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

[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!

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

The reason people don't leave lost iPods where they are is so people won't steal them.

Agree that they should be taken to the police station. One could then post a note here saying that the iPod was found, and that it's at the police station to be picked up.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

+1

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

And with things like hats or gloves, leaving them where they fell means they get trampled in the mud/snow/salt. When you retrace your steps, try looking at things at waist level too; sometimes people just move a glove two feet away and three feet up, where it will remain visible and stay cleaner.

[overstim.livejournal.com]

Okay, new policy! if I find a lost iPod, Ill take it to the police station, and leave in its place a Polaroid of me, rubbing it on my junk :)

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

I still think it was an idea worth discussing, though.

And it's still a completely valid point that maybe it is sometimes a good idea to leave something where you find it, for those who might retrace their steps. On the third hand, if it's an iPod, it's more likely to get stolen if you just leave it there.

The sad fact is, it just plain sucks when something gets lost, and there's no perfect solution. That's why it's good to have threads like this, so everyone can see everyone else's ideas/solutions/smackdowns.

[magg1es.livejournal.com]

I like the idea because the closest police station is in Union Square. It would be convenient to have somewhere local to have a lost and found. I think that it would increase the likelihood that people will turn something in instead of keeping it.


... I also hate police stations and will not set foot in one.

Teele Square

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

As of a year ago, there's a substation in Teele Square:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&q=1154+Broadway+St,+Somerville,+MA+02144&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1154+Broadway,+Somerville,+Middlesex,+Massachusetts+02144&ll=42.400453,-71.125445&spn=0.008572,0.026457&z=16

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

oops, nix my last comment ;)