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Because whomever was flying the drones might do it again. If they can ascertain who it was and what they were doing, they'll be able to rule out any malicious f

Because whomever was flying the drones might do it again. If they can ascertain who it was and what they were doing, they'll be able to rule out any malicious future intent to their actions. I'm not sure anybody really wants a number of unidentified flying objects (in their literal sense) in the air at night with noone knowing where they came from or what they might be doing. I don't consider that "unfounded" concern, think it's quite valid on the spectrum of concerns actually. Seems like a reasonable use of resources to get to the bottom of it (albeit, perhaps not their full-time work). Not every investigation will succeed, and the outcomes can often be that nothing can be done. You can only get to that by doing the work though.

tfigment 6y ago
If no law was being broken then investigation sounds like harassment to me. While it could be annoying there are a lot of thing that are annoying that are no illegal. I'd love to take away the power tools from my neighbor but they are not doing anything wrong and should not be subject to official inquiry just in case they could be.
- wastedhours 6y ago
  Agree with that, however this is a case with very little precedent - there needed to be an investigation to get to the conclusion nothing was wrong as it obviously did concern a lot of people. For me, that's part of the role of these bodies, ensure that something that looks sketchy actually (or potentially in this case) isn't. It's unchartered territory for people to have random flying things buzzing over the skies at night (and feel it's an entirely valid thing to be concerned about), whereas an annoying neighbour with some tools is well established.
  - UncleEntity 6y ago
    > Agree with that, however this is a case with very little precedent - there needed to be an investigation to get to the conclusion nothing was wrong as it obviously did concern a lot of people. Anything that isn't specifically illegal is legal by default. They determined no illegal activities were conducted by flying a fleet of drones in a low-population rural area so...
    - wastedhours 6y ago
      > They determined no illegal activities were conducted by flying a fleet of drones in a low-population rural area so... And they determined that by investigating (which is what we're discussing here). I'm not arguing about it's legality, just that they determined its legality by investigating something reported by genuinely concerned people.
14 6y ago
I have to disagree. You sound like the person in the video linked in one comment. She called the drones creepy. Why are they creepy? You don’t say creepy but you call them “unidentified flying objects” the article clearly states they are drones. We just don’t know who flew them and that bothers you. Also you think it is a good use of public resources to drive around and identify people not committing crimes flying drones after the fact. Why do you fear drones so much? I mean if they were flying into your yard hovering by a window I could see being upset but some guy flying drones in formation way in the sky and people freak out, why? It could be as simple as a drone enthusiast taking it to the next level. As I type this I feel my tone will come across as negative but I honestly hope you can bring some discussion to my questions. I have only ever played with cheap drones my kids own. Awesome fun. But slowly the drone world is being chipped away with more regulation some good but some implemented by people out of fear. If you are in my area and you see a drone in the sky it’s just me having fun and probably if you watch long enough I will put it in a tree. I don’t want the police searching around and bothering me especially after it was confirmed by the FAA that no crime was committed. Otherwise it sounds like harassment for something they don’t like.
- wastedhours 6y ago
  > bring some discussion to my questions Sure, I'll dive in with a few responses. I'm always tech forward, but never been a "small government" person, so that's my stance. I have a small toy quadcopter myself which because of the UK's 250g rule now, I'm annoyed I can't use freely. But just because we use and understand these things doesn't really mean it's accepted. It's not that I'm playing devil's advocate, but on HN we do need to understand we don't live in a tech utopia and need to bring other people along with us, not force new tech on them. > She called the drones creepy. Why are they creepy? I don't find drones creepy myself, but you've got to remember these are still novel to most people. There's accepted rules about most vehicles (manned or unmanned, large and small) that are just not clear to a lot of people when it comes to drones. If you've even seen one flying in person at all. If I'm not aware really of what they are, having an ALTA 8 or something come buzzing through the night sky is going to be creepy - this is a flying machine being operated by a random (potentially unlicensed, if they're flying at night and no one knew who it was) person. I don't see how that's not creepy to most people. > Also you think it is a good use of public resources to drive around and identify people not committing crimes flying drones after the fact. I know it'll get short shrift here, but yeah, I do. In this instance it transpired it wasn't illegal and probably completely fine, but if a number of people report seeing random stuff in the air that spooks them, I'd hope that someone at least goes and tries to find out what it was. Even just to work out and explain to people what it was. Admittedly, it's not the best use of their time, but I don't see it as an invalid use of their time. I don't believe you normalise people to drone usage simply by just flying them around. > Otherwise it sounds like harassment for something they don’t like. Diff'rent strokes, but if it's not bothering me, I'd have though having someone official tell someone complaining that actually it's all fine would be better?
supportlocal4h 6y ago
> I'm not sure anybody really wants a number of unidentified flying objects (in their literal sense) in the air at night with noone knowing where they came from or what they might be doing. I do. I also want unidentified cars driving on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. At night. And unidentified boats on remote lakes and in remote parts of the ocean. At night. And unidentified pedestrians, swimmers, skydivers, bicyclists, kites, campers, photographers, robots, lawn mowers.
- wastedhours 6y ago
  Sure, all those things are normal happenings - they're not really cause of concern for most people. We're not at that point for drones yet, at all. Of course a boat skimming on a lake at night is fine, a pedestrian walking down the road at night is fine, a lawn mower (provided it isn't being an absolutely nuisance) going at night is fine. What isn't fine for a lot of people is something completely unknown just buzzing around when they don't have the context of what it is or what it could be doing. I'm not saying "ban it", just it's valid for people to report something like that happening and have an expectation they'll be taken seriously. Let's not over estimate the frequency with which people have seen or come into contact with drone flight here, we've had boats for millennia, cars for over a century. Heck, even micro scooters have been around for decades. Personally, I don't want random, unidentified things I've got no clue about flying around where I live at night. The military helicopters that go past every day are annoying, but I know what they are and know it's all good. And one day "oh, it's just Dave's flying drone swarm" will be just as accepted. Today is not that day.

tfigment 6y ago

If no law was being broken then investigation sounds like harassment to me. While it could be annoying there are a lot of thing that are annoying that are no illegal. I'd love to take away the power tools from my neighbor but they are not doing anything wrong and should not be subject to official inquiry just in case they could be.

wastedhours 6y ago
Agree with that, however this is a case with very little precedent - there needed to be an investigation to get to the conclusion nothing was wrong as it obviously did concern a lot of people. For me, that's part of the role of these bodies, ensure that something that looks sketchy actually (or potentially in this case) isn't. It's unchartered territory for people to have random flying things buzzing over the skies at night (and feel it's an entirely valid thing to be concerned about), whereas an annoying neighbour with some tools is well established.
- UncleEntity 6y ago
  > Agree with that, however this is a case with very little precedent - there needed to be an investigation to get to the conclusion nothing was wrong as it obviously did concern a lot of people. Anything that isn't specifically illegal is legal by default. They determined no illegal activities were conducted by flying a fleet of drones in a low-population rural area so...
  - wastedhours 6y ago
    > They determined no illegal activities were conducted by flying a fleet of drones in a low-population rural area so... And they determined that by investigating (which is what we're discussing here). I'm not arguing about it's legality, just that they determined its legality by investigating something reported by genuinely concerned people.

14 6y ago

I have to disagree. You sound like the person in the video linked in one comment. She called the drones creepy. Why are they creepy? You don’t say creepy but you call them “unidentified flying objects” the article clearly states they are drones. We just don’t know who flew them and that bothers you. Also you think it is a good use of public resources to drive around and identify people not committing crimes flying drones after the fact. Why do you fear drones so much? I mean if they were flying into your yard hovering by a window I could see being upset but some guy flying drones in formation way in the sky and people freak out, why? It could be as simple as a drone enthusiast taking it to the next level. As I type this I feel my tone will come across as negative but I honestly hope you can bring some discussion to my questions. I have only ever played with cheap drones my kids own. Awesome fun. But slowly the drone world is being chipped away with more regulation some good but some implemented by people out of fear. If you are in my area and you see a drone in the sky it’s just me having fun and probably if you watch long enough I will put it in a tree. I don’t want the police searching around and bothering me especially after it was confirmed by the FAA that no crime was committed. Otherwise it sounds like harassment for something they don’t like.

wastedhours 6y ago
> bring some discussion to my questions Sure, I'll dive in with a few responses. I'm always tech forward, but never been a "small government" person, so that's my stance. I have a small toy quadcopter myself which because of the UK's 250g rule now, I'm annoyed I can't use freely. But just because we use and understand these things doesn't really mean it's accepted. It's not that I'm playing devil's advocate, but on HN we do need to understand we don't live in a tech utopia and need to bring other people along with us, not force new tech on them. > She called the drones creepy. Why are they creepy? I don't find drones creepy myself, but you've got to remember these are still novel to most people. There's accepted rules about most vehicles (manned or unmanned, large and small) that are just not clear to a lot of people when it comes to drones. If you've even seen one flying in person at all. If I'm not aware really of what they are, having an ALTA 8 or something come buzzing through the night sky is going to be creepy - this is a flying machine being operated by a random (potentially unlicensed, if they're flying at night and no one knew who it was) person. I don't see how that's not creepy to most people. > Also you think it is a good use of public resources to drive around and identify people not committing crimes flying drones after the fact. I know it'll get short shrift here, but yeah, I do. In this instance it transpired it wasn't illegal and probably completely fine, but if a number of people report seeing random stuff in the air that spooks them, I'd hope that someone at least goes and tries to find out what it was. Even just to work out and explain to people what it was. Admittedly, it's not the best use of their time, but I don't see it as an invalid use of their time. I don't believe you normalise people to drone usage simply by just flying them around. > Otherwise it sounds like harassment for something they don’t like. Diff'rent strokes, but if it's not bothering me, I'd have though having someone official tell someone complaining that actually it's all fine would be better?

supportlocal4h 6y ago

> I'm not sure anybody really wants a number of unidentified flying objects (in their literal sense) in the air at night with noone knowing where they came from or what they might be doing. I do. I also want unidentified cars driving on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. At night. And unidentified boats on remote lakes and in remote parts of the ocean. At night. And unidentified pedestrians, swimmers, skydivers, bicyclists, kites, campers, photographers, robots, lawn mowers.

wastedhours 6y ago
Sure, all those things are normal happenings - they're not really cause of concern for most people. We're not at that point for drones yet, at all. Of course a boat skimming on a lake at night is fine, a pedestrian walking down the road at night is fine, a lawn mower (provided it isn't being an absolutely nuisance) going at night is fine. What isn't fine for a lot of people is something completely unknown just buzzing around when they don't have the context of what it is or what it could be doing. I'm not saying "ban it", just it's valid for people to report something like that happening and have an expectation they'll be taken seriously. Let's not over estimate the frequency with which people have seen or come into contact with drone flight here, we've had boats for millennia, cars for over a century. Heck, even micro scooters have been around for decades. Personally, I don't want random, unidentified things I've got no clue about flying around where I live at night. The military helicopters that go past every day are annoying, but I know what they are and know it's all good. And one day "oh, it's just Dave's flying drone swarm" will be just as accepted. Today is not that day.