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I absolutely hate this sort of vigilantism. How does anybody know that the guy in the video is actually the guy that stole the laptop? How do we know that he
by blhack 16y ago
I absolutely hate this sort of vigilantism. How does anybody know that the guy in the video is actually the guy that stole the laptop? How do we know that he isn't just some guy who bought it on craigslist?
- skunkworks 16y agoYes, what a cosmic coincidence that this guy, who lives in the same building as Mark Bao, happened to purchase what he thought was a legitimate laptop on Craigslist!
- philthy 16y agoOr some guy who lives in the same building as Bao (his friend) was used as an actor in a viral promotional video for Backblaze. Mark Bao goes to Bentley College, chances are most of the residents of his building do to, probably even the "thief". Waltham Mass isn't exactly Compton.
- varjag 16y agoA guy living next door to the victim, possessing his laptop, is not a thief, but rather got it off Cragilist.. mm. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
- jemka 16y agoInnocent until proven guilty, no?
- warrenwilkinson 16y agoThis isn't a trial. It's just digital insults. There is no evidence criteria for that =).
- jemka 16y agoSo we expect our legal system to work one way, but don't practice what we preach? We're hypocrites.
- grt 16y ago'Hypocrites'? I'm shocked, shocked that you would make this kind of digital judgment without first obtaining proof beyond a reasonable doubt!
- jemka 16y agoThe fact that this post, along with many others, exists is proof.
- btam 16y agoThe word "hypocrites" would only apply if Mark Bao had done something that the legal system would do, like send the guy to jail.
- jemka 16y ago"We" refers to those perpetuating & supporting this vigilantism.
- jarek 16y agoWhat the fuck? Is this really the standard HN holds itself to?
- philthy 16y agoWe also don't know the circumstances of the "theft", very possible he left it unattended in a public space, and it was more or less found. Plus how was the guy powering it, did he get the charger too? If he happened to have a charger already (highly unlikely) I doubt he would be making films in photobooth, on something he stole when he has a similar if not identical device... Personally I would peg Bao as a guy to have a password on his device too. Obviously the HD wasn't purged if Backblaze was still running. This whole story screams promotion for Backblaze, it is also the first tag of the article.
- shpxnvz 16y agopossible he left it unattended in a public space, and it was more or less found That's still theft, unless he turned into the police. Since the owner filed a police report that scenario is unlikely.
- davidw 16y agoIt'd just be better if he turned the guy in to the police and let them deal with it. The article and some comments make it sound like he's toying with the guy a bit, which just doesn't seem right. If the guy is indeed the thief, as it seems, he should get punished by the law.
- uxp 16y agoI'm obviously biased by visiting HN, but buying any computer used that has not been wiped is a sure indication that it is stolen. I'd like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt as well, but there is ample indication in this article alone that he either has no clue about technology and the responsibility of buying one used or was the one that stole it. If it turns out he bought it legitimately without knowledge of it being stolen that's fine, but he still should have been turned on to the fact it's filled with someone else's crap and the username is not his. Ignorance is no excuse, even though it may be commonplace.
- klbarry 16y agoI've sold two (broken) laptops and didn't wipe anything, and sold a working iPod Touch without deleting anything. Also, in most of my experience with non-technical friends, they usually don't wipe their computers. So no need to assume...
- billybob 16y agoReally? Did you sell them to people you trust? Personally I just don't sell hard drives. They get destroyed. I don't have anything illegal or immoral on there, I just figure, I've had financial info on there, pictures, etc, and who knows what somebody else might do with that.
- klbarry 16y agoNope, just strangers. I'm very trusting, though of course I deleted internet data.
- heri0n 16y agoThat is no indication... wouldn't someone who was trying to sell a stolen computer try to wipe it first? Not all thieves are totally stupid.
- dkersten 16y agoNevermind that any music, video and applications on the second hand laptop may fall under copyright infringement if left on the laptop.
- tibbon 16y agoIf I bought a laptop in Boston, and it came up with the username of Mark Bao... I'd give Mark a call instantly and ask him what was up. Its not like Mark is a hard guy to Google for or unknown in Boston.
- blhack 16y agoA few of my friends live in Boston and work in tech. Do you think if I asked them who Mark Bao was, they would have any clue at all?
- rokhayakebe 16y agoI asked a bank agent whose last name was Schmidt if she was related to Eric Schmidt. Her response: "Who is he? Is he famous?"
- yuhong 16y agoI am Yuhong Bao, and has no relationship to Mark Bao at all.
- pavel_lishin 16y agoI've never heard of Mark Bao before today, and I might forget his name by the afternoon. This is like people who, when told I'm from Russia, ask me if I know Dmitriy. Why, yes, I know several dozen.
- swah 16y agoOf course they mean the RaphaelJS author!
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- rokhayakebe 16y agoBecause the idiot returned the laptop and ask him to pull down the video. If he bought it, he would actually try to press charges against Mark. By returning it he somewhat said "guilty".
- VBprogrammer 16y agoEven if he bought a stolen laptop he has no rights to it. Caveat emptor, or buyer beware.
- markbao 16y agoI didn't want to accuse the wrong guy, but based on the file history, he created his new user account the same day it was stolen. That was hunch enough for me.
- blhack 16y agoI suppose, why didn't you just call the police?
- markbao 16y agoI filed a police report when it was first stolen, and likewise when I found out who it was. They couldn't really help with recovery so I helped myself :p
- blhack 16y agoDo you think that this sort of thing should be encouraged in the future?
- diggum 16y agoShaming someone caught in the act is hardly vigilante justice. About a year ago, a local tavern was robbed of their cash register by a thief who neglected to hide from the security cameras and who dropped his mixtape on the way out the smashed door. The owner recorded the tape (a collection of Lionel Ritchie soft hits) and merged it with the security camera shots of the thief in action, then posted it to youtube. The crime was of course reported to the police first, but their response was one of filing the report so that insurance could take care of things - not one of finding and punishing the thief.
- danielha 16y agoI don't think this will spawn a new generation of vigilante crime fighters. This is more akin to happening upon an old security tape which reveals the identity of a dumb criminal who robbed your home. Yeah, I'd probably want to gather some data and turn him into the police.
- geoffw8 16y agoThe guy nicked his laptop! He deserves everything he gets.
- laut 16y agoBuying stolen goods isn't much better than stealing.
- laut 16y agoActually, at least in some countries, the punishment for buying stolen goods is similar to stealing it.