dcool on 21/2/2008 at 14:31
Something happened to me recently that made me question some things.. I've always played Thief games quite happily without asking the kind of ethical questions that, for instance, even games like Grand Theft Auto have made me ask in the past (I usually just kill everybody - they were all bad*).
Recently we game home to find my housemate virtually in tears, complaining about how "she has never lived with a sief" before (she's French). It turns out that the old shelves I'd "appropriated" from my neighbour's yard to save from the dustmen weren't so unwanted after all. As it turns out, they were some kind of family heirloom or something, and she was only leaving them there to put plants on them. The shelves were duly returned, to one grumpy old woman. Seems this neighbour had freaked out and called the landlady assuming we stole them. My housemate then gave me all kinds of grief, because, basically, she sub-let one of the rooms in our house without permission and we aren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves.
I was just wondering if anyone else here has been a thief for real, because it certainly made me change my attitude to things.
*I'm kidding about the killing, by the way, before anyone complains.
Shadak on 21/2/2008 at 19:38
good story that.
When I was 13 I used to often ride my bike to our small downtown area to this one little store that had a good magazine rack with a few different video game magazines. They also had a small arcade room in the back with 4 or 5 games that would change every few months.
One day something just got into me and I wanted to steal some game magazines. I casually took one and walked over behind a soda display area around the corner from the front desk and quickly tucked it up under my shirt, flat against my stomach and tucked into my pants.
When I meandered back to the front area no one seemed to have noticed, and thus emboldened I repeated the process three more times with all the game magazines they had. But on the fourth nabbing, one of the store ladies came around the corner just as I stuffed it under my shirt and I didn't have time to tuck it neatly into my pants, so I just sort of held it against the others with my arms trying to look innocent. She didn't say anything at that time so I thought I was okay.
From different friends I'd previously learned that to avoid suspicion you have to also buy a little something from any store you try to rob, so I proceded to buy a candy bar at the front desk. After nervously paying, trying not to let them see the four magazines under my shirt, all seemed to go well and I headed out toward the exit door. Suddenly the manager yelled after me to get back here right now young man! CRAP! I was soooooo nervous. He very meanly asked if there was something under my shirt, so I guiltily pulled out...just the fourth magazine!
He sat me down in the back office and called my mom and had her drive over to pick me up. I acted all sad and sorry and they didn't press any charges or anything like that, and my mom promised them I would be punished, blah blah blah. On the way home I told my mom I was sorry and learned my lesson, etc. She said she was concerned about me but glad that I got caught.
Of course, the whole time sitting in the manager's office and in the car I still had the first three magazines in my shirt! I made it all the way Scott free, haha!
But reading those mags in my room over the next few days just wasn't the same, the air was sorta let out of the tires so to speak. I've never stolen anything since.
Jarvis on 22/2/2008 at 08:06
I've always been fascinated with the art of stealth and certain forms of breaking and entering. That's a fascination that is still with me, and I practice all the time. Only I do so legally these days, practicing on my own locks and studying my own security; or occasionally playing stalking games with friends to practice stealth skills.
In my teenager years, I did do so a few times in farms near one of my friend's houses. There were friends with me, of course, and whenever we managed to get inside we'd always end up taking something. We'd get through the poor quality locks with the use of a knife (the credit card method).
Looking back, I'm both disappointed in my moral ambiguity, and also proud of the restraint I did show in the face of the circumstances. My friends took things of relative value, like horse whips and movies and the like. I always took keepsakes, just for some warped souvenir reminder of what I'd done. Like a spoon, or a pen. Once, we found money. I forced my friends to put it back, reminding them that we weren't there to rob the place, but rather that we were there for the experience.
After that, I never took anything else and never did anything with anyone who would take anything. The experience was enough for me. I'm glad that both my methods and my morality has matured with age.
nicked on 22/2/2008 at 13:56
I stole a two pence piece from my mum's bedside table once. But then I felt guilty and put it back. True story!
yubetcha on 22/2/2008 at 15:39
Quote Posted by nicked
I stole a two pence piece from my mum's bedside table once. But then I felt guilty and put it back. True story!
See? You're not so bad, I don't care what the bathroom wall says :D
I think we all have probably stolen something before we had matured. Many years ago, a friend (yeah, that's it! A friend :cheeky: ) in 4th or 5th grade on his way home from school was walking across a bridge. It was safer back then for a boy of his age. He came across a fisherman, who had his fishing line in the river below. Looking down, he saw a fish at the fisherman's feet. He felt sorry for the fish. While standing next to the fisherman, he looked over the railing into the river. He kicked the fish back into the water, hoping it would still be alive. The fisherman did not notice. That was a form of thievery, even though my friend didn't profit. My friend said that he would like to have seen the face on that fisherman when he got ready to leave.
BrokenArts on 22/2/2008 at 16:21
Ohhh lets see, back on 2000, I believe it was. Watching a neighbor neglect a beautiful sweet boarder collie for 9 months. The dog lived under the house to get out of the elements, was always chained up. They didn't feed her much, so, I used to sneak her food. Watched her sit there in the rain, freezing cold. It broke my heart, no don't get involved, how can you not when there is neglect and abuse going on. Woke up one night to her being raped by a chow, such a great noise to wake up to. Tried to help, ignore, call animal control, nothing worked.
One day, lets just say, the dog disappeared. Yubetcha remembers this.
yubetcha on 22/2/2008 at 16:29
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
Ohhh lets see, back on 2000, I believe it was. Watching a neighbor neglect a beautiful sweet boarder collie for 9 months. The dog lived under the house to get out of the elements, was always chained up. They didn't feed her much, so, I used to sneak her food. Watched her sit there in the rain, freezing cold. It broke my heart, no don't get involved, how can you not when there is neglect and abuse going on. Woke up one night to her being raped by a chow, such a great noise to wake up to. Tried to help, ignore, call animal control, nothing worked.
One day, lets just say, the dog disappeared. Yubetcha remembers this.
Excuse me?? I think you're dreaming. LOL! Kidding. Yeah, I remember. Such a beautiful dog. I wonder what happened to it. People who can't treat an animal correctly, especially when that animal DEPENDS on him or her, should be fined or put into jail. And here in Texas, they are. Once in awhile, they get into the news. They shouldn't even have a pet. Down the street from me, people had let their dog run all over the neighborhood. One day last year, it went out into a busy street, and was killed. When told about it by another neighbor, they didn't seem to even care (according to the neighbor). If they ever get another one, I will call you, BA :) . You can use the skills that you honed from the game.
BrokenArts on 22/2/2008 at 16:43
Hah, no thanks, once was enough. I hated doing that, afraid I was gonna get caught.
I did use my thiefy skills, staked out the place, made sure people were gone. Yeah......ok. :erm:
386DX on 22/2/2008 at 21:57
When I was growing up I used to live near an elementary school. One night sometime in highschool my friends and I were just hanging out until I went around the back of the school near the woods to take a piss and noticed that a window was opened. Needless to say I climbed through and walked around the classroom looking and reminicing about the good old times I had there (it was actually my 6th grade classroom). In the classroom were some baseballs signed by some major league athletes but I left them alone. I'm not a thief! I did however steal some snacks that the kids had for emergencies so maybe I am. :cheeky: I didn't tell the other guys; this experience was for myself.
The Magpie on 23/2/2008 at 19:17
This happened last month.
My flatmate and I went to a private afterparty downtown when the bar we'd spent the Saturday night on had closed. As these affairs go, this was one of the really good afterparties: good music, good people, a generous host (some 15 year old Speyside was involved), etcetera.
Well, after some time snoring sounds were heard from the bathroom, and my flatmate was missing. Thief moment #1: Using a Yale key from my keyring, I managed to pick the lock, and opened the door to discover the poor guy on his knees, buttocks up, face resting gently against the floor.
Not long after this rescue our host suddenly fell asleep too. In mid-headbang, as it were. That was okay, by then the clock had given up showing a very late hour, and now pluckily showed a quite early hour instead. So my flatmate and I said our good-byes, got dressed, and went down the stairs to exit the building through the front door.
Only we didn't find the front door. Instead we found the courtyard door, and discovered a nice courtyard. There were iron barred gates to the street on two sides. Both were locked with chains and padlocks. We tried re-entering the building, but couldn't find the door we'd come from. Instead we tried all the other doors around the courtyard. Some weren't locked, and we followed the corridors inside for as long as they went. Thief moment #2: One of these trespassing expeditions led to a dark boiler room. But no exit, or even any entrance into the apartment sections.
I called the police. The guy in the callcenter seemed to find our situation quite mirthful. I was inclined to agree, but my flatmate didn't quite seem to have as much fun as I did. Not long afterwards, a police car with two constables showed up behind one of the barred gates. They thought they might contact a security company to cut the chain, but suspected that might become expensive for us. And they seemed suspicious of our afterparty story, and probably considered taking us in for trespassing.
Almost an hour passed, the policemen in the meantime told us to wait (uh huh...) while they drove around for a bit. I tried reaching for the keypad outside the gates, but couldn't get a good view of it. Thief moment #3: So I managed to push my body between the bars, and I was outside! I only had to remove my wallet from my hip pocket. Unfortunately, this method of liberation wasn't equally applicable for my flatmate, to put it mercifully.
But it all worked out, of course. The police had found some guy who apparently lived there, or at least had the key or the code or whatever, and he opened the gate for my flatmate. We'd then been there for 90 minutes. A memorable little incident it was. :cool:
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Larris
