O.K., I'm willing to be educated prior to calling this a moronic act. So, someone, please fill me in on the secret. I often see, on both forums and craigslist, people providing pictures of vehicles (motorcycles, trailers, cars, trucks, etc.) they have for sale and they have taken the time to either cover the license plate with a piece of paper, their finger or even photoshop. Why in the world would someone do this? Keep in mind, these people are required, while driving around in public, to keep their plates visible to thousands of times more people than will ever see their stupid ad. Please note I couldn't care less whether or not they do this. However, they must think it is accomplishing something.

Same reason they block out the serial number on guns. Overabundance of paranoia imo.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
Same reason they block out the serial number on guns. Overabundance of paranoia imo.

Yup, tinfoil too tight. Hey, that's my gun that was stolen years ago.

There's a new scam emerging everyday. There's good reason to be paranoid.

I see this asked on car forums all the time. On the street how many people see your license plate for a few seconds, maybe minutes? Multiply that by millions on the internet and its always out there.

Do as you feel comfortable. It's really no ones business if you chose to do it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: az4783054,

quote:

Originally posted by Tomkat: Keep in mind, these people are required, while driving around in public, to keep their plates visible to thousands of times more people than will ever see their stupid ad.

Exactly. A car parked at a store could be photographed from a variety of angles, license plate clearly visible, VIN copied through the windshield, etc.

And yet, they post family photos and personal information on social media.

Precaution to eliminate personal information that might be used nefariously.

I do it. Better to be safe than sorry. And I don’t do social media.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I do it. Better to be safe than sorry.

Do you pull the plates and tape over the VIN when it's parked in public?

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I do it. Better to be safe than sorry.

Do you pull the plates and tape over the VIN when it's parked in public?

Yes sir!

I think this is what got John Wick in trouble at the gas station, his car and the license number tracked to his home..

I agree. It’s silly.

If anyone truly wanted to, just from the info put forth by the average sigforum poster, a profile could be made with the following information:


Guns owned
Likes and dislikes
Political Affiliations
Food preference
Daily habits
Car driven
Current vehicle
Sock brand preferred
Address and relatives (with a little research and digging)


I could go on and on.

It always astounds me why people care about something that doesn't directly effect them. Unless there's a law against it, an owner should be able to do whatever that owner wants to do with their property.

Don't be a Democrat.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I agree. It’s silly.

If anyone truly wanted to, just from the info put forth by the average sigforum poster, a profile could be made with the following information:


Guns owned
Likes and dislikes
Political Affiliations
Food preference
Daily habits
Car driven
Current vehicle
Sock brand preferred
Address and relatives (with a little research and digging)


I could go on and on.

I have a friend with a firm mining this sort of data on a mind-boggling scale every minute of every single day.

Well, not the socks.

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
It always astounds me why people care about something that doesn't directly effect them. Unless there's a law against it, an owner should be able to do whatever that owner wants to do with their property.

OP didn't say they should be prohibited, he just thought it was silly. And many but not all agree.

Looks more like liberty.

Paranoia.

People say "because scams“ but I have never heard anything that amounted to a real reason.

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
It always astounds me why people care about something that doesn't directly effect them. Unless there's a law against it, an owner should be able to do whatever that owner wants to do with their property.

Don't be a Democrat.

Jeezuz. Why do we even have a forum for pitching your bitch if people are going to come into said forum and wonder aloud why someone has pitched their bitch? To answer your unwritten inquiry, I did so because a) it interests me; and b) I don't know why it's done.

It doesn't affect me (effect in your world of the English language) other than I think it's dumb and inquired herein as to the reasons for it.

As someone else wrote, maybe they are paranoid and see it as a "[P]recaution to eliminate personal information that might be used nefariously". I guess, if you think about it from the tinfoil hat crowd, that is possible. As a matter of fact, I have always assumed that is the reason.

As to your stupid assertion about don't be a democrat, I would have had to state in my post: "There ought to be a law and this should be regulated". However, we conservatives don't make such assertions. Instead, we inquire about behavior we don't understand. You see, I am a moron. I don't see, anywhere in this thread, where I or any other posted asserted these people should not be allowed to do as they wish. As a moron, when something doesn't make sense to me, I inquire. Keep on keepin' on.

My apologies if my reply upset you that much. I answered your question based on my experience.

I was under the impression that everyone had equal opportunity to express their opinion, pro or con to the original post.

Apology not necessary az4783054. I'm actually usually quite thick skinned, tolerant and even docile. However, that's probably the one thing that makes me want to stick a fork in my eye, when someone questions a poster's need (mine in this case) to post a rant in a forum specifically designed for such rants. I too apologize if I came off as harsh and/or rude. I need to work on that.

I do it. And I’m also not on social media apps. I grey out the license plate also and always will. After reading this thread I will now on scrub the alphanumeric string on my license plate and put P H U C K U in its’ place just to mess with folks.

Some people do it in an overabundance of caution because their job has higher than normal risk for retaliation. For example a LEO might so his home address isn't found by searching the plate. In Florida LEOs and their spouses can have their information protected so people thay have arrested cannot easily find their information.