Rhywden said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
If someone throws "confidential" material into the trash (say, some old love letters) then he probably intends for that stuff to actually go where no one will ever see it again. Hence: Theft.
In the U.S. the cops love being able to dig through someone's trash without a warrant.
And, generally, I agree with them. If you throw something in the trash, it's not secure. It's none of your business what happens to it afterward. As long as someone doesn't have to trespass on your property to get their hands on it, it's free for the picking.
You want something to be private, destroy or shred it yourself or pay a company to dispose of it securely.
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@anotherusername Different jurisdictions. Also: Whether something is secure or not is not relevant to the determination of theft.
Or rather: The fact that something is not secured does not mean that it's not theft.
Because otherwise anyone could walk away with, say, your lawnmower the second you're not looking.
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@izzion said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
In most urban jurisdictions I've lived in, the municipal code specifically prohibits taking items left out with the garbage by your neighbors and treats it equivalent to theft.
I could have sworn I've heard of cases where that was brought up - but struck down - once you take the trash out to the curb for pick up, it's fair game. Of course, that's the US. Your mileage may vary.
edit: ah yes, Without the Replied button, can't tell without reading the whole thread.
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@asdf oh comon if someone is throwing something away, they don't want it. You cannot steal when something is deemed as worthless to the original owner.
The same silly law exists in the UK with a skip. The only reason a skip exists is to be taken to the dump. I dunno how it can be considered stealing if someone has literally "thrown it away".
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@Rhywden the act of throwing something away carries the implication of waiving ownership of it. Therefore, it can't be stolen from you.
If it's just sitting out by the curb, then it's not the property of the refuse collection agency or company either. Therefore it's abandoned property and ought to free be free for the taking.
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@lucas1 said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
I dunno how it can be considered stealing if someone has literally "thrown it away".
As @Rhywden outlined above, if the original owner wanted his property to be destroyed instead of just getting rid of it, you're taking the thing against the owner's express will. Whether or not that was actually the case (and obvious to the alleged "thief") is up to a judge to decide, but knowingly doing that fits the definition of theft.
Example: If you put an old cupboard on the sidewalk, it's obvious that you don't care what happens to it. However, if you disassemble it and put it in the bin, you probably don't want someone else to have it? Taking the parts from the bin would be at least questionable, then.
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@anotherusername said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
@Rhywden the act of throwing something away carries the implication of waiving ownership of it. Therefore, it can't be stolen from you.
If it's just sitting out by the curb, then it's not the property of the refuse collection agency or company either. Therefore it's abandoned property and ought to free be free for the taking.
Again, it's the intent which plays a role. That's just the way the law works - something that's "obvious" becomes rather rapidly non-obvious in the edge cases.
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@asdf Sorry I just don't agree. Someone has taken it after you after you said you don't want it. Whether that is the binman or some random why the fuck do you care?
I don't think this disagreement would happen if it was a Tesco Sandwich wrapper or something disposable.
Also whether or not it should be right for him to take it. It would be wasteful to just chuck something that works fine. One of the reasons why me and my family have a bit of a hording problem. I don't throw anything away unless it is broken beyond repair.
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@Rhywden I don't see any other intent originally other than a playful way to tell someone that they should set a password.
The rest was advantageous for someone that is obviously somewhat smart and observant.
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
Example: If you put an old cupboard on the sidewalk, it's obvious that you don't care what happens to it. However, if you disassemble it and put it in the bin, you probably don't want someone else to have it? Taking the parts from the bin would be at least questionable, then.
Why would I care if the binman takes it or some random individual?
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@lucas1 said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
It would be wasteful to just chuck something that works fine.
True, but that's completely irrelevant. If I own something, I have the right to do whatever I please with that, including destroying it or ordering someone else to destroy it.* That's how property works. And taking something away from the rightful owner against his will is the definition of theft.
*Unless that breaks some other law. For example, I'm pretty sure you cannot legally destroy some important historical artifact.
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@asdf It was an addendum to my feelings on the subject rather than part of my argument. I should have clarified.
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@lucas1
It applies to the rest of your post as well. If I put something in the bin, I don't necessarily relinquish ownership. My intention might as well be to let someone else destroy my property. Telling someone else to destroy my property and not allowing them to give my property to a random person instead is my right as an owner.
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@asdf
You aren't ordering for someone to destroy it. You are putting it in a box that says "please take this from me as this has no worth to me".Does it matter if:
- A binman takes it from you
- Or a man from across the street.
The result is the same.
I could understand if some guy was fucking hording rubbish in his garden but this blatently isn't the case.
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@lucas1 said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
You are putting it in a box that says "please take this from me as this has no worth to me".
That's your interpretation; and I strongly disagree. If I put something in my waste bin, I don't want to allow people to dig through my trash, but I expect my property to be either burned or recycled.
@lucas1 said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
Does it matter if:
A binman takes it from you
Or a man from across the street.Yes, it does. I don't want anyone else to own the item, I want it to be properly destroyed. (And the bin man certainly won't claim ownership, he'll just dump everything into the truck without looking at it, which is exactly what I want.)
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@asdf Well I think that line or reasoning is ridiculous and quite selfish. So I dunno what else to say other than I think you might want to rethink it.
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
As @Rhywden outlined above, if the original owner wanted his property to be destroyed instead of just getting rid of it, you're taking the thing against the owner's express will.
I'm sorry, but the owner leaving something out by the curb or in the trash in no way implies "express will" of not having the next random passerby pick it up and walk off with it. It implies that the owner doesn't want it anymore. It does not imply that the owner wants it destroyed; if they do then there are other means of achieving that.
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
I don't want anyone else to own the item, I want it to be properly destroyed.
Then take it to a proper disposal facility. If you throw it in the trash, it'll just go in a landfill.
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
I don't want anyone else to own the item, I want it to be properly destroyed.
If you still care about it that much, you shouldn't throw it away. You should hire someone to destroy it. Then you maintain possession of it until you transfer it into their keep.
If you throw something away, you disavow yourself of any claim to it.
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@lucas1 said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
quite selfish
That's definitely true, but it's still within my rights.
(Note that I'm mostly playing devil's avocado here, this is not my personal opinion.)
@anotherusername said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
I'm sorry, but the owner leaving something out by the curb or in the trash in no way implies "express will" of not having the next random passerby pick it up and walk off with it.
I explicitly stated that "leaving something out by the curb" is different than throwing something in my trash bin.
It does not imply that the owner wants it destroyed; if they do then there are other means of achieving that.
I'm 90% sure that both burning plastic on my property and starting a personal landfill on my property are illegal due to environmental laws.
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@RaceProUK said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
I don't want anyone else to own the item, I want it to be properly destroyed.
Then take it to a proper disposal facility. If you throw it in the trash, it'll just go in a landfill.
Not necessarily. There are quite a number of waste disposal sites which burn the trash to generate energy.
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@asdf said in The Official Funny Stuff Thread™:
If I put something in my waste bin, I don't want to allow people to dig through my trash, but I expect my property to be either burned or recycled.
After this question, I will say we should agree to disagree.
I am asking why do you care who takes it as long as it gets Taken