Going onto private land

[jack]

I went for a jog and ingress, and there's a lovely level 8 portal, just 10 meters into the business park, which is technically private land. And one more down the far end. Is it ethical to walk in?

Last time I didn't even really stop to question it, I assumed that they'd have a barrier or at least a sign if they didn't want people to walk past, and just went in, but the security guard came out on my way back and asked me not to. I thought it wise not to after that, but I'm not sure what lesson to take -- should I never go into private land, even if it's clearly ok? Or not if I think it's likely to be a problem? Or just do it whenever it seems harmless until I'm asked to stop?

The idea of just trying it and seeing if people mind literally never occurred to me -- I assumed it was either ok, or forbidden. But in fact, most situations DON'T have well-thought-out rules, and it's pointless to pretend they do. But I don't want to overcompensate.

Comments

[hatam_soferet]

Often if you have a good reason and you ask nicely, people are reasonable. "I know that's your garden, but would you mind if I just went over there for ten minutes to look at the remains of the moat?"

[jack]

Right, I have a tendency to panic and think "what's the rule for the situation"? But I should remember that people (security guards, garden owners, etc) are people and asking politely is a normal and good thing to do!

[seryn]

Business parks here often look like university campuses with better maintenance and newer buildings. It's extremely difficult to tell who belongs and who doesn't. If someone asked me what I was doing, and I was not blindsided, I'd say I'm thinking about applying for a job here and I wanted to see how the commute is.

Of course that plays better if you're there during the workday and sitting on a bench by the walkway, not looking at something weird like a drainspout or cornerstone.

"I was meeting a friend for lunch. Then she texted to cancel, now I'm figuring out where to eat around here."

[jack]

Yeah, I think during the day I could have walked in and no-one would have noticed or cared even if they did notice. Jogging at midnight was more suspicious :)

[mathcathy]

In England you shouldn't go on someone else's property unless they are okay with it. It's trespass and they could take you to civil court.

[jack]

But the question is, where is the line on "okay with it"? Lots of private roads don't even have a sign telling you not to go in, and in practice, no-one cares even though no-one gives you permission. Presumably you mean, this case was clearly over the line, but how can I judge that better?

It's trespass and they could take you to civil court.

Normally people say that if there's no damage, (or other compensation) there's pretty much no case. Is there a reason it's more serious in this case?

[mathcathy]

The security guard told you not to - means they're not ok with it.

[jack]

Ah, sorry! I thought you were trying to answer the general question, not just "should I have stayed out then". It's ok, I stayed out on that occasion.

(Although I'm not completely convinced it's that clearcut -- if the security guards answer randomly on a whim, does that mean everyone should obey the first thing, etc.)

[mathcathy]

I think it should be that clear cut.

[bugshaw]

Maaaaaybe it's the guard's portal and they were surreptitiously defending it.

[jack]

ROFL. I think you win for this suggestion :) Except he stopped me on the way out :)

[spaceoperadiva]

At the community college not far from our house, some of the security has gotten used to Ingress and just waved in a friendly way when we show them our screen, while others ran us off every time. It's so hard to tell what's going to happen in any situation. My default was that if I didn't need to hop a fence or anything, I went for it. If they asked me to leave, I apologized in a calm, friendly way and did as they asked.

I'm not playing currently. :/

[jack]

Oh, that's lovely. Yeah, I assumed explaining would just seem ridiculous, but I should have tried it, people are a lot more used to niche phone games now.

My default was that if I didn't need to hop a fence or anything, I went for it. If they asked me to leave, I apologized in a calm, friendly way and did as they asked.

Yeah, that makes sense.