4 ms·

I was once chased down by some very, very enthusiastic Apple product ex-owners, with two embarrassed-looking police offers in tow, who were playing with this fu

I was once chased down by some very, very enthusiastic Apple product ex-owners, with two embarrassed-looking police offers in tow, who were playing with this fun technologic toy and were quite convinced they understood what they were doing. They did not. It was a distressing experience, it really was. I can't relate to the armchair generals saying "why didn't you just confront and accuse that family-with-children right there and then in the museum? It's your own fault for being WEAK and UNASSERTIVE". Those games are for idiots. The author comes off as an intelligent person: they patiently tested their hypothesis in multiple ways, with great skepticism, and ultimately erred on the side of uncertainty. The kind of person who would initiate a confrontation is the opposite of this.

qup 4y ago
Unless you consider that the confrontation could easily be a polite, tactful encounter. I'm sorry yours wasn't, but I think the author would have navigated the conversation quite gracefully. (But I don't fault them for not confronting)
- katbyte 4y ago
  Yea.. “excuse me I lost my AirPods and my phone is telling me you have them, any chance you grabbed/picked them up” and of course given they are linked to an Apple ID there’s no disputing ownership
  - perihelions 4y ago
    - "linked to an Apple ID there’s no disputing ownership" How do you expect to bridge the gap from "polite conversation" to "examining the device ID of a stranger's personal electronics"? This is where the conversation would end: "no; these are actually my devices and you absolutely may not touch them, stranger. Go away". This is either a police matter, or it is nothing: there's no middle ground where you go alone to have a polite, exploratory conversation with a thief of the topic of thieving. That's not an interaction that leads to constructive resolutions.
    - docandrew 4y ago
      I don’t know, if it’s a normal person doing “finders keepers” vs an actual thief, I think a normal person would be happy to return it to its rightful owner.

qup 4y ago

Unless you consider that the confrontation could easily be a polite, tactful encounter. I'm sorry yours wasn't, but I think the author would have navigated the conversation quite gracefully. (But I don't fault them for not confronting)

katbyte 4y ago
Yea.. “excuse me I lost my AirPods and my phone is telling me you have them, any chance you grabbed/picked them up” and of course given they are linked to an Apple ID there’s no disputing ownership
- perihelions 4y ago
  - "linked to an Apple ID there’s no disputing ownership" How do you expect to bridge the gap from "polite conversation" to "examining the device ID of a stranger's personal electronics"? This is where the conversation would end: "no; these are actually my devices and you absolutely may not touch them, stranger. Go away". This is either a police matter, or it is nothing: there's no middle ground where you go alone to have a polite, exploratory conversation with a thief of the topic of thieving. That's not an interaction that leads to constructive resolutions.
  - docandrew 4y ago
    I don’t know, if it’s a normal person doing “finders keepers” vs an actual thief, I think a normal person would be happy to return it to its rightful owner.