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> I generally have ID with me only if I know in advance I'm going somewhere where I cannot do without it, a couple of times a month. I fly more than that! Wow,

> I generally have ID with me only if I know in advance I'm going somewhere where I cannot do without it, a couple of times a month. I fly more than that! Wow, what's the procedure like for when you don't have your ID if you don't mind me asking? What do you tell them when they ask why, how do they verify you, how early do you come/long does it take, etc.?

gumby 8y ago
I never make a big deal of it, just say casually, "sorry, I don't have any ID with me". If they really want something I hand over a credit card or business card. In general nobody really has a need for ID and would rather not lose your business. You show up with an Amex platinum card and a haircut no hotel is going to deny you a room just because you don't have ID. When you fly without ID (note: this is different from having ID but refusing to provide it -- I never do this) you just get a pat down search and your luggage looked at, basically. And this is true in general, though some NY buildings really will enforce an ID (absurd! It's just to keep poor people out) and some federal courthouses for some reason. I mean, it's not like people are checking IDs against some watch list when you walk into a building, nor do most people know what all forms of ID look like, so what's the purpose of all that nonsense? So for the ID case, like most things in life, I simply tell the truth. But for SSN I do fib: when asked for SSN (say at a drugstore or whatever) I say "sorry, I'm a foreigner and don't have one". Yes, I have one, but again, most people who ask for an SSN collect it for no reason that is useful to me. If you make a big deal of it then of course people won't want to deal with you -- it's generally not the decision of the person you're talking with anyway. But if you act like it's the most natural thing in the world then life usually just goes on, as it should.
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  Wow that was interesting, thanks for sharing! The question I was asking regarding how long it takes etc. was for the airport -- I thought they verify your ID otherwise somehow? By asking you questions or something? Do they really merely pat you down and look at your luggage without verifying who you are?
  - gumby 8y ago
    Pretty much; they ask a few questions but really what would they know to ask? The whole idea of needing ID to fly is quite recent; you used to by cheap unused tickets on craigslist (and before that from classified ads in newspapers). Round trip tickets were much cheaper than one way so people would buy a round trip and then sell the unused segment. Or a company would book a ticket and then due to a change of plans someone else would take the flight. On some flights you bought the ticket on the plane. Then again on a few occasions I got on the wrong flight and end up some place unexpected. The destructive permissions culture that we see online expanded along with parallel development in the physical world.
    - mehrdadn 8y ago
      Yeah I don't like it either, but doesn't that delay you in the airport a lot? I thought they take you to some room to do their questioning and that it can take half an hour to an hour. Do you just go early in expectation this/find it to be worth it?
- JohnFen 8y ago
  > But for SSN I do fib: when asked for SSN (say at a drugstore or whatever) I say "sorry, I'm a foreigner and don't have one". I'm rarely asked unless there is a regulatory reason they're asking (and then I tell the truth). But when someone wants to know mine for no legitimate reason, I give them Richard Nixon's SSN.
  - gumby 8y ago
    Like when someone asks for an address I simply give the address of the place I am (i.e. the shop asking for it). This works online too, Again, because the person asking (or the person who wrote the web form) typically isn't the person who made the rule, so rather than make life difficult I just inject chaff into the system.
- alasdair_ 8y ago
  > some federal courthouses for some reason That's interesting. I wonder what happens if you're a defendant and they won't let you in the building?
  - novok 8y ago
    Well your probably compelled to be there, so all the consequences of being a no show is what would effectively happen, or a police escort of some sort if your the kind of person with no id.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
alasdair_ 8y ago
>Wow, what's the procedure like for when you don't have your ID if you don't mind me asking? What do you tell them when they ask why, how do they verify you, how early do you come/long does it take, etc.? I mentioned this in another thread but for me they just had me talk to a more senior person who asked me some questions and asked for "a prescription bottle, a bank card or something else with your name on it". They also swiped my hands for explosives. Total extra time was just a few minutes.
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  Wow thanks!

gumby 8y ago

I never make a big deal of it, just say casually, "sorry, I don't have any ID with me". If they really want something I hand over a credit card or business card. In general nobody really has a need for ID and would rather not lose your business. You show up with an Amex platinum card and a haircut no hotel is going to deny you a room just because you don't have ID. When you fly without ID (note: this is different from having ID but refusing to provide it -- I never do this) you just get a pat down search and your luggage looked at, basically. And this is true in general, though some NY buildings really will enforce an ID (absurd! It's just to keep poor people out) and some federal courthouses for some reason. I mean, it's not like people are checking IDs against some watch list when you walk into a building, nor do most people know what all forms of ID look like, so what's the purpose of all that nonsense? So for the ID case, like most things in life, I simply tell the truth. But for SSN I do fib: when asked for SSN (say at a drugstore or whatever) I say "sorry, I'm a foreigner and don't have one". Yes, I have one, but again, most people who ask for an SSN collect it for no reason that is useful to me. If you make a big deal of it then of course people won't want to deal with you -- it's generally not the decision of the person you're talking with anyway. But if you act like it's the most natural thing in the world then life usually just goes on, as it should.

mehrdadn 8y ago
Wow that was interesting, thanks for sharing! The question I was asking regarding how long it takes etc. was for the airport -- I thought they verify your ID otherwise somehow? By asking you questions or something? Do they really merely pat you down and look at your luggage without verifying who you are?
- gumby 8y ago
  Pretty much; they ask a few questions but really what would they know to ask? The whole idea of needing ID to fly is quite recent; you used to by cheap unused tickets on craigslist (and before that from classified ads in newspapers). Round trip tickets were much cheaper than one way so people would buy a round trip and then sell the unused segment. Or a company would book a ticket and then due to a change of plans someone else would take the flight. On some flights you bought the ticket on the plane. Then again on a few occasions I got on the wrong flight and end up some place unexpected. The destructive permissions culture that we see online expanded along with parallel development in the physical world.
  - mehrdadn 8y ago
    Yeah I don't like it either, but doesn't that delay you in the airport a lot? I thought they take you to some room to do their questioning and that it can take half an hour to an hour. Do you just go early in expectation this/find it to be worth it?
JohnFen 8y ago
> But for SSN I do fib: when asked for SSN (say at a drugstore or whatever) I say "sorry, I'm a foreigner and don't have one". I'm rarely asked unless there is a regulatory reason they're asking (and then I tell the truth). But when someone wants to know mine for no legitimate reason, I give them Richard Nixon's SSN.
- gumby 8y ago
  Like when someone asks for an address I simply give the address of the place I am (i.e. the shop asking for it). This works online too, Again, because the person asking (or the person who wrote the web form) typically isn't the person who made the rule, so rather than make life difficult I just inject chaff into the system.
alasdair_ 8y ago
> some federal courthouses for some reason That's interesting. I wonder what happens if you're a defendant and they won't let you in the building?
- novok 8y ago
  Well your probably compelled to be there, so all the consequences of being a no show is what would effectively happen, or a police escort of some sort if your the kind of person with no id.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

alasdair_ 8y ago

>Wow, what's the procedure like for when you don't have your ID if you don't mind me asking? What do you tell them when they ask why, how do they verify you, how early do you come/long does it take, etc.? I mentioned this in another thread but for me they just had me talk to a more senior person who asked me some questions and asked for "a prescription bottle, a bank card or something else with your name on it". They also swiped my hands for explosives. Total extra time was just a few minutes.

mehrdadn 8y ago
Wow thanks!