Hacker News Reader

Comment by InsideOutSanta | Hacker News Reader

Last time I went to China, a friend left her phone in a taxi (I guess a "didi") near a train station. She ran to the train station's police station, pestered them into looking at the recordings, got them to tell her the license plate of the car, and figure out how to call the driver. Her phone was back 20 minutes later.

If you're going to be surveilled 24/7, at least you gotta make it work for you.

View on HN

> If you're going to be surveilled 24/7, at least you gotta make it work for you.

I don't get it.

There was CCTV at the station, your friend arrived in a taxi. And we're supposed to be amazed you can call up the taxi company and quote a numberplate off CCTV ?

Can be done anywhere in the world.

Would have been far more impressive story if she had arrived in a private car, dropped off by a work colleague or something.

> And we're supposed to be amazed you can call up the taxi company and quote a numberplate off CCTV

No. It was just a thing that happened to me that I thought was funny and interesting, because running to the train police station and asking them to track the didi was not something I'd ever have thought to do.

I'm sorry my little anecdote didn't satisfy you.

> I'm sorry my little anecdote didn't satisfy you.

It wasn't that. Its that you made a reference to the Chinese surveillance state in the same post. Your example didn't fit the evil-bogeyman narrative you were aiming for.

Sorry if I was unclear there.

> Your example didn't fit the evil-bogeyman narrative you were aiming for

What in the world are you talking about. If anything, I wasn't sure if recollecting that anecdote was minimizing the harm of being surveilled constantly. The last thing I expected was being accused of an "evil-bogeyman narrative."

> Sorry if I was unclear there.

Yes, thanks for clarifying. Now I understand that this has nothing to do with me or what I wrote and is 100% projection on your part.

> What in the world are you talking about.

You used the words "If you're going to be surveilled 24/7, at least you gotta make it work for you."

The implication being quite clear you were inferring it was only possible in China's surveillance state, when it was not.

How about we cordially agree to disagree and move on ?

> The implication being quite clear you were inferring it was only possible in China's surveillance state, when it was not.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Last time I did that, I called my phone from my friend's phone, asked the driver to come back, and paid him for the trip.

Her phone doesn't ring.

> figure out how to call the driver

Which country are you in where you cant take "call the driver" for granted?

Going from license plate to phone number would be one hell of an endeavor in most US states.

I expect the US police to have this capability; < 1% expectation that they would share it with a random citizen who walked in.

“Powerless to help you, not powerless to harm you.”

I don't quite understand the question. If she had had her phone, she could have called the driver using the information from the didi app, but she had no phone, so she didn't know who to call.

Herself, I’d have thought.

Her phone doesn't ring.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com