Is there a law against putting things in books at the bookstore?

[LauraGB]

Dd is a major Nerdfighter, so this was super undercover DFTBA stuff. She wrote out this long note about what being a Nerdfighter is all about (http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers#p/u/0/FyQi79aYfxU) and we put about 15 copies into John Green's various books at our local big box book store, and I video'd her with my phone :001_huh:.

 

Is there a law against, you know, inserting potentially positive stuff into unpurchased goods?

 

I'm feeling all at once like a super cool mom and a sneaky criminal who is having a terrible influence on my kids and kids everywhere.

 

Next on the list of things I'm supposed to video tape is "Positive Pranking" where dd goes door to door doing the Ding Dong Ditch and leaving Tootsie Roll Pops on the doorstep. :001_huh::001_huh:

 

(ETA - I need to clarify - the link is not to dd's note; that's my grammatical error. The link is to The Nerdfighters Extrordinairre explaining what it means, for the most part.)

Edited May 4, 2011 by LauraGB

[Halcyon]

I dont know the law, but I think it's cool. It's like those knitted thingies people put around parking meters but....different. ;)

[Audrey]

Dd is a major Nerdfighter, so this was super undercover DFTBA stuff. She wrote out this long note about what being a Nerdfighter is all about (http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers#p/u/0/FyQi79aYfxU) and we put about 15 copies into John Green's various books at our local big box book store, and I video'd her with my phone :001_huh:.

 

Is there a law against, you know, inserting potentially positive stuff into unpurchased goods?

 

I'm feeling all at once like a super cool mom and a sneaky criminal who is having a terrible influence on my kids and kids everywhere.

 

Next on the list of things I'm supposed to video tape is "Positive Pranking" where dd goes door to door doing the Ding Dong Ditch and leaving Tootsie Roll Pops on the doorstep. :001_huh::001_huh:

 

It depends. In some areas that is included under the statute for vandalism. Likewise, leaving things in library books can included under vandalism or defacing public property depending on the statutes in that area.

 

Burden of proof is difficult in such cases though, and bookstore owners and libraries generally don't pursue charges. It does tick them off, though. A lot.

[WishboneDawn]

I don't know. There's a place for this sort of thing and I'd likely help my daughter with this BUT we've have a serious discussion first about how she'd feel if she opened a newly purchased book and found a piece of religious or political or atheist or other propaganda inside.

 

If she could accept a pamphlet someone else had inserted without issue, especially one espousing an opinion she was passionately against, especially if she could defend the anonymous person's right to have inserted that pamphlet, then I think I could trust that she'd got a handle on the underlying issue and I'd help her do it.

[LauraGB]

I don't know. There's a place for this sort of thing and I'd likely help my daughter with this BUT we've have a serious discussion first about how she'd feel if she opened a newly purchased book and found a piece of religious or political or atheist or other propaganda inside.

 

.

 

I agree with this. But the insert was not political, religious or atheist. I believe it would fall under "other propaganda". And, the author of the books is the main Nerdfighter. This is how I justified it. Does that matter, do you think? Feeling kind of torn, myself - not so much about the content (because whoever buys the book will already likely be familiar with the author, and the message is to be cool, regardless of how "nerdy" you might feel), but about the legal, or rather, illegal-ness of it.

[Mrs Mungo]

The postsecret website is always showing postcards people have found in postsecret books. I wouldn't think it would be illegal. Did she ask on the site?

 

btw, one of my best friends has a dftba license plate!

[LauraGB]

 

btw, one of my best friends has a dftba license plate!

 

:thumbup1::hurray:

[LauraGB]

Did she ask on the site?

 

 

 

No, but she did see other youtube videos where others have done this same thing (same group/same author, etc) and she thought it looked pretty cool.

Edited May 4, 2011 by LauraGB

[Haiku]

I don't have an answer to your question (and I don't know what Nerdfighters are), but I would not appreciate opening my newly purchased book and finding someone else's pet project inserted into it. When I buy something, I want what I paid for and not someone else's advertising. There are many other venues for getting your word out. Tagging someone else's potential purchase is not, imo, very considerate.

 

A minor issue, I know. But I would be far more likely to toss whatever I found inside my new purchase than I would be to read it or give it serious consideration, and I would be more likely to think poorly of the organization/cause represented.

 

I feel the same way about leafletting cars, btw. Inconsiderate and annoying.

 

Tara

[tearose]

... A minor issue, I know. But I would be far more likely to toss whatever I found inside my new purchase than I would be to read it or give it serious consideration, and I would be more likely to think poorly of the organization/cause represented ...

 

 

:iagree:

I don't bother reading anything inserted into things I buy, and I'd be annoyed.

[katilac]

I have a small bookstore, and I wouldn't be thrilled if someone did this. First of all, we sell both used and new books, and a handwritten note or bookmark or anything in a new book makes people think it is in fact a used book. Second, too much potential for "kid" hands to smudge the pages or bend a corner, etc. People want their new books to be pristine. So, from a business pov, I wouldn't really like people unshelving books, handling them, etc when they don't intend to buy them. I wouldn't go southern girl crazy on you, but I'd ask you not to do it.

 

And sorry, but I don't think most people would eat tootsie pops that were left on the doorstep. Maybe a flower might be better - carnations are cheap. Wow, I sound like cranky-no-fun lady, but I'm really not. I don't think :D. For that, are there a few neighbors you could kind of clue in a bit? So they don't toss out the candy or miss it altogether or come to your house and warn you about the stalker, lol? And maybe she could just hang them from the doorknob for them to see whenever, b/c ding-dong-ditch is pretty annoying, and if you do it to me when I'm cooking supper, it's going to take dark chocolate for me not to be annoyed.

[LauraGB]

 

And sorry, but I don't think most people would eat tootsie pops that were left on the doorstep. Maybe a flower might be better - carnations are cheap. Wow, I sound like cranky-no-fun lady, but I'm really not. I don't think :D. For that, are there a few neighbors you could kind of clue in a bit? So they don't toss out the candy or miss it altogether or come to your house and warn you about the stalker, lol? And maybe she could just hang them from the doorknob for them to see whenever, b/c ding-dong-ditch is pretty annoying, and if you do it to me when I'm cooking supper, it's going to take dark chocolate for me not to be annoyed.

 

Lol! That's why I've been stalling her since last fall! I like the idea of flowers much more - *I* would love it if someone left me flowers on the doorstep :).

 

Noted!

 

(ETA - the idea is to be a good, uplifting surprise, not an icky, questionable one. Just for those of you not "in the know of all things Nerdfighter" - you know, like Me because I have no choice. :lol:)

Edited May 4, 2011 by LauraGB

[Haiku]

If your dd plans to leave anything on people's porches, I think she should a) not make it food and b) not ring the doorbell and run. My dogs go nuts when someone rings the doorbell, my kids go nuts when someone rings the doorbell, and I nap before I go to work in the evening. I don't want my doorbell rung unless some has a darn good reason to do so, and leaving me unsolicited stuff is not a good reason. Chaos in my house is not a good, uplifting surprise. Honestly, sad as it may seem, a friendly teen holding the door for someone, letting them go first in line at the store, or thanking an employee for their assistance would be more of a welcome, positive, uplifting surprise.

 

Tara

[goldberry]

You didn't put it in random books, you put it in a book by the guy who started the whole thing. I think that is totally cool. No one who would buy the book would mind I would think.

 

ETA, I read postsecret and it would be so cool to find one.

[LauraGB]

If your dd plans to leave anything on people's porches, I think she should a) not make it food and b) not ring the doorbell and run. My dogs go nuts when someone rings the doorbell, my kids go nuts when someone rings the doorbell, and I nap before I go to work in the evening. I don't want my doorbell rung unless some has a darn good reason to do so, and leaving me unsolicited stuff is not a good reason. Chaos in my house is not a good, uplifting surprise. Honestly, sad as it may seem, a friendly teen holding the door for someone, letting them go first in line at the store, or thanking an employee for their assistance would be more of a welcome, positive, uplifting surprise.

 

Tara

 

Good point. And one close to my heart.

 

Originally, she was going to put them in peoples' mailboxes, like other Nerdfighters have done, but I explained that that was a bit of a felony and I wouldn't be driving her around for that one :001_huh:. I wasn't too keen on the ding-dong-ditch, but it was the best she could come up with (and she'd dead set on doing something). Thoughts on what would be better accepted?

[Haiku]

Thoughts on what would be better accepted?

 

Randomly mail people happy greeting cards.

 

Tara

[LauraGB]

Oh my goodness - she just told me it has to be Tootsie Pops or it wouldn't be considered TP'ing! :lol:

 

Anything else fun that starts with a T and a P? Flower names I'm overlooking, perhaps?

[tabrizia]

Oh my goodness - she just told me it has to be Tootsie Pops or it wouldn't be considered TP'ing! :lol:

 

Anything else fun that starts with a T and a P? Flower names I'm overlooking, perhaps?

 

 

Tulip?

[katilac]

Good point. And one close to my heart.

 

Originally, she was going to put them in peoples' mailboxes, like other Nerdfighters have done, but I explained that that was a bit of a felony and I wouldn't be driving her around for that one :001_huh:. I wasn't too keen on the ding-dong-ditch, but it was the best she could come up with (and she'd dead set on doing something). Thoughts on what would be better accepted?

 

why not leave them without ringing the doorbell?

 

and (reading your other post), if she *really* wants to do the tootsie pops, I think you need to wink, wink, nudge, nudge some friendly neighbors about this cool prankster you've heard about. no one would get annoyed and I'm betting a neighbor might even visit you one day and talk about being tp'd ;)

it would be a shame if a neighbor came over and talked about some candy was on her porch, how weird, and she threw it away.

[Mom0012]

You didn't put it in random books, you put it in a book by the guy who started the whole thing. I think that is totally cool. No one who would buy the book would mind I would think.

 

ETA, I read postsecret and it would be so cool to find one.

 

:iagree:

 

Lisa

[Teachin'Mine]

I think it's pretty cool too. :)

 

Just be careful and make sure that this type of behavior doesn't lead to such things as mattress tag removal. :w00t:

[tearose]

Oh my goodness - she just told me it has to be Tootsie Pops or it wouldn't be considered TP'ing! :lol:

 

Anything else fun that starts with a T and a P? Flower names I'm overlooking, perhaps?

 

T: tulip (as mentioned earlier)

 

P: peony, pansy, petunia, poppy

[Mom-ninja.]

I would be angry if someone rang my doorbell and ran off. I don't care what they left behind.

 

Interrupting our school day, my toddler's nap time, etc. just annoys me.

[annlaura]

Sounds fun! But I too want to mention that with two little boys, a DH who works nights, and a young vocal dog, someone ringing the doorbell can completely ruin a day. And wrenching tootsie pops out of the boys' hands, or dog's mouth for that matter, would not be fun either. Unless I knew someone was leaving them, I wouldn't risk eating them. The flower idea would be lovely! That would make my week! More $ though, unless you have them growing in your garden. Another tp plant idea would be starter plants for a garden, maybe a tomato plant and a pansy?

[Lady Florida.]

Someone ringing the doorbell and running would seriously annoy me, because it would get the dog barking. I like the idea of mailing cards.

 

I was going to say no to putting the note in books until I realized it would be in books written by the guy who started it. I think that anyone who buys his books would understand and probably think it's cool.

[Bootsie]

Be careful about ringing someone's doorbell and leaving a gift. About five years ago two teenage girls in Durango, CO were sued because they rang a neighbor's doorbell, left cookies, and ran off. The woman sued for medical expenses because she had found this incident so upsetting. It seems as if it were Valentine's Day or some other holiday and they were trying to do something special for the woman. I don't remember the details--we were visiting friends in Colorado at the time and heard about it.

[LauraGB]

Be careful about ringing someone's doorbell and leaving a gift. About five years ago two teenage girls in Durango, CO were sued because they rang a neighbor's doorbell, left cookies, and ran off. The woman sued for medical expenses because she had found this incident so upsetting. It seems as if it were Valentine's Day or some other holiday and they were trying to do something special for the woman. I don't remember the details--we were visiting friends in Colorado at the time and heard about it.

 

Yikes.

 

For sure, no Ding Dong Ditch in dd's future. And no food.

 

 

I like the idea of just leaving The Undetermined Something there where they will find it, though.

[CanaryMelody]

I wouldn't be annoyed as long as the doorbell (or knocking for that matter) wasn't rung. Nothing worse than just getting the baby down for his nap and doorbell and barking dogs wake him up. :glare:

 

As far as the books, it wouldn't annoy me. :001_smile:

[DianeW88]

Good grief, none of you all had better move to Utah! We have food and goodies left on our doorstep at least once a week! And we love it here. Especially during the summer....we get fresh veggies from our neighbors' gardens all the time.

 

We also "heart attack" people's yards. You make hundreds of paper hearts, write fun messages on them, tape them to skewers and COVER a person's front yard with them. Mormons are big on this sort of thing. :D

[CanaryMelody]

Good grief, none of you all had better move to Utah! We have food and goodies left on our doorstep at least once a week! And we love it here. Especially during the summer....we get fresh veggies from our neighbors' gardens all the time.

 

Oh you can leave all the food you want! :D Just don't ring my doorbell! :lol:

[kchara]

Instead of the ding-dong-ditch, could she maybe wake really early one morning and put cards or flowers or sweet note on the neighbors' cars? Like under the wiper?

[orangearrow]

Tootsie Roll Pop / flower combo ideas:

 

(I would love to find these by my front door! :D )

http://www.stampingtoshare.com/2010/03/34-tootsie-pop-flowers.html

Edited May 4, 2011 by orangearrow

[RanchGirl]

I do think that putting things in the bookstore is illegal, it's not your books or your store, so you don't get to leave things there -- however cute and fun they may be. You could ask the bookstore owner for permission and explain why you think people who would buy those books would think it was cool. If he/she agrees, then go for it! If not, you'll be glad you didn't go ahead without asking.

[KarenC]

I looked on Amazon and didn't see any books.

 

Thanks,

Karen

[LauraGB]

I looked on Amazon and didn't see any books.

 

Thanks,

Karen

 

John Green.

 

 

He was one of the pep talkers for the kid's NANOWRIMO this past year and he was quite entertaining. That's how dd heard about him.

[LauraGB]

(And I feel it's important to mention that his books deal with some pretty big issues and there is some language and situations - not necessarily ideal for a 12 year old. I only read one, and while I enjoyed it very much (he's quite funny), I would suggest pre-reading even for your, say, 15 year old.)

[happi duck]

(And I feel it's important to mention that his books deal with some pretty big issues and there is some language and situations - not necessarily ideal for a 12 year old. I only read one, and while I enjoyed it very much (he's quite funny), I would suggest pre-reading even for your, say, 15 year old.)

 

Thanks for this heads up!

 

How about leaving a single roll of wrapped toilet paper on someone's doorstep without ringing the bell? (With some sort of 'have a great day' note wrapped around it so people know 'why') If weather might be an issue it could be put in a plastic bag on the doorknob.

[LauraGB]

Tootsie Roll Pop / flower combo ideas:

 

(I would love to find these by my front door! :D )

http://www.stampingtoshare.com/2010/03/34-tootsie-pop-flowers.html

 

Those are super cute! I'd like some, too!

[stripe]

How about leaving a single roll of wrapped toilet paper on someone's doorstep without ringing the bell? (With some sort of 'have a great day' note wrapped around it so people know 'why') If weather might be an issue it could be put in a plastic bag on the doorknob.

What's the significance of the toilet paper? I'd rather have a note or even a dandelion than a mystery roll of toilet paper.

[katilac]

What's the significance of the toilet paper? I'd rather have a note or even a dandelion than a mystery roll of toilet paper.

 

Unless you're out :D

[happi duck]

What's the significance of the toilet paper? I'd rather have a note or even a dandelion than a mystery roll of toilet paper.

 

the op shared that the idea behind leaving a Tootsie Pop was to be able to say that person had been t.p.'d which is usually the term for covering a person's yard with toilet paper...since the goal was to be nice I thought a usable roll was a fun twist on getting t.p.'d.

[happi duck]

Unless you're out :D

 

Wouldn't that be funny to run out and as you leave the house find a roll on the doorstep? I would have me looking for hidden cameras!

[Mom-2-7]

You didn't put it in random books, you put it in a book by the guy who started the whole thing. I think that is totally cool. No one who would buy the book would mind I would think.

 

ETA, I read postsecret and it would be so cool to find one.

 

:iagree:

I love this idea! It's like random acts of kindness. I think it was a good idea to stick only to the books by that author.

Btw, I like the flower idea better than the candy. I wouldn't eat candy if I didn't know where it came from.

I think I might want to be a Nerdfighter!

[Mergath]

I'm not a huge fan of people who put things in books. As a Pagan, I've had to dig through way too many books on Paganism to pull out all the Christian tracts over the years, and I guess my tolerance is just worn out.

 

You can go ahead and ring my doorbell, though. It's broken. :D

[LauraGB]

Ooh! I found the youtube video that started dd's obsession with positive pranking and tp'ing.

[happi duck]

I'm not a huge fan of people who put things in books. As a Pagan, I've had to dig through way too many books on Paganism to pull out all the Christian tracts over the years, and I guess my tolerance is just worn out.

 

That stinks!

[ondreeuh]

My dd is a Nerdfighter too. Was this a challenge that Hank put out? A couple of years ago one of the brothers asked people to take a picture of themselves planting a tree and send it in as a birthday present to the other brother. Last year one of them had people submit a video of themselves singing something (Happy Birthday, I believe) and it was all spliced together to make one video.

 

I don't think anyone could find it offensive in that context. It's basically supporting the author and demonstrating what a good Nerdfighter can do.