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An OTP license plate scheme is a very interesting idea. The license plate would probably have to get larger to accommodate more characters. EDIT: I wonder why

An OTP license plate scheme is a very interesting idea. The license plate would probably have to get larger to accommodate more characters. EDIT: I wonder why you got downvoted. I've recently been seeing a lot of downvoted comments that there's little conceivable reason to downvote, so I wonder if downvoting is a new way of trolling.

floren 3y ago
Well, for starters, if you witness a hit and run and don't note the EXACT time along with the plate number, you're outta luck.
- tzs 3y ago
  Assuming that the function that generates the plate numbers from the current time and a per plate seed is deterministic this shouldn't be a problem. You tell the police you saw the car with plate 2XYZ345 do a hit on run and give a time range. The state would have the seeds in its plate owner database and could generate a list of all cars that had 2XYZ345 sometime in that time range.
  - floren 3y ago
    Good point!
- Johnny555 3y ago
  Presumably such a system would keep a history of expired identifiers, so law enforcement could still look it up after it's been expired and replaced with a new one.
mike_d 3y ago
It is being downvoted because it is a silly idea. These systems are ran in cooperation with the state, who in turn would just un-OTP your plate at the time of scan. That means average citizens are the only ones who would end up with less data.
- Johnny555 3y ago
  That means average citizens are the only ones who would end up with less data That doesn't sound like a drawback, I can understand the public benefit of the police being able to look me up by license plate number but not for the average citizen being able to do the same. This is separate from the issue that there should be stricter limits on law enforcement use of the data.
  - brightlancer 3y ago
    I can understand the public benefit of the government being able to stalk me but not for the average citizen being able to do the same. When the government does it, it's obviously for The Greater Good™.
    - Timon3 3y ago
      That's not what GP said. There are legitimate reasons for the government to track people, there are not legitimate reasons for private citizens to do so. That doesn't mean all tracking by the government is "for the greater good", but at least there is a chance it's acceptable. There is no chance with private citizens.
  - mike_d 3y ago
    Average citizens are not the ones operating bulk collection systems. They are simply writing down a plate number of the car parked next to them when they find a giant door scratch in a parking lot.
    - cuu508 3y ago
      This would still work if they also write down the time. Or take a photo.
- ehnto 3y ago
  It was clearly an idea worth discussing judging by the follow up comments, downvoting on HN is for unproductive comments not disagreement. To the parent comments point, I have noticed more downvotes on valid but disagreeable comments recently, I think there might be some weight to it anecdotally.

floren 3y ago

Well, for starters, if you witness a hit and run and don't note the EXACT time along with the plate number, you're outta luck.

tzs 3y ago
Assuming that the function that generates the plate numbers from the current time and a per plate seed is deterministic this shouldn't be a problem. You tell the police you saw the car with plate 2XYZ345 do a hit on run and give a time range. The state would have the seeds in its plate owner database and could generate a list of all cars that had 2XYZ345 sometime in that time range.
- floren 3y ago
  Good point!
Johnny555 3y ago
Presumably such a system would keep a history of expired identifiers, so law enforcement could still look it up after it's been expired and replaced with a new one.

mike_d 3y ago

It is being downvoted because it is a silly idea. These systems are ran in cooperation with the state, who in turn would just un-OTP your plate at the time of scan. That means average citizens are the only ones who would end up with less data.

Johnny555 3y ago
That means average citizens are the only ones who would end up with less data That doesn't sound like a drawback, I can understand the public benefit of the police being able to look me up by license plate number but not for the average citizen being able to do the same. This is separate from the issue that there should be stricter limits on law enforcement use of the data.
- brightlancer 3y ago
  I can understand the public benefit of the government being able to stalk me but not for the average citizen being able to do the same. When the government does it, it's obviously for The Greater Good™.
  - Timon3 3y ago
    That's not what GP said. There are legitimate reasons for the government to track people, there are not legitimate reasons for private citizens to do so. That doesn't mean all tracking by the government is "for the greater good", but at least there is a chance it's acceptable. There is no chance with private citizens.
- mike_d 3y ago
  Average citizens are not the ones operating bulk collection systems. They are simply writing down a plate number of the car parked next to them when they find a giant door scratch in a parking lot.
  - cuu508 3y ago
    This would still work if they also write down the time. Or take a photo.
ehnto 3y ago
It was clearly an idea worth discussing judging by the follow up comments, downvoting on HN is for unproductive comments not disagreement. To the parent comments point, I have noticed more downvotes on valid but disagreeable comments recently, I think there might be some weight to it anecdotally.