Aggravated irritation
Mar. 18th, 2011 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoOn Wednesday evening we had what should have been a minor incident at the library. Two teen girls came in and were being obnoxious and loud in general and seemed to be itching for some sort of fight. Then they went over to the internet stations and tried to log on. They came back and one complained that the system was rejecting her account. Our retired director still works with me on Wednesday, and she was at the desk. She looked up the account and explained that the girl owed fines of more than $5 and therefore her access was blocked. She had to pay enough to get the balance below $5 before she could log in. Well she didn't like that and the two of them went off and had some sort of conference in the restroom. Then they came back and paid the minimum amount to get the access unblocked. It was less than $3.
They both went over and sat down, and logged onto two stations. Then we discovered that they had both logged on using the same ID number. This is against the rules, but it works if you time it right as the tracking system is distributed among multiple machines and takes a while to catch on. When it does figure it out, it reduces the available time on both sessions but doesn't log them off. So, retired boss went over and told the girls they were violating the usage agreement and would have to log out. Of course they didn't like that either, but a few minutes later they were off. Then they came back to the desk and wanted the money they had paid back. She told them no, that the money was owed to the library and they couldn't have it back. They left after that.
This sort of thing happens occasionally, and I sometimes wonder if there will be further repercussions. This time there were. The next day, our former director found that her car had been "keyed" in the dark parking lot. The damage was extensive, on the passenger side, roof, and trunk lid, where she didn't notice it when she got in the car to leave after we closed. There were insulting and obscene remarks written in the scratches. She has a license plate that connects her with "books" so she figured they knew it was her car from that. Filed a police report, called her insurance, got an estimate for repairs which will apparently be over $2000. Fortunately her insurance will cover it, with only a $50 deductible. She came in this morning to get the security camera images for the police, and asked if I had checked my car. I hadn't, but didn't think it was damaged even though we were parked next to each other. However, when I left for the day I found two similar long scratches on the tailgate that had not been there before. These were almost certainly done at the same time. Now I'll have to go through the same process to get them fixed, and I'm sure my deductible is much larger.
New director seemed to want to blame it on the computer systems for allowing the simultaneous logins. I tried to explain to her that this is normal for that kind of system but she wasn't having it. I think she often seems to be eager to blame any difficulties on Linux because she wants everything changed back to Windows. I also think that those two users had a "chip on their shoulder" and might well have done the same thing anyway even if it had been the system that denied them access rather than a staff member. They were hostile and abrasive throughout the whole time they were in the library.
I'm getting really, really disgusted with the human race. Perhaps it really is time for us to destroy ourselves with pollution, warfare, or whatever, and let some other species clean up after us. This sort of behavior is simply inexcusable.
They both went over and sat down, and logged onto two stations. Then we discovered that they had both logged on using the same ID number. This is against the rules, but it works if you time it right as the tracking system is distributed among multiple machines and takes a while to catch on. When it does figure it out, it reduces the available time on both sessions but doesn't log them off. So, retired boss went over and told the girls they were violating the usage agreement and would have to log out. Of course they didn't like that either, but a few minutes later they were off. Then they came back to the desk and wanted the money they had paid back. She told them no, that the money was owed to the library and they couldn't have it back. They left after that.
This sort of thing happens occasionally, and I sometimes wonder if there will be further repercussions. This time there were. The next day, our former director found that her car had been "keyed" in the dark parking lot. The damage was extensive, on the passenger side, roof, and trunk lid, where she didn't notice it when she got in the car to leave after we closed. There were insulting and obscene remarks written in the scratches. She has a license plate that connects her with "books" so she figured they knew it was her car from that. Filed a police report, called her insurance, got an estimate for repairs which will apparently be over $2000. Fortunately her insurance will cover it, with only a $50 deductible. She came in this morning to get the security camera images for the police, and asked if I had checked my car. I hadn't, but didn't think it was damaged even though we were parked next to each other. However, when I left for the day I found two similar long scratches on the tailgate that had not been there before. These were almost certainly done at the same time. Now I'll have to go through the same process to get them fixed, and I'm sure my deductible is much larger.
New director seemed to want to blame it on the computer systems for allowing the simultaneous logins. I tried to explain to her that this is normal for that kind of system but she wasn't having it. I think she often seems to be eager to blame any difficulties on Linux because she wants everything changed back to Windows. I also think that those two users had a "chip on their shoulder" and might well have done the same thing anyway even if it had been the system that denied them access rather than a staff member. They were hostile and abrasive throughout the whole time they were in the library.
I'm getting really, really disgusted with the human race. Perhaps it really is time for us to destroy ourselves with pollution, warfare, or whatever, and let some other species clean up after us. This sort of behavior is simply inexcusable.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 09:38 am (UTC)...as if the blame for vandalism could rest anywhere other than on the vandals themselves. Sheesh...
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 10:52 am (UTC)She pretends to listen, but usually her mind is made up before she asks the question. That's something I have never been able to tolerate well. Past boss is a genuine listener who tries to understand.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:02 am (UTC)Anyhow, that whole thing really sucks, obviously. Obnoxious users are bad enough, but vandalism... sheesh. At least there's the camera footage, though, and if they're also users, you'll have their names and all that, so it should be an easy enough case.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:26 am (UTC)Alternatively, maybe check with a lawyer to see if there's any potential for recouping the costs in a civil suit (or without a suit). It's not as if the vandals know that they weren't caught on tape. :P (Whether that would meet the legal definition of blackmail, or whether it'd be an entirely acceptable use of the legal system, is something I'll leave up to the lawyers, too.)
no subject
Date: 2011-03-19 11:38 am (UTC)Civil suit would cost more than it could recover. The perpetrators don't have any money, and are likely transient as well so they would just disappear. If it actually went to court, conclusive proof linking them to the damage would be required. Even a judge will say that although it's perfectly clear that they are responsible, the law requires definite proof unless they admit to it.