4 ms·
What country to you live in? Because in the UK, taking an item that has very clearly been donated is regarded as theft and can be prosecuted as such (particula
by TheManInThePub 6y ago
What country to you live in?
Because in the UK, taking an item that has very clearly been donated is regarded as theft and can be prosecuted as such (particularity for such a valuable item donated to a library). The fact that it was poorly secured is neither here-nor-there and would be considered victim blaming.
I'm surprised somebody would openly admit to such a thing on HN. Perhaps cultural differences are at play.
- lefstathiou 6y agoI live in the US and in NYC in particular. In the city, it is common to donate your goods by leaving them nicely on the sidewalk for others to take. I do this routinely and have picked up numerous pots and pans, books and a vacuum cleaner. Many Libraries in the city have been closed for a year and the outdoor book drops have locks on them. Don’t need to be a lawyer to point out that the weather would have destroyed these books long before a librarian got to them. The library clearly was not accepting donations. Early in my life I was taught that you shouldn’t do or say anything you wouldn’t want posted on a billboard. Me discussing this openly on HN isn’t much different I guess. You’ll notice my handle also reveals exactly who I am. No hiding for me. To me (and I would argue to most reasonable people), there is a world of a difference between the circumstances under which I found this book and reaching into the book drop to take it. I would never have done that.