Lost and found

[overstim.livejournal.com]

Lost and found posts are pretty common here, and they always irk me.

"I found xxx in a cab, let me know if its yours". Well, if I lost something, and I'm pretty sure it was in a cab, I'd call the cab company, not check LiveJournal. The sense of responsibility and community here is impressive and rare and heartwarming, but also often counterproductive.

So I got to thinking– should we designate some public space as an all-purpose lost and found? Say, if you find anything within a .5 mile radius of Davis Square, you'll drop it off at Diesel, or the Somerville Theatre or something. That way if I lose something, I'd only have to check one place, not every person I know, several school bulletin boards, several LJ communities and several Craigslist pages. Think some local business would be interested in this?

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

How would you communicate that to the residents and visitors to Davis Square who do not use this community?

Note that I agree, most of the lost/found posts are shooting in the dark, but I don't find this to be especially more helpful.

[whaler.livejournal.com]

I think people post here as a last ditch shot in the dark, and don't think they are actually expecting it to help them find it.

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

I don't think Diesel or the Somerville Theater are going to want to pay their staff to maintain a lost and found for the Davis Square community, but you could always ask them. Actually, I always thought if you found something valuable, your local police station was the best place to take it. This used to be true, anyway, don't know if it still is.

But all that said, I don't find such posts counterproductive at all. An irrelevant email in my inbox once (or even a few times) a day is hardly a spanner in my works, anyway. If lost/found posts became the majority of what was appearing, then maybe that's the time to think about starting a separate community, just to deal with lost and found in Davis Square, but I don't think we're there just yet.

[redheadedmuse.livejournal.com]

Isn't the police station sort of the traditional spot for that kind of thing? If I lost something in a foreign city, it's one of the places I'd check.

one moderator's opinion

[ron_newman]

I see no problem with occasional lost and found posts in this community. They occasionally do work, as seen most recently here.

[overstim.livejournal.com]

Okay, okay, you all win. bad idea.

But do me a favor? If you find my lost iPod, or keys, or whatever, I'm going to be re-tracing my steps. So don't take them home with you- leave them the hell where they are, or take them to the police station? kthanks!

[magg1es.livejournal.com]

I don't agree that people should not pick things up if they are lost and post about them. What I do agree with is the fact that it may not be as effective as dropping it off at a police station. How about a hybrid? Pick it up, post about it, then drop it off at a police station.

The idea of a community lost and found is a good idea. People who are generally out and about in Davis will find some way of hearing about it. The problem may be tacking things up in competing stores. I do not believe the cafe down the street will enjoy have Diesel's name posted on their walls. But! Being as Diesel almost shuts down every other year, they might appreciate the additional business from fliers around the square.

I say, write something up... Perhaps we could hold a community meeting discussing a way to effectively execute this.

[seltzer92.livejournal.com]

ive always returned found objects immediately in front of the business where i find it or the police station.
i agree that lost/found posts here are annoying to read.

I often keep found objects.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Unless they are personal IDs or credit cards. I lose stuff too at times. I lost a nice camera last year. It's the way the universe redistributes a few things here and there. Note, if somebody posts an ad saying they lost that particular item, then I'd give it back. But I'm not going to go out of my way to find the owner, otherwise.