Just because its obnoxious doesn't mean its illegal

[Boozy]

This one drives me nuts.

There's a bizarre form of Godwin's Law over at CS whereby the longer a particular SC incident is discussed, the more likely it is that someone will say that the behaviour could be "illegal" and that the OP should sue/call the cops. (Maybe I should call it Boozy's Law. )

Currently, there is some discussion that a customer giving out an employee's home phone number is illegal. While I am sure that we could all find a law in the books somewhere that this violates, I think any reasonable person would shrug it off and say, "People sometimes suck and shit sometimes happens."

Its rude, its obnoxious, its annoying...but illegal?

A variant of this is when a post involves a child and poor parenting in some way. Very quickly someone will suggest calling CPS for the mildest of matters.

This one especially gets to me. As far as I know, every child protection agency in the world is overwhelmed with cases of child abuse and neglect. They simply don't have time or resources to deal with a mother who turned her back on her toddler for a second, or who handed her baby to a clerk to hold in a moment of being overwhelmed. No matter how annoying that may be to the clerk.

Perspective is the first casualty of online discussion.

[AFPheonix]

Perhaps some day, when I am Ruler Of The Planet, I will make public obnoxiousness illegal, and institute a meritocratic eugenics program

[rahmota]

Perspective is the first casualty of online discussion.

Not just online sad to say I think.

People are more than willing to jump on the let somebody else fix it bandwagon.

AFP: Considering the pandemic proportions of public obnoxiousness what will you do when you are alone on the world?

[AFPheonix]

Hmmm......

Walk around in my underwear and play Wii?

[ArenaBoy]

Some discussion that a customer giving out an employee's home phone number is illegal. While I am sure that we could all find a law in the books somewhere that this violates, I think any reasonable person would shrug it off and say, "People sometimes suck and shit sometimes happens."

Its rude, its obnoxious, its annoying...but illegal?

Not illegal but I can go to the police and/or change my number along with having it unlisted if I feel unsafe or threatened. A customer handing out a employee's phone number is in a way a stupid idea and there is a small chance that an SC could just leave harassing calls on the machine or make them. Which the police and a person who wants to live their life in peace frown upon.

Let me tell you a little story:

I was 15 years old when this happened. I was out running in my neighborhood when a car blasting Eye of the Tiger and a man who went to my high school rushed out of the car with a video camera shouting "C'mon man, let's go let's go!"

Now this is a 15 year old me at the time, I don't know this guy and he's freaking me out. I didn't get the license plate though. However, later on that day I was walking my dog and their car passed by me again. I caught the plate and reported them to the cops. Why? I felt unsafe. So what better way to get them to think twice is involve the law? What they did probably wasn't illegal albeit absurd but it still made me feel unsafe.