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175 Comments
- econoar, on 10/12/2007, -6/+243If the WiFi wasn't password protected and he didn't hack it, how would this be illegal? It would be impossible to know of the library usage rights if you just detected it while you were in a parking lot. I'm glad the cops are out to get the truly bad guys now-a-days though.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+217Sad how you are parked in a parking lot playing WoW
- Eastlygod, on 10/12/2007, -13/+166"Hey look at that guy, selling drugs to kids, should we get him?"
"Nah, lets go and see what that man in the library parking lot is up to instead...." - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+113Yeah. Because there's a lot of other action to be had in Alaska.
- Lixie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+95Well, I can sleep easier knowing this threat to society is off the streets.
- Skunkhair, on 10/12/2007, -3/+74Let's not forget guys, this is Alaska... I mean, what else is there?
"Hey, look at that kid, i'm pretty sure he's accessing that library's unprotected internet connection."
"Let's get him, this is the most action I've seen in weeks!" - tsctsc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+66What do they expect him to do? Miss a raid? That''s absurd.
- Blah_Blah_Blah, on 10/12/2007, -4/+66How did they know he was playing an online game? He could have simply said he was playing some game on his laptop.... but to be desperate enough to play in a library parking lot after hours in his car is a bit... nerdy.... but we can all relate in some way right? =]
- Aliarse, on 10/12/2007, -6/+64Arrested for standing in one place too long, what a joke.
The people that really need to be arrested, are the people who make up such stupid laws. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+62Whew, glad they got that guy instead of wasting their time on drug dealers. Go cops!
- KnightMareInc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+54stealing wifi emboldens the terrorist.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+49if he had borrowed it, wouldn't he have to give it back?
- steven401, on 10/12/2007, -0/+46From the comments on Fark:
----------------------------
Dutcher
I'm picturing this guy as a World of Warcraft addict that lost his job and house because all he did was play the game all the time. Now he wanders around with a laptop jumping on any internet connection he can to get his fix. He is the equivalent of the guy who gets addicted to crack and ends up living on the street wandering around trying to get his next fix.
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So true, so true.... :) - dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -6/+51 @ econoar Exactly, if they had it locked down like they should have it (or like the article said... just turn it off at night!) would have prevented people from using it. What if someone downloaded child pornography? I say the library is to Blame, they were negligent not the guy using the open wifi source.
It's kind of hard to believe he was playing online games though, the latency must have been horrible. - tidu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+42"Is that... another human?"
- kishkan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34@matttk
"using a public library's internet connection for gaming is not what the owners intended it to be used for"
Wouldn't he be an owner? It's a PUBLIC LIBRARY, what's your definition of public? He wasn't arrested for playing W.O.W. - acceptab1euname, on 10/12/2007, -3/+34Your analogy sucks. WiFi isn't a ladder, WiFi is WiFi.
- TopherT, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29Isn't a library public space, even after hours? Maybe I'm just being naive and loitering charges extend to public places but then where would all the bums sleep?
- ds9ds9, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26Another example of cops and the legal system turning people into criminals when there was none before. Nice job, cops of Palmer, Alaska! I'm sure making this guy into a criminal will go a long way to making our society better.
- kingfoot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22you were in your car in the middle of the night in a library parking lot with your DS getting free wi-fi? i dont think you are that lucky...
- justice7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21I work in the IT department at a large library... it is up to the library staff / IT department to ensure the security of their own networks.
This kid should not have been charged; especially since he did not cause any harm. If anything, the IT department needs a lesson in wireless security. - Handcannons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21*********
if he has a lawyer and a jury with an education higher then an 8th grader then he will get off.
********
He's doomed. - ChefGroovy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24A better analogy would be, what if you were walking down the street and someone was playing their tv real loud and you sat down on the curb and started watching it through their window. Is it their fault for not closing the blinds? Maybe.
- steven401, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21IT Department? I'm sure you mean the old ladies who stack the shelves?
- Kauzman01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20I agree, WiFi isn't a ladder. It's more like a big floating truck... no wait... scratch that... WiFi is like a set of unconnected tubes.
- addakorn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22@screensnot What if I could see it from the street (aka through a window that has no curtains).
- acceptab1euname, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Got a law to cite?
- Mewchu11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Holy *****, I did this once with my DS and a cop DID come. But he didn't act like it was illegal, he was just making sure I wasn't trying to break in... god do I feel lucky
- MasterChi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17" If a house is unlocked, you don't have the right to take everything inside it."
Thats a bad example. This was a public library with public internet access and it was used by this person AKA the public. If he is a resident of that town then he actually paid for that internet with his taxes so its all fair and if he has a lawyer and a jury with an education higher then an 8th grader then he will get off. - iTorrey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18He was leeching bandwidth... imagine the ONES of people affected by this! Seriously, this place has around 5,000 residents and the entire city is a whopping 5.2 sq. milles.. at least according to their site (hopefully they wont come arrest me for stealing the bandwidth used to serve the site) http://www.cityofpalmer.org/
- Th0Rr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18I hate engadget. It is pretty funny that this is a digg link to engadget, which links to fark, which links to UPI. Why not just link to the original UPI in the first place? Why 17 layers of blog spam bs? All engadget links should automatically be switched to the original source.
- Menoats, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17I bet you thought you were smart when you came up with this analogy of a house compared to a wifi.....instead it was retarded.
Some wi-fis are there for public access like ummm...lets see the library's. Oh ya! If the connection was limited to library hours they should of turned the router off or put a password on it. What you have here is a poor kid. Obviously someone who can't afford their own broadband being kicked by the justice system when he's down. - krazykit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14nexus, there are no women in Alaska :-P
- scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14"Let's head on over to the library and see if we can catch us a reader!"
- diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I do work for a public library and I insisted on using a simple 10 buck digital timer to turn off the Wi-Fi after hours.
That said, a small mistake of padding it an hour before they opened had people parking on the sidewalk to get a better signal. Passwords would be preferred, but they do not want to have explain to patrons how to connect. Having no password works best in that environment.
It becomes a situation where you are damned either way. You can have maximum security, but have to hire a dedicated person to instruct everyone how to connect. Or, you keep it simple and are heavily exploited. The one advantage of having a password would be people needing to at least enter the library find out what it is and thus the User Agreement. I was shot down on that, too.
With the RIAA lawsuits that may change. The library may need to bring down the Wi-Fi and dramatically firewall their other connections. That would be sad, for this district has done its best to steer away from federal funding in order to not use filtering. They provide a completely open Internet for their patrons. That may soon change. - kalleanka, on 10/12/2007, -10/+23If the guy actually is known by the police and has been "chased out of a number of locations" he must live a very very sad life. Sorry to say it, but it really is true. How can he not afford $30/month for an internet connection? C'mon, even a part time job in Walmart would in one week pay for the cost of 3 years of internet usage.
- kingfoot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12what will his parents think!?
- scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I hope he had a library card, then he could at least claim he thought it was ok.
- 955701, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10What the hell is stopping companies from adding time limitations on their wifi points? Is there some particular reason the library is locking its doors after hours and leaving it's internet connection open?
Stupid admins. - rkuchiki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9It isn't hard to just cut off network access during closed hours. Sure he could still connect, but he wouldn't stay around if there was no network access.
But the oximoron of being arrested for using a public service. Heh. - diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11They should leave the drug dealers alone, too.
Cops should protect life and property. That's it. - lcohiomatty86, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9whats this thing you call a woman....
- hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Link to actual story after going through blog and then Fark
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/20070224-121321-2867r/ - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+17@ blah blah blah
He was still loitering either way which is a crime...so he isn't going to get away clean regardless.
I can imagine a citation being issued at the most. - adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Hmmm, you think maybe he was playing on a private server set up to look like New York?!! My god that's it! That's how al qaeda has been training it's people! WoW Raids!
- duanestorey, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13So tell me how a user is supposed to differentiate between unprotected WiFi access that you can use, and unprotected WiFi that you can't use?
- mdigirol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7i know that the library i work at has free wi-fi for any patron of the library (simply, anyone who has a library card and has the highest level of access), but I'm not sure if they turn it off or not. if this guy was a patron of the library system in the town, i do not see why this is even a problem.
- bonch, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13How do you "borrow" WiFi? Borrowing implies you're giving back the bandwidth you stole.
Anyway, I love all the tired, high-school-level arguments about how the cops are supposedly not catching "real" bad guys, as if you believe the entire police force stopped searching for drug dealers because of this. Since you apparently believe they should only enforce certain laws, do you think cops should also stop ticketing for traffic lights or parking violations? Do you even know what cops do on patrol? THEY PATROL AROUND UNTIL THEY FIND SOMETHING OR THEY'RE CALLED TO A CRIME.
Cops are supposed to enforce all laws. Enough with the ultra-tired argument about how you wish they were out catching "real" bad guys. They are. Just because one of your WoW buddies got busted leeching bandwidth doesn't mean cops aren't doing their jobs.
Anyway, back to the endless Digg story cycle, which is something pro-piracy, something about Digg, something about gaming, something pro-piracy, something about Digg, something about gaming, etc. Anyone else remember when Digg was an actual tech news site for programmers and IT professionals? Seems the kiddies took over. - nexus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10so i guess the action the cops get from their wives just isnt doing it for them?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Wow if you know him that makes you a superstar. I would get on the phone to VH1 to get the ball rolling on 'Brian Tanner, a story of dizzying highs and crashing lows - Behind the WOW.'
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