r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • 9h ago
Privacy Redditors Are Celebrating the Cutting Down of Flock Surveillance Towers With Based Memes
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/redditors-celebrating-cutting-down-flock-145310398.html1.4k
u/NavyDean 9h ago
Good?
It's a constitutional violation of your rights.
It connects directly to your phone.
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u/Permaphrost 8h ago
Is that why my music keeps cutting out while I’m driving and not because my head unit is a piece of crap?
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u/MothmanIsALiar 8h ago
I've experienced the exact same thing. My Bluetooth cuts out for a few seconds when I'm driving and then it comes right back on.
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u/unibrow4o9 5h ago
Ho-ly shit. This has been driving me insane for months. I lose Bluetooth connection to my android auto display at the exact same intersections without fail, I figured it was some interference from somewhere but I didn't consider flock. Fuck these people.
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u/Jojoyojimbi 5h ago
well you know how to fix it...
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u/Complex_Committee_25 5h ago
Surely you wouldn't imply that cutting down every fucking flock camera us a moral imperative?
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u/Jojoyojimbi 5h ago
Surely you wouldn't imply that cutting down every fucking flock camera us a moral imperative?
For legal reasons I would never say that the US population has a moral imperative to cut down those nasty nasty spy cameras, because I would never want to get sued or have charges pressed against me. but Someone might assume that if Flock cameras are allowed to proliferate we could soon be living in a worse dystopian surveillance state like minority report where they start to arrest us based on our AI-anticipated thought crimes or some shit. so once again for legal reasons I would never cut down flock cameras using a reciprocating demo saw that you can pick up for less than $100 at any local hardware store and attach a metal cutting blade to it, or use a wireless grinder with a metal cutting blade on it. because damaging those Flock cameras would get someone in trouble if they did that.
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u/LaGrrrande 4h ago
Damn, same here. The two intersections at both sides of the main drag in my city. Got so obnoxious that I turned off wireless AA because it would always fuck with my shit while I was stuck at the intersection waiting for the light.
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u/dewhashish 7h ago
there are a couple spots near me where i notice that happen. one near micro center in illinois. it's so weird. my head unit will just lose bluetooth to my phone.
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u/Character_Bug_1862 6h ago
I haven’t seen anything concrete yet, but I did see some websites that I do not trust mentioning the bluetooth tapping to see what you’re using and the signature.
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u/burniemcburn 6h ago
Mine always cuts out on speer right in front of DU near lodo... Looks like there are two right there.
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u/TheG0AT0fAllTime 6h ago
Driving.. past these? specifically? Or just all the time.
My bluetooth headphones will disconnect from my phone briefly when I step on a train in my country. There must be a lot of RF noise in the frequency band our devices are connected on in these areas for that to happen. Or intentional jamming (But I doubt that)
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u/MothmanIsALiar 6h ago
I don't know. It seems to happen when I'm entering or leaving a town. I've only really started to notice it recently since I've been doing delivery driving on the side.
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u/raptorlightning 5h ago
Wireless Android Auto uses the 5GHz spectrum, and is surprisingly susceptible to interference. Hospitals and cell towers/repeaters are the big offenders. If you have an AAWireless adapter try changing the channel. That worked for me.
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u/9-11GaveMe5G 8h ago
It connects directly to your phone.
Do you have a link about this? I'm not doubting, I want to know how it works to protect myself (ie: Bluetooth, spoofs cell tower, etc)
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u/nacho_night 8h ago
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u/9-11GaveMe5G 8h ago
Anything that emits a signal is tracked. It sounds a lot like browser fingerprinting where alone your browser and version isn't much but when they add in your installed extensions, OS information, system information, it starts to get specific. Okay so disable wifi and Bluetooth on devices like phones and avoid having earbuds or watches connected or on. But tire pressure sensors? You'd have to purposely remove those at new tire install which I guess is a choice. Infotainment you basically would have to remove the unit.
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u/JingJang 6h ago
It's not just about disabling all connectivity, Flock Safety uses Ai to build profiles of vehicles. So it's not just your license plate, it's your plates, car model, color, bumper stickers, dents, and who is driving, (check with municipal speeding and red light cameras for proof of the last one where they need to show WHO is driving, not just a vehicle in order to make violations stick).
This goes way beyond vehicles. With their proprietary Ai systems, it's tracking PEOPLE and it's not just your local police department, it's a private company who now owns your location data in near real time.
This should not be remotely partisan. Every American should be taking action against this kind of surveillance.
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u/Slothicide 8h ago
Alot of newer cars dont have TPMS beneath the valve stems anymore. Instead, they have a sensor that measures how many revolutions it takes to cross a set distance. More revolutions = lower pressure. Less revolutions = higher pressure.
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u/bloomsday289 8h ago
How does that work? How does it measure distance outside of wheel revolutions?
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u/Slothicide 7h ago
Well, when you air up your tires, you often hit "calibrate" in your car's settings. That tells the TPMS, "hey! The tires are good right now!" Your TPMS obviously responds, "haha, bet." And goes to work. So, at any given time, it takes x number of revolutions of the wheel to travel a mile, for example. Your TPMS, having recently been assured that everything is okay, keeps track of whatever number x is. As your tire pressure gets lower, the center of the wheel gets closer to the ground, meaning the radius of that circle is shorter. Shorter radius means smaller circle, smaller circle means your tire needs to roll more times before you have traveled a mile. Theres an allowed margin before the TPMS alerts you to low pressure, but once that number of revolutions changes by a set percentage, the TPMS freaks out in the form of a light in your instrument cluster, and perhaps a pop-up message too.
I guess your ABS system works in a similar manner. When your wheels lose traction, they speed way the hell up. Then the ABS system knows that it needs to find a new place to put all of this r a w p o w e r that it has suddenly found itself with. One little shimmy and maybe a shake or two later, your wheels bite and you get on your merry way.
I read about this a while ago when I was looking into a second set of sensors for a dedicated set of wheels for my winter tires only to find out I didnt need one because my car has the newer system. Im obviously paraphrasing a memory, so irl your mileage may vary.
So, tldr, math. Like, quick math, but only tracking the revolutions in a distance and letting you know when the count is far enough off.
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u/donald7773 7h ago
Magnetic sensor close to a metal wheel with teeth on it, referred to as a "tone ring." Every time a tooth goes past the sensor, it detects it.
Attach the tone ring to something that spins with the tires, like a brake rotor or CV axle, and tell the computer how many teeth are on said ring and it can combine RPMs of the ring with the rolling circumference of the tire to see the individual wheel speed.
If there's a discrepancy between any of the 4 wheel speed sensors for an extended period of time, it indicates that the rolling circumference of the wheel has changed, typically due to losing air
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u/caller-number-four 7h ago
Alot of newer cars dont have TPMS beneath the valve stems anymore. Instead, they have a sensor that measures how many revolutions it takes to cross a set distance.
VW has been doing that for ages. I've got a 2011 Golf with that very setup.
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u/StolenPies 8h ago edited 5h ago
E: This is for flock cameras. Leaving my original comment up, but this is an add-on to flock:
The article says that the ELSAG SignalTrace Intelligence System does that, but not Flock. That appears to be from a different company, called Leonardo. Flock is, however, engaging in the video monitoring of drivers, even though their website states that they don't.
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u/nacho_night 8h ago
Signaltrace is an add-on for ALPR cams regardless of manufacturer from what I understand, it can even be deployed on its own.
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u/StolenPies 5h ago
Oop, you're correct:
" This system uses strategically placed sensors to collect electronic communication patterns and identities of consumer electronics to create an additional data set to enhance the records captured by LPR cameras in the area."
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u/Somanylyingliars 7h ago
Didn't some city jist issue someone ticket based on what Flock captured?
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u/warau_meow 7h ago
They have been (mis)arrests from flock footage unfortunately. Several times over it’s been the wrong person too.
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u/Different-Local4284 8h ago
Its a news article about people posting pictures on the internet. Might as well write a book about local signage on telephone poles. This is clanker shit
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u/newsflashjackass 7h ago
The people disabling Flock cameras are, in truth, the very sort of patriotic heroes that ICE agents are falsely described as by government propaganda.
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u/trophicmist0 3h ago
Out of curiousity, why do people seemingly care a lot more about this than say, ISPs routing through all your internet traffic?
Like how many people who are vocal about this can say they’ve actively taken measures in other similar areas? I’m not going against you, I’m the crazy privacy nutter in this case.
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u/CurlSagan 8h ago
Nobody is cutting down flock towers. That's just normal, healthy flock migration. The cameras are growing up and leaving their nests. It's a beautiful sight to behold. Nature is amazing.
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7h ago
[deleted]
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u/nihility101 5h ago
What is the proper tool for harvesting, angle grinder or sawzall?
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u/cowfishduckbear 4h ago
I heard from a guy who knows a guy that an angle grinder requires a beefier battery, but a good sawzall blade (torch) won't need a whole lot of power, comparatively speaking. Don't forget PPE to fully protect your face and eyes from the metal sparks.
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u/Starship_Taru 8h ago
I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t advocate do doing it. I sure as hell didn’t see it happen if it saw it happen. Sorry memory goes a little Tyson sometimes
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u/PortalWombat 5h ago
If I'm ever on a jury it also definitely didn't happen.
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u/Regular_Rhubarb3751 4h ago
say it with me folks: "I don't think the prosecution presented a compelling enough case."
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u/polopolo05 4h ago
Like if you see someone shop lift food... I didnt see shit... I got a speck of something in my eye
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u/ImmortalBeans 8h ago
Our taxes payed to put them up, we own them.
And can do what we want with them
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u/USA46Q 8h ago edited 6h ago
But... definitely don't put stickers on them.
Just because it's a cheaper and safer option doesn't mean people should do it.
Just like they shouldn't throw birdseed near them to attract birds because birds shit on everything.
Something like that would attract spiders because of the insects eating the bird shit, and then you would have to deal with spiderwebs.
Then we're talking squirrels, and before you know it you've got animals chewing through the cables.
That would be terrible.
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u/steakanabake 7h ago
prefer to not tell the meth addicts about all the copper and gold in them.
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u/USA46Q 6h ago
Don't do that, and don't tell them that most scrap yards pay cash with no transaction record.
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u/steakanabake 6h ago
i would assume they already know the last bit but i guess it couldnt hurt to remind them.
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u/USA46Q 6h ago
Some people might be new to meth, so I'm trying to be inclusive.
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u/kangourou_mutant 6h ago
I'm trying to decide if this thread is wholesome or not, but in any case it's funny :)
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u/polopolo05 4h ago
And here, in the urban wilds, we encounter one of the more unusual colonies of modern civilization: the common meth addict. Watch as they emerge from their den at dusk, driven by an unwavering instinct to seek out the shimmering promise of copper and the occasional fleck of gold.
Their preferred feeding grounds include abandoned buildings, construction sites, and, with surprising confidence, anything resembling electrical infrastructure. House wiring is painstakingly harvested, while the unfortunate Flock camera may become the subject of intense...if entirely misguided....interest. To the untrained eye, these objects are pieces of public infrastructure. To the colony, they are simply nesting material waiting to be collected.
The spoils are dutifully carried back to the den, where an elaborate nest of stripped wire, scrap metal, shopping carts, and half-disassembled appliances grows ever larger. Each member of the colony contributes according to its peculiar talents, creating a chaotic but strangely coordinated ecosystem.
It is a fascinating spectacle...one that is perhaps best appreciated from a safe distance, preferably behind a locked gate and with all the copper piping firmly accounted for.
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u/d3ssp3rado 6h ago
The 1W+ laser thing is better imo. Don't pussyfoot around too much. Express an idea and how it can be used without giving explicit direction. It's "for educational purposes" right?
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u/PyroDesu 5h ago
Lasers require line of sight, which means you're literally on camera sabotaging the camera. Also, hope you didn't order it online, because then there's a record that you are one of very few people who could do it!
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u/Bazinga_U_Bitch 8h ago
Incorrect. Most flock cameras are illegally installed by flock themselves on public property. This is literally how they started their business. AFTERWARDS, they went to the city and said see all the safety we can provide you.
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u/Slothicide 8h ago
That means we can pull them out of the ground and throw them away just like those bandit signs that show up by busy intersections, right? Right??
Bandit signs being those wire frames signs that get pushed into the ground. They advertise stuff like buying your home with cash now, buying diabetic test strips, etc. You know, shady shit.
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u/WhiteWinterRains 5h ago
I mean if "you" are the people of your community as a majority and have control of your local government, and thereby local laws and prosecutions, there's a lot you can do.
I won't say any more because I got a (later removed) AI temp ban for "threatening violence" because they really really don't want you talking about how you can (peacefully) push back against organizations that are basically terror groups.
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u/Em_Es_Judd 7h ago edited 7h ago
I remember when people mistook the LED Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force that were placed all over Boston for explosives during the marketing for the movie.
I wish people were that freaked out about flock cameras.
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u/DenverNugs 7h ago
Classic in the worst way. The day the Cartoon Network CEO had to step down because of that was the day the channel started its death spiral.
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u/Somanylyingliars 7h ago
Oh they copied Uber Lyft and many others. But you try doing same and see what happens.
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u/LucidOndine 8h ago
Why is this news? It is not just Redditors who think mass surveillance is a really bad idea. Maybe someone should report on the fact that the reporting staff are out of their depths and should start doing some poling on just how unpopular these are everywhere.
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u/CurlSagan 8h ago
We are barraged every day with shitloads of terrible news stories, please just let us enjoy this one headline.
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u/SuperSecretAgentMan 8h ago
This is probably a honeypot post so flock can get a list of potentially threatening actors from reddit. Don't ever publicly admit to protecting your fellow citizens from the domestic threat that is flock. You'll be targeted in the future.
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u/LucidOndine 7h ago
Maybe. But there aren’t any threats of violence or destruction being made that I can tell.
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u/GreatMadWombat 6h ago
yeah. When it comes to the surveillance state it is always shut the fuck up Friday.
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u/ABHOR_pod 5h ago
Just generally speaking, in an environment like the US right now, don't ever publicly discuss any specific forms of political activism more serious than shitposts and memes.
That's all I do all day, political shitposts and memes. This machine slightly annoys fascists.
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u/newEnglander17 8h ago
Because plenty of people that don’t use Reddit but use Facebook actually do support these. They point to catching criminals.
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u/LucidOndine 8h ago
That’s the thing about Facebook. They put you in an echo chamber they think you want to be in until you tell them otherwise. Facebook is there to sell you an opinion, not to solicit theirs. Redditors are way more content to give you their opinion.
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u/avcloudy 7h ago
It’s not that redditors are more content to give opinions, it’s that the pressures shaping reddit comment visibility are other redditors and whatever bots are operating in a given subreddit, and that is different per sub, whereas with Facebook, it’s always Meta. Reddit bubbles are on two levels, contained to individual subs and the bubbles that envelop most of reddit, whereas Facebook has massive subculture bubbles that you can’t ever see outside of.
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u/kylco 6h ago
If you think Facebook isn't utterly infested with bots taking advantage of Meta's indifference to their activity, I have a bridge to Kamchatka to sell you.
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u/avcloudy 5h ago
I think the moment the bots are pushing an agenda that Meta doesn’t support, you don’t see them. They’re either acting with their blessing, or Meta’s support, and that is a difference from reddit.
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u/kylco 5h ago
The bot activity keeps the impression of community up and many produce more engagement than authentic users so realistically they're just as good a "customer" as anyone who actually clicks on ads. Not to mention the outright scammers who are actually paying for ads, often in casual defiance of Meta's own content standards.
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u/FallbrookAvacado 5h ago
No criminals being caught except the police caught stalking women.
haveibeenflocked.com
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u/skyfishgoo 8h ago
no we are not... we are saying it would a shame if someone were to go around cutting down flock camera poles with a sawsall using 18teeth/in blades (in the jumbo pack to save money).
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u/maglite_to_the_balls 8h ago
Be more of a shame if someone clued Methew and Meth-Ann about the precious metal content of the cameras and electronics on those things.
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u/FallbrookAvacado 5h ago
I don't know anything about Flock cameras and I don't know any severe addicts, but if I did, I'd tell them there was gold in the circuits.
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u/TRAUMAjunkie 7h ago
Angle grinder is quicker and metal cutting wheels are way cheaper than reciprocating saw blades.
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u/Sparky_321 8h ago
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” -Ben Franklin
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u/TheBirdFkerGuy 9h ago
Fuck reddit if they bend to the government when they inevitably tell them to shut this shit down.
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 8h ago
It's always good to make clear whether you're talking about reddit (the company) or reddit (the huge mass of people).
reddit is amazing because with so many people there's always somebody or many somebodies who know exactly the obscure information you're trying to find out, but....
reddit kinda sucks because they don't do a great job of making sure the site works right.
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u/maglite_to_the_balls 8h ago
Also fuck that bug-eyed gremlin u/spez
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 8h ago
I actually might if I thought it would inspire him to FIX HIS GODDAMNED WEBSITE.
For literally several months this year, simply browsing the reddit homepage by "Top"/"Now" didn't work. Not some obscure feature buried deep in the site. Just the most basic option choices on the main reddit.com homepage didn't work. For like 4 months. It finally started working again a few weeks ago.
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u/TheBirdFkerGuy 8h ago
This too
Also quote blocks don't work properly sometimes when you make multiple quotes, like sometimes they'll post correctly THEN when u refresh the page suddenly it's broken Happens on desktop and phone.
Testing this in a 2nd quote block
Write some bullshit
Testing another quoteblock
write some more bs. See if it breaks or if they fixed it cuz it was still an issue just a few days ago.
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u/TAU_equals_2PI 7h ago edited 7h ago
Well gee, with such a rich variety of text formatting options as we have available in a reddit comment, you can't expect them all to work perfectly.
I knew people were gonna get spoiled when reddit stopped operating by punch cards.
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u/steakanabake 7h ago
im just happy old reddit is still chugging away, the minute they shut down old reddit im gonna leave.
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u/windowpuncher 7h ago
Fuck reddit anyways. It's a public company. Reddit is dog shit. They will bend to the government, or just the highest bidder. They've already bent over backwards for the government dozens if not hundreds of times, you just don't know about most of it because if there's any sensitive subjects being discussed the comments are just shadow banned. Completely removed, and only the poster and the admins can see them.
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u/PinkFloydBoxSet 8h ago
Th 4th Amendment says they don't have a right to exist.
Just reaffirming our constitutional rights.
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u/WamblyEmu256 6h ago
The CEO of Flock recently accused everyone and anyone who is against them as being “domestic terrorists.” Do what you will with that information.
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u/homosapiens 8h ago
Laser pointers
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u/AnarchAtheist86 8h ago edited 8h ago
If I were a fan of laser pointers, but wanted to avoid damaging nearby property such as cameras, do you know which types of lasers I should avoid buying? Any particular wattage or wavelength I should stay away from?
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u/JohnBrownOH 7h ago
As a someone that photographs weddings the only thing we have to worry about damaging our cameras are lasers, almost any decent laser can damage a camera sensor but green lasers over 1 watt are particularly nasty.
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u/Fighterhayabusa 6h ago
1 watt is obscenely powerful. You only need milliwatts to kill a camera sensor. Just the reflection of a 1-watt laser will immediately blind you. People shouldn't fuck with those at all, certainly not in any public space where an errant reflection could blind someone.
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u/z3nnysBoi 8h ago
Honestly I've been wanting a laser pointer just because they're cool and legitimately have these questions. They get expensive and I know nothing about lasers.
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u/whynautalex 7h ago
I would avoid any laser listed as class 3B. Class 3R would also be bad if it shines into the lens for a while. If you accidently were playing with your class 3B laser and hit a camera it would burn out pixels almost instantly.
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u/ShadowedPariah 7h ago
It's overkill, but also a metric-ton of fun:
https://biglasers.com/product/1000mw-blue-laser-pointer/
Blue (405-491NM) are hardest to see, the lower the power the longer it takes, but even a pen sized laser pointer will work eventually.
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u/Away-Marionberry9365 7h ago
A laser powerful enough to damage a flock camera quickly is a serious danger to you and anyone nearby. Just a partial reflection could cause permanent eye damage. A lower power laser would need to be aimed directly at the sensor and held there for several minutes to do damage.
There are other safe and effective ways to get the job done.
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u/Mothanius 4h ago
I don't know what they are talking about. It's just been windy, randomly, and those dang things just keep falling over.
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u/lostsocks5 7h ago
a navigation app to avoid them, a GoFundMe for the guy who cut 13 down, and 422k members in the sub. this stopped being fringe a while ago
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u/CosmicSleepWalker 4h ago
you know some shits up when reddit users and twitter users agree on one thing and that's cutting down flock surveillance towers
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u/Remnare 2h ago
As they should? I usually hate reddit, but rare W. The violation of privacy rights by corporations was already insane before they came up with these things. This is straight up psychopass/minority report shit.
In a sane world, the government would be the one cutting them down. Apologizing profusely and reexamining what policies even made anyone think they could attempt such dystopian mass surveillance.
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u/DukeOfGeek 8h ago
The only real victory here is getting the contracts canceled and having the business model of private mass surveillance banned.
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u/ChargeSpiritual5317 7h ago
I think this is the first time I’ve been on Yahoo in like 12 years lmao
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u/atreeismissing 5h ago
Based memes are all reddit does, if they'd vote or even organize a shit ton might get done in this country.
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u/ussrowe 2h ago
Someone on a local Facebook group posted a picture of American flags draped over some Flock cameras in town.
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u/Opening-Rush1618 2h ago
Purely for education purposes, Their are small devices that you can build/buy, about the size of a key chain. That can detect if you come in range of a flock camera and alert you. So you can hypothetically know where they are and avoid them.
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u/Blacksad9999 2h ago
Here's where you can locate all of the Flock cameras in your area/zip code:
Happy hunting. Be safe.
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u/huncho2134 7h ago
Is it really vandalism when you are destroying illegal state surveillance? This company is a walking 4th amendment violation.
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u/realparkingbrake 6h ago
illegal state surveillance?
Part of the problem is it is also private corporate surveillance; Flock will sell data it collects to whoever will pay.
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u/Babblerabla 5h ago
This is like the one issue that unites the right and the left. Fuck those cameras.
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u/Plow_King 5h ago
"people cutting down surveillance cameras" is on my 'good news' list, NOT my 'bad news' list. and boy, is my bad news list looooooong.
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u/GitEmSteveDave 6h ago
Redditors have NEVER been on the wrong side of history, so them celebrating something can not possibli go wring.
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u/midadoneit 6h ago
This is really stupid if you think about it. If you destroy a flock camera then flock just makes money replacing it. You'd actually make the company stronger with more revenue.
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u/j__magical 8h ago
I think the Flock company and their customers are only people that are OK with these things