Anyone use police scanners

[Gadsden]

Just keep rubbing it until it spits up.

Goddamnit, skroo.. once again you have almost made me laugh beer out of my nose..

[TehnaD]

Goddamnit, skroo.. once again you have almost made me laugh beer out of my nose..

Yeah I would have to agree with that statement. I think out of most all of the Forums, I have pretty much LMFAO at everything Skroo has to say. Some of it is down right "here's your ass on a platter Goddamn NOOB FUCKTARD" kinda shit which just makes it all the more funny. I can see some of these people in front of their screen wondering if they can post without getting Scroo'd.

[Ridirich]

The noob part is not bad. Everyone was new to something at some point. I honestly don't know when "newbie" became a slam instead of a description on how long a person has done something.

The fact is, though, that many people who don't know anything pretend they do. I am pondering upon why we don't use "poser" more than "newb/noob" or it's variants.

[TehnaD]

The noob part is not bad. Everyone was new to something at some point. I honestly don't know when "newbie" became a slam instead of a description on how long a person has done something.

The fact is, though, that many people who don't know anything pretend they do. I am pondering upon why we don't use "poser" more than "newb/noob" or it's variants.

I would agree with you to some extent. We all are new to something all of the time, thats a fact. The difference that I see though is when people like you and I were new to things like puters we actually had to do things like read books and shit to learn anything. Then comes along the web and Mr. Google taking out any work that is required to learn other than sitting on the ever so widening one. I think the lack of intelligence to use such a simple and powerful search engine is part of what constituted Noob becoming a slam. After all it is nicer than saying things like "Dumb Ass" and "Dip Shit"!

[skroo]

After all it is nicer than saying things like "Dumb Ass" and "Dip Shit"!

How so? They seem pretty interchangeable in this context, at least based on observed behaviour and inferred levels of intelligence.

Personally, I dislike the term 'noob' and its variants for pretty much the same reasons Ridirich mentioned. However, I really dislike people who will go to the lengths necessary to find this forum, sign up for an account, reply to the confirmation email that activates their account, and start posting inane crap that the same search engine that led them here in the first place could've answered for them in less time, with less effort, and no ridicule.

Consider the thought process here: "I want to know how to scan police frequencies... So I'll just go ahead and find a hacking forum to ask my question in using this here search engine because a search engine sure as fuck couldn't possibly answer my question, nosirree bob, it's only purpose is to bring me goat pr0n and gaming sites!!! LOLZ my CS clan ro0lz." And then Sparky wanders on over here, blissfully unaware of the written asskicking waiting to happen that his question has become before he's even pressed the first key of the first sentence of his first post, and we all have a good laugh and little cheese sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

I can totally respect someone who comes in with a valid question - "hey, I've been researching <insert nifty thing here> and don't understand this one part of it, can someone maybe help explain it to me?" Shit, I had to do this myself this week to get a better unserstanding of the HFS+ filesystem; it's just part of life. But fuck the lazy sideways with a horsehair lamppost. Ignorance is one thing; ignorance that could be easily-rectified is another entirely.

[Ridirich]

That's exactly my point. None of us have reached "enlightenment". You never stop learning until you die, and even then there are no promises.

We, on this forum, know about computers. Does that mean that if I took you to a civil war reenactment and never showed you how to load a flintlock, and all you had ever seen was movies on how to and the book I gave you beforehand, that I should call you a newbie when you could not do it?

In EMS we use the term newbie, but it's not a slam, it's a description. We use this term to distinguish between the veterans and the green(short for greenhorn) people. We put them through the ringer, and the whole time we educate them on how do to things. That's the way it works.

You seem to have a problem with the fact that they learned from google, whereas we learned from books. So what? Because they have a leg up, they deserve to be chewed out? I don't think they do. I think they deserve some respect and education. Who knows? Maybe they will be better at a specific thing that some of us are not. Computers are such a broad field that you can never be the best at everything, that's why we have hardware specialists, software specialists, coders of all differant kinds, security specialists...the list goes on. We work together and when we are put at the end of our resources we ask...'Hey, I am stuck here, can you help me?" and wouldn't you know it? Our community has someone who specializes in that.

I agree completely with Skroo. This shit of looking in a fucking search engine to find our forums, register, authenticate via email, log in, and post their 5 year old mentality bullcrap is stupid. They HAVE the tools, they HAVE the understanding, but they are also lazy. They are lazy because the very search engine that brought them here had the info they were searching for to begin with, and they did not make the effort to look for it in there.

I hate the fact that now, on these forums, gamers are put in the same box as the dumbasses who come here to post about their counterstrike clan. Counterstrike sucks. It sucked the moment is was released and it sucks now. It is a game full of people who use aimbots and other exploits and all they do is run around and let their computer shoot. No skill at all. Some of us in here(me for instance) are serious gamers, but do it to relax so we don't beat the shit out of people we work with that we try to be patient with, but in reality want to injure beyond repair just to get whatever message we need to get through their thick head at the time.
I, personally, have been in UT tournaments and been paid, amoung other games many have never heard of. Don't put me on the same level as those fucking morons, I don't come in here asking how to make my computer go faster on level 41 or say that I need help with an aimbot.

I am starting to think that anyone under the age of 16 who wants to enter these forums should show a fucking ID into a scanner so they can enter. I don't want to deprive some kid who really wants to learn the chance....but I also don't want a 12 year old who thinks he is uber to come in here and talk about how leet his clan is.

I come here to chat with the DC community and to make plans to go to DC. I don't come here to talk to 12 year olds about how their computer is really owned by thier mother, and they are not allowed to "pimp it out", especially if it's a dell.

Ok, I am done rambling. Oh, and nice phoenix as your avatar TehnaD. It's better on the eyes than that simpson's character.

[Voltage Spike]

The difference that I see though is when people like you and I were new to things like puters we actually had to do things like read books and shit to learn anything. Then comes along the web and Mr. Google taking out any work that is required to learn other than sitting on the ever so widening one.

I'm not exactly sure what your point is. You are saying that the older among us had an excuse for being ignorant, but times have changed? You may be right, but I'm more inclined to believe that our improved ability to access knowledge has resulted in a culture where we are also expected to know more.

[astcell]

In the "old days" you needed to know more because it took forever to look things up. Today you can find answers in a few seconds and avoid days of research.

One still must understand concepts however. That is one ability that must be understood and not learned.

[TheCotMan]

I should call you a newbie when you could not do it?

Yes. When I show up at a new scene to try something I have never tried before, I let the people know I am a newbie.

Some people use "noob" with a different meaning from newbie, but making fun of the way "noob" sometimes can't or choose not to spell well. That is not my style though.

Because they have a leg up, they deserve to be chewed out? I don't think they do. I think they deserve some respect and education.

False choice. It is not an "either this or that" with "either chew them out or respect them."
A closer comparison might be "chew them out, or be tolerant" and "respect them or don't respect them"

I may apply manners when dealing with new users, but respect is like money; it should be earned.

Someone comes here and asks, "How do I send out spam?" I have no problem with them being chewed out. They do not derserve tolerance. They deserve to choke on an unpeeled bananna while a live money is stuck up their butt.

I come here to chat with the DC community and to make plans to go to DC.

This is one of the main purposes for the forums.
Another is socialization between cons.

Unlike meetings in real-life, the forums allow most anonymous users to easily observe (lurk) without being noticed. This gives them opportunity to understand this subculture through observation. Even if they get an account, and browse /dev/null or Fucktard Hall, people may see them and worry about thier intentions, but at least they can see what content is disliked. Anonymous viewers can also, rewind old conversations and play them back again through the advantage of historical posts.
The forums are not better than real life, but there are advantages in forums that most of the population don't use.

[TehnaD]

I'm not exactly sure what your point is. You are saying that the older among us had an excuse for being ignorant, but times have changed? You may be right, but I'm more inclined to believe that our improved ability to access knowledge has resulted in a culture where we are also expected to know more.

I am sorry for the way that my reply came about on this particular thread. Basically what I was getting at is the fact that people are just lazy. I have a hard time in understanding how helpless people make theirselves when all they have to do is a couple of key strokes and the world is in front of them. I happen to be somewhat of an asshole and can't help myself sometimes when I see the opportunity to flame someone for their lack of drive to learn and comprehend anything that interest them without wanting someone to just do it for them!

[Ridirich]

I am talking about extending respect until you find out if the other person will respect you back or spit in your face, at which point you can choose the action you will take. I do not mean treat everyone like your best friend.

I am noticing that people don't bother to read entire threads, they simply post. They glance over the majority of them until they spot something they can flame someone for, then they go for it. That is a severe lack of respect. Thing is, if someone does not initiate the respect first, there will never be any respect at all. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For someone to earn the respect, they need to repay it back. It's sort of like a pingpong match. As you send the respect ball back and fourth it either get's bigger and bigger, and is easier to hit, or it gets smaller and someone loses an eye.

I am looking at the whole "false choice" thing. I was hoping that the message I was giving was to not lump all new people into a box. I guess my definition of respect differs from yours, and that's ok. None of us are the same and that is what makes life interesting.

Maybe if I phrased it: "Please read the entire thread and all replies before saying "You suck noob.", and give them a chance." That would be more fitting to what I was trying to communicate?

We all have preconcieved ideas of what people are like. All I want to do is have people try to overlook their ideas and take one person at a time.

I have a problem with lazy people. Like I said before, when I was agreeing with Skroo. People that spend the time researching us, registering, authenticating, finding the forum they should post in(hopefully) then posting a thread...only to post: "Teach me to hack (X)", some sort of spam, or some question, that if they phrased it the way they do on the forums in google it would take them right to the answer.

[TheCotMan]

I am talking about extending respect until you find out if the other person will respect you back or spit in your face, at which point you can choose the action you will take. I do not mean treat everyone like your best friend.

Ahh yes. I call that manners. Two disagreements t hat generally have no resolution:
1) Difference of opinion.
2) Disagreement on definitions.

I am looking at the whole "false choice" thing. I was hoping that the message I was giving was to not lump all new people into a box. I guess my definition of respect differs from yours, and that's ok. None of us are the same and that is what makes life interesting.

One way to avoid false choice in offers is to offer something or the complement of that thing.

For example: "You are are either Good or Evil" is a false choice. Why can't a person be Both? How about Neither? What if one person is viewed as good by one person but evil by another?
Here is one that is more specific: "I can choose to evaluate any action as good or not good."

More extreme examples of false choice include things that are out of scope:
"You either agree with me or you are a monkey boy."

Am I being picky? Probably. Most of the time, I censor myself from commenting on logical fallacy in statements. Sometimes I will intentionally offer fallacy. In this case, I commented about it, because I saw it as a critical point in your response and it needed to be addressed.

Maybe if I phrased it: "Please read the entire thread and all replies before saying "You suck noob.", and give them a chance." That would be more fitting to what I was trying to communicate?

This goes to my complaint about value to a thread. I've been known to overlook some redundant content added to threads, or in cases where the user realizes they added redundant content and edit to appologize.

I have a problem with lazy people. Like I said before, when I was agreeing with Skroo. People that spend the time researching us, registering, authenticating, finding the forum they should post in(hopefully) then posting a thread...only to post: "Teach me to hack (X)", some sort of spam, or some question, that if they phrased it the way they do on the forums in google it would take them right to the answer.

We are working to fix part of this problem (education.)

Right now, when users sign up for an account, the text to which they must agree includes a link to the rules and a note they agree to follow them by clicking the checkbox. They also get a link to the rules in their "we are confirming your e-mail address" message, and then once their address is confirmed, they get a welcome e-mail that also gives them a link to the rules.

Right now, we are at the point where an observant user will read the rules or they won't. (heh)
(Of course that was the case before, too. ;-)

[Ridirich]

Ya know...maybe they should only be allowed to post in the dev/null until they have posted 10 posts or something. I dunno...

Yeah, I am probably confused about what you mean due to my head hurting like a bad hangover. Maybe it is a hangover. I don't remember.

[Floydr47]

Please bear with me for a moment, I am old and tend to ramble. When I attended my "Introdution to Computers" class some years ago, there was an incident that I remember well. Upon leaving the building late one night I found my teacher out in the parking lot trying to make a cell phone call to his wife. He was having difficulty reaching her and he asked me if I could give him a ride home. I asked him what his problem was, he informed me that his car wouldn't start. I looked under the hood and found the culprit...it was a corroded cable end on the battery post. In about 2 minutes with my pocket knife and a can of Coke I had him on his way. He was amazed by what I had done. Now here was a man with years of college, a man that I looked up to and respected, who couldn't diagnose a simple problem like a carroded battery post. True there is Google, but sometimes people can't find the answers they need if they don't know the questions to ask. While it remains true that some people are by nature lazy, it is also true that some are simply uninformed. I knew little about computers until Dr. G taught me, Dr.G. knew little about cars until I taught him...

[erehwon]

Anyone know use them often, someone told me its possible to listen in on phone calls. Is this a possibility. You know I gotta fool around with all my skills

OK, to slap a little sense into my local Chicago brethren, yes I have used them before, and yes you can listen into phone calls, but why the hell would you want to?

First off, its terribly illegal to listen to phone calls with a scanner, if you want to work on your vouyer habit, I'd just hang out at the local Jewel-Osco about 6:30 in the evening and overhear married couples bitch about how much Red Dog and Bud Light to buy for the weekend.

But here is a newsflash if you still want to use a scanner, to listen in to phone calls, (I'm betting he really wants to hear the neighbor girl over the baby monitor) The companies making cordless phones know that there could be evil hackers listening in and have made it harder to listen in.

You sound like a young guy, find yourself a job working outside sales, all that time working on your feet and improvising will make you a few $$$, not to mention giving you mad social engineering skills, and then you won't have to put any stock in this scanner mumbo-jumbo, will ya?