Viral 'Free Potatoes' Post Cost This Farmer 150 Tons of Crops(vice.com)
vice.com
Viral 'Free Potatoes' Post Cost This Farmer 150 Tons of Crops
https://www.vice.com/en/article/viral-free-potatoes-post-cost-this-farmer-150-tons-of-crops/
61 コメント
Saw this similar quote:
>“One man came and said he took two bags because he went crazy when he saw the crowd,” Piotr said. “He apologized, and everything was fine. But there are also those who took dozens of tons.”
Literally always it's a few bad apples ruining the bunch. If a bunch of people came and took some for personal use, it would've been fine. I mean, still a problem, but the farmer would probably still have some damn crop left to sell or replant or whatever you'd do with those potatoes for the best recovery at that point.
>“One man came and said he took two bags because he went crazy when he saw the crowd,” Piotr said. “He apologized, and everything was fine. But there are also those who took dozens of tons.”
Literally always it's a few bad apples ruining the bunch. If a bunch of people came and took some for personal use, it would've been fine. I mean, still a problem, but the farmer would probably still have some damn crop left to sell or replant or whatever you'd do with those potatoes for the best recovery at that point.
If they thought the potatoes would rot unless they were all taken it makes perfect sense. This wasn't a "have a potato on us and have a good day :)" situation.
That’s genuinely evil by the original poster
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The interview with the farmer (distiller?) is here (0:33 in):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxTj9wwlbAU (Youtube has a setting for translation you'll need to turn on)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxTj9wwlbAU (Youtube has a setting for translation you'll need to turn on)
A couple of similar examples from the United States
2007 Tacoma, WA https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-stripped-in-craigslist-ho...
An online ad offering everything in the house for free left one landlord with quite a shock: By the time she realized what was going on, the house had been stripped of its light fixtures, hot water heater — even the kitchen sink.
2012 Woodstock, GA https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/foreclosed-family...
But big crowds showed up early, while the family was out, breaking into the house and taking practically everything inside, in part because the way that the craigslist ad was written gave them the idea that everything on the property was up for grabs.
2007 Tacoma, WA https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-stripped-in-craigslist-ho...
An online ad offering everything in the house for free left one landlord with quite a shock: By the time she realized what was going on, the house had been stripped of its light fixtures, hot water heater — even the kitchen sink.
2012 Woodstock, GA https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/foreclosed-family...
But big crowds showed up early, while the family was out, breaking into the house and taking practically everything inside, in part because the way that the craigslist ad was written gave them the idea that everything on the property was up for grabs.
One day, when I can afford, I will live in a condo, because it feels like I'm deep inside a fortress.
The person who made the post should face consequences for sure, but one thing I wonder about: if during the frenzy even one person (under the impression these were being given away for free) even thought to go find the farmer and say "thank you."
I realize he wasn't home, but discovering that fact I would imagine (maybe?) would raise some flags.
I realize he wasn't home, but discovering that fact I would imagine (maybe?) would raise some flags.
If you want to find who started the rumor, look for who took the 60 tons. That requires machinery which requires planning
People who live in farming communities tend to own machinery. They don't need advance notice any more than a typical suburbanite needs advance planning to drive a car somewhere.
Independent farmers in less-than-rich countries rent large harvesting machinery from common pools.
Source: me. I live amongst them.
Source: me. I live amongst them.
EU is chucking subsidies to farmers to (among other things) spend on this kind of stuff all the time, around here it's not uncommon to see totally unproductive small farms with hundreds of thousands in tractors and machinery.
It's like social spending to keep people living in rural areas.
It's like social spending to keep people living in rural areas.
1) what is this doing on hackernews?
2) Vice filed for backruptcy in 2023 and shuttered vice.com in 2024. Who the hell is running this?
3) Whoever it is, is just ripping off rando Polish local news sites?
I have no idea what’s going on here, but maaaaaybe this should not be here.
2) Vice filed for backruptcy in 2023 and shuttered vice.com in 2024. Who the hell is running this?
3) Whoever it is, is just ripping off rando Polish local news sites?
I have no idea what’s going on here, but maaaaaybe this should not be here.
"Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity."
I don't really get the entitlement that some folks have thinking their mere existence dictates what should and shouldn't appear on this website.
I don't really get the entitlement that some folks have thinking their mere existence dictates what should and shouldn't appear on this website.
Not saying it’s not interesting, I’m saying there miiiiight be a malicious reason someone would buy an old domain, wear the skin of its former owner, post “viral” content, and then submit that content to a popular link aggregator.
And no one here seems to have noticed.
And no one here seems to have noticed.
It seems like this is still the same Vice?
> In May, Vice Media announced it will create a joint venture with Savage Venture to relaunch its websites, such as Vice.com, Munchies, Motherboard, and Noisey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Media
> In May, Vice Media announced it will create a joint venture with Savage Venture to relaunch its websites, such as Vice.com, Munchies, Motherboard, and Noisey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_Media
Next time I see a "this farmer had to give away his crop for a pittance" posts I'm going to reply these posts arent harmless.
The Internet is a scary thing.
Similar pranks happened in England back in the 1800's.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berners_Street_hoax
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berners_Street_hoax
> A rumor on Facebook said a farmer was giving away his potatoes. By sunrise, 150 tons of his hard-earned work had disappeared.
I don't know if you can blame the viral post itself. This has been my experience with humans in general. Take halloween. Leave a candy bowl out and ask people to take one or two 10-20% will comply and the rest will try to take the entire bowl.
The article itself said the farmer wanted people to "help themselves". It was his responsibility to set the rules and enforce them. Perhaps polish law is different but I doubt the police would do anything in the states (or any other western country). It's not theft when you say take what you want. I don't believe it's blaming the victim here to say that the farmer should've done a lot more work to meter out his potatoes.
This is just another example of the tragedy of the commons. You can't have truly shared resources because a minority will take the majority and ruin it for everyone. Every single time. This is also why food pantries and homeless shelters meter out food carefully. You even see this with super sales at the grocery store. I remember during COVID people were filling truck beds with discounted meat/fish/vegetables completely disregarding other people will need to eat too.
I don't know if you can blame the viral post itself. This has been my experience with humans in general. Take halloween. Leave a candy bowl out and ask people to take one or two 10-20% will comply and the rest will try to take the entire bowl.
The article itself said the farmer wanted people to "help themselves". It was his responsibility to set the rules and enforce them. Perhaps polish law is different but I doubt the police would do anything in the states (or any other western country). It's not theft when you say take what you want. I don't believe it's blaming the victim here to say that the farmer should've done a lot more work to meter out his potatoes.
This is just another example of the tragedy of the commons. You can't have truly shared resources because a minority will take the majority and ruin it for everyone. Every single time. This is also why food pantries and homeless shelters meter out food carefully. You even see this with super sales at the grocery store. I remember during COVID people were filling truck beds with discounted meat/fish/vegetables completely disregarding other people will need to eat too.
You misread - the farmer himself had nothing to do with the post. Some random person trying to go viral took a video of the potatoes saying they were free.
The farmer didn't want any of this to happen, the post saying "free potatoes, help yourself" was by someone else.
>I don't know if you can blame the viral post itself.
Edit: nevermind, I just read the article again and the viral post is 100% to blame.
Edit: nevermind, I just read the article again and the viral post is 100% to blame.
Is a farmer not supposed to have a basic locked fence around his farmed produce? (I'm not referring to the farm itself.)
So can I just take whatever materials the highway department or their contractors leave on the side of the road?
Just because something isn't under lock and key doesn't mean it's abandoned and fair game.
Just because something isn't under lock and key doesn't mean it's abandoned and fair game.
Huh. You said that, not me.
The reality of the world we live in is that materials, especially if they're metals or otherwise have resale value, are at high risk of getting stolen. The more income inequality exists, the more theft we will see.
The reality of the world we live in is that materials, especially if they're metals or otherwise have resale value, are at high risk of getting stolen. The more income inequality exists, the more theft we will see.
Oh, a free potato!
I want to take you seriously but I feel like you have skin in this game somehow.
If you live in a rural village this probably doesn’t (or didn’t) seem necessary.
Sounds like a nice way for someone to get a free fence.
No. Also, irrelevant.
Huh. You must be referring to your comment being irrelevant. Do you keep your home without a door? How about your office... does it too lack a lack a door?
It is 100% relevant. It would have kept the goods secure.
It is 100% relevant. It would have kept the goods secure.
I have a feeling these are the ones that are the problem rather than folk with a hand basket.