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Comment by hahainternet | Hacker News Reader

> By that line of reasoning, coffee shops should start employing security staff at each table, listening for patrons plotting terrorist attacks

If an employee at a coffee shop overheard patrons at a table detailing a terrorist plot. What exactly do you think would happen right now?

I mean, I'm all for thought experiments, but you haven't carried out step 1.

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I don't know what you mean by "step 1", but coffee shop employees do not routinely monitor all conversations just in case there's something illegal going on.

you haven't seen PSAs urging the public to look out for and report unattended packages and suspicious behaviour?

Only in airports. Oh and last time I was in Boston, the subway had that message playing at intervals. Up here in New Hampshire we mind our own business - or at least pretend to ;)

It's very rare to see something like this in Scotland...

Nothing should, you can't possibly know what they actually mean and you have no context. They might be writing a movie script. They might be CIA. They might be messing with you.

Really? Your argument is that even if I overhear someone explicitly planning a criminal act, I should just ignore it because it might not be criminal?

Why?

Because your innocent until proven guilty, think of the insanity that would ensue if you give everyone the ability to prove guilt

I'm not sure what you mean by Step 1, however what you're suggesting is more akin to an engineer at a SaaS provider carrying out maintenance or debugging a fault and stumbling across something suspicious. What's being suggesting is active monitoring of every communication.

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