Updating the FAQ?

Since somebody is nice enough to offer to do it I say at a minimum drop the dead links and if possible replace them with live ones to the same or equivelant material. Loompanics Unlimited is out of business but (for now) they do maintain a list of links to other similar, mostly libertarianesque sources.

Frankly I'd like to see you stop hacking around screwing up people's property, but I'm not holding my breath.

Steve, don't you think you have bashed him long enough ? you have made your point. its getting pretty old...

just my2¢

"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61**spamblock##@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:4620cf8d$0$24665$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com...

wouldn't matter. the same lock-picking info is readly available on the net. besides, the FAQ has never been designed to teach locksmithing. just to answer some frequently asked questions about the trade and this group.

"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61**spamblock##@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:46217869$0$27063$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com...

you sure got this thing about "picking"... the FAQ doesn't give "picking instructions"... just links that are already available with a simple google search.

We heard you the first time. You live in the dark ages when how to smoke a key for a warded lock was a deep dark guild secret. It's ridiculous and no longer remotely practical. Picking is part of locksmithing. It's a needed practical skill and most people who are interested in locksmithing have at least a passing interest in picking locks. That's the LOGICAL, RATIONAL, basis for leaving it in. Do you have any logical argument for taking it out? Well? Anything?

He is borderline obsessed with picking. He is on this moral superiority trip about not teaching picking for 2 years to anybody he were to train, and yanking all reference to it from the FAQ (which would be a little stupid considering it's a locksmithing NG and you would have a hard time locksmithing if you were unable to pick a lock). Neither of these things is pratical or makes any sense at all. The picking info should stay in and I would add some basic information on safe locks too. Proper dialing, explanation of Forbidden zone, or links to the same. If you type locksmithing into google the alt.locksmithing FAQ is the 2nd non-paid listing on the page. It should have more good current comprehensive information, not less. On the other hand if you search on lockpicking or lock picking the FAQ isn't even on the first two pages which is more than most people will look at anyway. This means that people interested in locksmithing as a whole will tend to find the FAQ with much greater regularity than people who just want to learn how to pick locks. The information is much more likely to be responsibly used than misused and it should definitely stay in.

on a slightly different note; I think you will still agree, there IS a fine line between giving information about locks and defeating instructions on an open forum.

just my2¢

And where do you draw the line? Almost any information can be used to defeat a lock. If I sell somebody an extra 6730 that person can figure out in short order how to drill one. That will compromise any safe that they can figure out the mounting on (and many that they can't if they can figure out how to transfer) that doesn't use serious anti-drilling features. Only the stupidist person would be unable to do this, locating the drill point I mean, the actual drilling under real life conditions they may have a little more trouble. So do I have to come up with sales criteria about who I will and won't sell a safe lock to? How about if somebody wants a picture of one with the back cover off to see how it works? Same deal. You can avoid giving step by step instructions but nobody who is smart enough to be very dangerous needs step by step instructions. At the other extreme there are people so clueless that they don't know about the most basic and common tools. I've seen you say 'use boltcutters'. You probably figure everybody knows this but there are people that have never heard of bolt cutters and don't know (until you tell them) that they sell such a thing that can cut off a padlock. With the prevelance of picking information now you can probably find more on picking a lock than you can on using bolt cutters.

there will probably never be an agreement on where to draw the line.

You need to put in some good detailed info on drilling various locks including high sec like medeco and cracking safes by drilling, punching and manipulating. How to pipe wrench padlocks and doorknobs too. Put something interesting in there instead of that boring crap.

if you believe that will show up in the FAQ ? I gotta bridge to sell ya :-)

There is quite a bit of traffic on the newsgroup from people interested in what lock to buy, or locksmiths sharing information on what locks are good. This is, I think, totally absent in the FAQ. Some really good information has been in the newsgroup. Also significance of grades. Bump resistant locks. Burglary vs fire safe. Limitations of locks vs. smash and enter. And common locks that have vulnerabilities - like cylinder removal in some Kwickset key-in-knob. Not specific information, but general warnings. I remember a 'scandal' about one of the Blaze papers exposing a vulnerability in a specific lock. IMHO that lock should be exposed as having a vulnerability. But I realize any of this could take a lot of time.