Wassupwidat? Are you hoarding secret information? Are you a stooge for the MTA? I clearly am ignorant about how to beat the system, and you are standing in the way of allowing the teeming millions to fight my ignorance. No wonder it’s taking longer than you thought, you shut me down!
So tell me, is it because I wanted some underhand info? I really didn’t see anything about this in the rulebook, so give me a hint.
And how come people can dish out info on mail fraud and harassment (revenge thread) but I can’t get the straight dope on getting a ride to work. Either hypocrisy abounds even within these hallowed halls or The Man has pulled Manny’s strings.
I fart in your general direction Manny :D, and I still want a free ride.
Yours isn’t the first thread to be closed for asking for instructions on how to break the law- I’m not sure if it is documented anywhere but the SDMB does not condone this. There are some grey areas (Napster & pot smoking are the two that come to mind) but in general it is discouraged.
I realize this is very un-pit-like. Have a nice day.
P.S.- Manny actually sold out to Ed Koch, not Guiliani. The “sell-out” contract expires in 2005 at which time you can ask about turnstile jumping, phone phreaking, and the best places to urinate in public.
If you want a free subway ride, buy a fifteen-dollar MetroCard. It gives you $16.50 worth of rides.
Or just get a month-long pass, and ride the subway all day. You can keep leaving and coming back in, chortling at how you’re putting one over on the City.
OK, lemme get this straight, I can explain how to make a bong outta a soda bottle to someone on the SDMB, but I can’t get information on how to stick it to The Man? I’m not whining (mebbe a little) but I’d like to know what the limits are. Who decides what’s acceptable or not? What if I were to say that the bodega on 34th and 8th Ave. sells ecstasy? Is that not allowed? How about specific instructions on commiting felony mail fraud: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=33127
Goddamnit, all I want is to ride the subway. Manny is standing in the way of every citizen’s right to learn how to bend the law. We can always say the metrocard got bent by my keys 'cuz I carried it in my pocket. I won’t rat on yuh Manny. Come on, please…
While we’re here, if somebody wants to tell me the answer real quickly I’ll owe you one.
To answer the bong question, sure- there’s at least one poster on this board who resides in a country where that’s legal (hint: he’s posted to this thread). As to “Who decides what’s acceptable or not?” that’s easy- the mods do. And they’ve already decided that this isn’t acceptable. I’d try a different resource as any further inquiries would be beating a dead horse.
Another answer to the bong question – it is possible to smoke legal substances out of a soda-bottle bong. 'Course, we all know that it is a very rare person who does this, but it is the reason that BONGS ARE NOT ILLEGAL, and thus providing information about making one is not advocating an illegal act.
Water pipe.
A bong is an illegal device used for illegal smoking of the illegal drug marijuana, and counts as drug paraphanalia.
A water pipe on the other hand is a completely legal method with which to filter many legal substances and can be found in many fine stores in the Denver area.
We moderators are human. Each of us has a different approach to things. On discussions of illegal matters, I tend to come down on the conservative side. There is literally no way to answer your question without posting instructions on how to break the law.
To some of your specific questions:
Yes, you could post directions on how to make a bong; as mentioned, it is not illegal in most U.S. jurisdictions.
Yes, you could tell people that a certain location was a known drug location. If you were to mention the secret knock or who to talk to, then we’re getting into a grey area.
Yes, I make the call in GQ. But Tuba and Ed watch over me, and if I go to far, they’ll let me know.
We do want feedback on how we’re doing; please feel free to email me or Tuba if you have any concerns. But on this issue, let me say that the Reader higer-ups are law-abiding citizens and they want their message board to reflect that.
Oh, and my agent tells me that Koch might not pick up the option years on my contract (salary cap, you know), so I might be a free agent for the '02 season.
The Man. Let’s see. That would be everyone else who is paying their fare share to ride? Or is this some vague, god like concept I don’t get? I looked in all my deity and demigod books but I can’t find one single listing for “The Man”.
This is akin to saying shop lifting is a “victimless” crime. It’s not. It costs everyone else who pays for what they want. Frankly, I’m glad he shut it down. I think he was correct in doing so. You basically want to know how to take something that isn’t yours. You want to know how to steal something and you think you are justified in doing so.
You are not. Pay your fair share like everyone else.
In my humble opinion, $1.50 is a very fair and reasonable price for a subway ride. All things considered, the New York subway system is efficient and safe, the trains run frequently, the trains run all night, and you can travel as far as you want for that $1.50.
In addition, the MTA has added several programs designed to give commuters further discounts. These include free rides when you buy a high-value Metrocard, weekly and monthly unlimited passes, senior-citizen and student discounts, and programs by which employers can give their employees Metrocards as a benefit, leading to tax advantages for the employee. Also, since the introduction of the Metrocard, most transfers between subways and busses are now free. For a commuter who has to take both a subway and a bus to get to work, that works out to a $750 savings per year.
If you compare the New York public transit system to other systems worldwide, you can fairly conclude that it is uglier and smellier, but you must admit that a ride on the subway is a bargain.
I guess I don’t think that the MTA is necessarily the best “Man” to be “sticking it to.”
Green Bean you are absolutely right. I am a little bit put off by the cost of parking in the city or going through the tunnels, but the Metro and the PATH are real bargins. Now if housing in Manhattan was a bargin on the same scale … sigh.
