ok this is basically what happened, hemerage had $60 dollars stolen from his back pack,and a dude had a 80 gig hdd stolen from his pc over night. this is really a sad state. i think we need more security guards on site or something to stop this bulls***. i reckon these 2 dudes ^^ held their temper pretty well. and the guyes with the speakers you sucked.

get a wallet, and take your box home problem solvered

why do people still bring speakers, do they think theyre impressing people?

had the guy who had his hdd stolen gone home for the night? I'd thought if anything got stolen it it would be the mouses/keyboards/headphones.

I hate to say it, but it's your own fault.

I don't trust _anyone_ at LANs, except for my imediate friends.
And even if you ask them to look after your s***, you still have to be careful because they're not going to stare at it until you get back, they're going to be playing games and lose concentration a few thousand times.

and yes, keep money _on you_, not in a bag near you.

as for the hard drive.. leaving your computer there overnight was a stupid move, unless you've got a padlock on it.. I wouldn't be leaving it unattended anywhere.

It's sad to have to say it, but even if you think you can trust these people, you can't.

yep its all your own fault for being idiots and not looking after your gear.

Really though some people need to keep their hands to themselves dead simple.

Edit: I've heard of people going as far as installing reed /mercury switchs in their cases. What is this world coming to when you have to install an alarm system into your pc

f***ing thieves. should all have their throat slit from ear to ear.

get a job and work for your own s***... some people are such low lifes.

Who was the retard who brought the big sub and amp and played crappy music coming from the CS corner somewhere :/

lol coming from the "cs corner" ..says it all.

The people that lose arent the people with the problem, its the dips***s that steal the stuff thats the problem. If they just accecpted that whgat they have is theirs and what others have is not, then nothing would be wrong.

Of course theft isnt going to stop just cause you ask it too - i just think if you want it to stop, you gotta look after your fellow gamer and if you see something suspicious, then note it. If you see somone stealing - stop him. If you figure out who looks shifty then remember so you can atleast give a hint on where some stolen things are.

Myself i wouldnt ever leave my s*** alone. If i needed to leave, at least ask somone half trustworthy to look after it for a bit - and if its gonna be a long time ill just pack it up.

Bad luck to you guys who got your stuff nicked.

It was that f***witt that was sitting across from us. I mean to get a digi pic of him so i could post his face on the forums, get a name and tell hemmy so he could go to the cops but i didn't think they would.


Me and some others heared him and his mates about floging s***, and how he wanted to get some more stuff this lan. i kept an eye on him but i didn't see anything. i swear if i ever see that little f*** again ill f*** him over.
f***ing 16 year old thiefs

Me and some others heared him and his mates about floging s***, and how he wanted to get some more stuff this lan

good work mr detective john kimble, did you actualy tell the admins at the time of what you heard?

its not a toomar!

it's stated every lan by trog and other admins that everyone is responsible for their own things and you leave them unattended at you own risk. Fair enough this stuff shouldn't happen in the first place but why should qgl have to foot the bill for extra security etc when people won't take responsibility for theor own things and leave them unattended.

i wouldnt goto a party and leave my car their unlocked with the windows and doors open if i had to get a taxi home, thats just stupid, why is qgl any different ?

good work mr detective john kimble, did you actualy tell the admins at the time of what you heard?

and your suggesting that trog would throw them out just on what we say?

no.

Exactly.

Theres nothing he could have done and we made sure qw kept an eye on our gear after we heared it. the admins cant do anything apart from throw people out. When eric asked an admin to speak to some c*** about his sub, the admin talked to him and as soon as he walked away the sub went on and loud again. So at the time, the only thing i could think of doing scuzzy is keeping a bit of a more of an eye out on everyones gear around us.

You saw/suspected a person of stealing and DIDN'T report it to the admins?

Huzzah! If I ever see you mangled in a car accident I'll make sure not to inform an ambulance or the police.

ok well im sorry that i didn't tell anyone. No he wasn't stealing, and yes i heared him talking about it, everyone in my row knew and no onw thought of telling an admin so i guess you can blame all of us.

Hi suhaib, remember me?

I told you so..

that is all..

so i guess you can blame all of us.

screw that, ill just blame you.

yeah i was thinking that you guys would. Im starting to expect it.

for all u guys know, everyone is a theif, even urself.
Maybe an admin stole the money for drugs and sex and the hard drive was used as some sort of sacrifice to the Lizard Queen.
don't ask me why that didn't make sense, just got bored.

any mp3s on your computer? wha about divx? what about the fileshares??

thief :)

It was I who had the harddrive stolen.

What happend is at 12:20am I wanted to leave before the gates closed as we are no longer allowed to sleep at QGL (which is a shame cuz the way I use to look after my gear was to sleep with it :P) & I was to tired to attempt to carry my 19" monitor & pack up all my gear, just to do it all again in 9 hours. So I asked kindly if the person next to me, a guy called Adam Hinde (SuLLiE) if he was staying for the whole night. He said yes so i told him he was allowed to use my PC for leeching & burning (yes Im naughty) in return if he looked after my gear for the night untill I returned the next day. He agreed. So I put all my wired things such as headphones & gamepads in my bags & zipped them & put them far under the desk so it would be really obvious if someone was going through my stuff to steal. However after all that I wasn't even thinking about my friends 80gig HD on the side of the PC. When I returned the next day I saw that SuLLiE had left & the harddrive was gone.

I was a bit dissapointed on my gear not being looked after. But the gear not being looked after is completely MY fault. Not the ANZ Stadium security, not the QGL Admins & yes not even SuLLiE's.

Anyway thanks to the help of the people who were somehow awake (Especially Dioxide & the gang who were selling those uber computer fans) to notice things going near & around my area, we must have scared the person who stole the gear as near the end of the day the harddrive appeared on the Admins desk with a note. The note appeared to make out that the Hardrive & my friends headphones were meant to be there, but I think someone nicked the headphones again from the desk (just a theory).

Anyway to the person/s who did this, I thank you for returning my friends hardrive. However a full procedure will be taken to try & bring you to justice to the authoritys. Cuz theft is just gay.

-GuV

A brief message from trog...

http://www.members.optushome.com.au/gpahl/trog.jpg

guv owns, sif i wasnt watching ur pc to *zzZZzzZZ* :P

a little off topic but funny anyway, i dozed off for ten minutes then the security guard woke up, a guy next to me was sleeping on the ground under the desk with no chairs beside him, fully out in the open, so the security guard wakes me up, wakes up a guy sleeping on the ground behind me and deesnt even see the guy right beside me sleeping on the ground, he got away with about 3 - 4 hours sleep, so not fair

i ended up bribeing the security guard so me and dioxide can get sleep, hehe now we both have sleeping permitts every lan :P

It might be your own responsibility, but is it really that easy to look after your gear? Consider this situation: the hall is packed with people, and most people don't know each other too well. people are walking around everywhere, talking to each other, organizing games and buying/selling things. You get up from your pc, walk to the admins desk, and buy a drink. Come back, find your pc gone. I mean, people pack up / set up all the time throughout the event, and people frequently help their friends carry their gear in and out, so its not strange to see someone carrying out someone elses box/monitor/back of cords etc. If someone takes some major, even something large like a monitor or your pc itself, theres a very good chance that no one will notice at all.

So while it is true that your gear is your own responsibility, i think some of the people on this forum have been a bit harsh. Victims of theft are frequently far from incompetent, but leaving your gear (even if it is for a short period of time while you go to the loo or go out for a smoke) is always a risk, so quite simply ir's impossible to be secure.

Moral of the story? The moment you have something, it can be taken away from you :p

edit: And have some damn compassion, the next time a theft is reported it could f***ing well be YOU left in the windward side of a s***spray

The moment you have something, it can be taken away from you

Geez, that's a very comforting thought isn't it? :)

Haha I saw Suhaib bribing the security guard, I thought that was a little strange.

Yeah I'm appalled at who would have the lack of respect for others to steal from an individual, at an event which is the culmination of a community's efforts.

The best way to solve this problem would be that nobody is allowed to own anything in the first place.

Great to hear you ended up getting your stuff back Guv.

I think the only way to stamp out this problem is to get some kind of 24/7 camera surveilance and make it well advertised.

So the recordings can be reviewed and it will be dead obvious who these f***ups are that think they can get away with it.
Also doubles as nifty multi lan web cam.

I also think a less anonymous registration procedure should be welcomed, a system similar to video store membership would suffice.
once only Photo ID and some form of proof of address in order to get the membership required to get in the door.

Or have a huge visitor pass that non-players have to wear if they go inside.

your video store has photo ID ? ritzy s***...
I don't even need a membership card at video ezy, I just tell them my surname...

I wish our store had photo id memberships. That would rock so hard and deter thieves from joining up.

its pethetic that people steal s***. but youre stuff is youre responsibility. but really you should be able to feel safe leaving your stuff at qgl.. but its not a perfect world :S

yeah as most people say.
I feel sorry for Hem and the guy who lost his hdd.
But yeah. Money phones ect should be always kept on you.
Also, did the guy who got his hdd stolen from him, was the hdd in his case? orrr whattt.

More guards? That meens there wouldn't even be a chance of sleeping :)

Haha I saw Suhaib bribing the security guard, I thought that was a little strange.

hey he accepted the "movie trailers". so i ain't complaining :D

Photo memberships would rawk! :)

Icewyrm makes a very good point how anything can go missing at anytime, simply because nobody knows what belongs to which person. I've been following discussions from other LAN's who have far, far worse stealing problems than us, and no method that is suggested would really work. The only viable solution that I could come up with is that once you have setup your gear, take a note of who is around you, and who's pc is who's. If you see someone else touching one of these people's PC, either query them, or tell someone else. If everyone looked out for each other instead of just looking out for themselves, things could be better. Hell, if I had something stolen, I'd wonder why the people around me didn't see it or do something about it.

some little s***, sat in my seat, opened up my cd folder(top of my monitor) and just started going through it. so luckily i had a friend next to me, who told the guy to f***off after he asked him wether he knew me or not, and he didn't.

I did apologise though suhaib, i was only looking for the porno :P

p.s joke, asif be a thief

Suhaib: Nice work on the bribing, let me get soem shuteye before erik decided to wake me up, Oh he was using my cdr's to put the 'trailers' on so it was all good.

Yeah those f***s (thx Mr X) wanted to steal some stock I was selling, I don't think anythign of mine was stolen, but i'll go through it tomorrow.

Also thanks to the gang I was sitting with (erik-the-red, mr x, hemerage, and i never met the rest:P) for guarding my gear while i was gone....

Cheers
Az

i told ya the admins had something to do with, i wouldn't touch that hard drive without sterilizing it.

Damn Theivs, What i usually do is go with friend so they can watch you stuff....but stealing stuff at lans is really sad.....

Teen, I said that a photo ID would need to be shown in order to gain a membership,
Not that the qgl card would be a photo ID (probably not even a card, too much f***ing around. Just a login auth at a terminal as you walk in).

the filthy little thieves...
they stole my precious ......
and me wants it!!

no noooooo no more security guards that one walking around waking us up was bad enough

owwww thanx dioxide :) i was gona kill you after i thought you cracked my 1800 but your kewl lol

I shoul dhave got a photo of those little s***s

bash first then ask questions later next time.. cant be too careful with your possesions these days.

Got irony:

i told him he was allowed to use my PC for leeching & burning (yes Im naughty)

...

However a full procedure will be taken to try & bring you to justice to the authoritys. Cuz theft is just gay.

If you're there to play games, why take a loose 80gb hdd? Got a lot of demos?

I agree, stealing s*** is low; but I'm sure software publishers would point out that stealing their products or condoning their illegal distribution is also pretty crap.

it was a bribe, id be happy to trade something for security ya know?

I volunteered to stay and watch my friends computers @QGL so no one would steal any of our s***. Bloody thieves should have thier hands cut orf, so they cant play counter strike. Don't get me wrong I don't intend to single out thieves, but any one who plays cs for appendage removal. :P

If anyone saw my pc (blue and red cathodes and led fans galore) you will have seen my mates pc opposite mine with those big 240 volt fans and green cathodes. Anyone who is caught stealing from now on will have their fingers put in ther 12000rpm 240 volt aluminium 150mm fan :)

i wouldn't mind sticking a tomato in it

If anyone saw my pc (blue and red cathodes and led fans galore) you will have seen my mates pc opposite mine with those big 240 volt fans and green cathodes. Anyone who is caught stealing from now on will have their fingers put in ther 12000rpm 240 volt aluminium 150mm fan :)

nah dude, i'll just Electrify them with my fan setup, just open up the metal cover , and let them touch the wires :D

someone stole my virginity at QGL but they left it with cyph at the admin desk with a note, so I won't press charges.

We had a pretty good setup this QGL had quite a few people (alot of the trolls ive met for the first time :D) around me who could look after my stuff...hemerage and his wallet :S that just sucks the big one, next time youll make sure its in ya pocket eh? ;)

Im really lucky i had nothing stolen...im too trustful these days i had a big mofo box behind me (I was sitting in between Mr X/Hemerage btw Dioxide) and it had like all my stuff in it and i dont think i had anything stolen....next qgl ill have to make sure we got some room on the table to put our valuables on the table next to us :D

haha teen you could only wish! *smirks* unless its by some large man named bubba ^_^

If there were extra secutity guards, how would they know its not your computer your taking the bit out?

and they would just wake you up.



Matt your lucky you didn;t get your s*** stolen outa your box. your dad would have sliced your throat

It's sad that I have to put my MX700 in my pocket whenever I go anywhere. People wouldn't steal it so they can use it (because they'd have to take the USB and power connection out for the base-station), but they would steal it to piss me off.

i wouldn't steal your vibrator exo

but TRiAD would

My oakley's dissapeared too =(

The solution is not more sec guards, but to watch after your stuff a little more wisely. I always take my mouse/keyboard etc with me at night and leave only the box and monitor, because after 12 no-one can take s*** in and out of qgl anyway (or so ive been told). And as for wallets and stuff...I guess its easier for the CS community guys cause we all sit together and we all know eachother very well so if a strage guy was fumbling around our s***, no-one would hesitate to question him.

Maybe u guys should make some more genuine QGL friends and start looking after yoru smaller valuables like money, fones and stuff. There's no way to make sure that people like this cant attend qgl, but u can make sure that they dont steal any of your s***.

Yea I know gobo, but what else Am I meant to do, play cs??? :)

Good point, what kind of quaker would play CS!?

Right dais?

I remember I was talking to someone I knew about umm movies, anyway as we were talking some fukwit came and used his PC. He was LIKE WTF, and told the guy to FO...

I remember this happening a few times at QGL.

that happens all the time, randoms just come in and sit at the first empy machine they find until they get told to f*** off.

I think that the visitor thing would be a good idea, that is, giving the visitors a big thing they had to wear...

if everyone else has a pc, then they all have something to protect.

Also, I was sitting in the row closest to the grandstand, and i swear, the person in the row opposite me, facing the grandstand had the world's best fan, i could feel it blowing me really strongly in my normal sitting position, it was probably cooling my case :)

This really sucks, unfortunately as LANs get larger, there's going to be more culprits. The sad fact is it only takes one or two little pricks to make things suck. FWIW, I had a box with a few hundred bucks of equiptment pinched at WCGAU.
Security guards being present isn't going to help squat - how are they to know what is who's.

I can see one of two things happening though if this continues. One results in someone getting caught and having a nice mark on their police record. The other results in them copping a beating from someone who's a little less than forgiving.

i will put my hand up for the thief bashing patrol

i will even supply my own pick axe handle named "Peace Maker" :p

2 things;

1. why the f*** would u bring okaleys (spelling) to qgl??

2. i left my pc many times during the night and took all my gear with me except my mouse and keyboard, also i asked the dudes beside me (suhiab + mr X) to wats my s*** so it didnt get stolen in the 1st place.

also i left early cause i was totally bored cause everyone was playing f***ING CS and i hate that game.


cheers

well most people use sunglasses like oakleys to shield their eyes from the harsh rays of the sun while driving to and from places, i know i do.. very practical indeed. They also act as a shield from the blinding gayness that cs is.

Ok, this thread is getting boring. We all know what happened and what people should do in the future.

So can we now talk about what we should do if you catch someone stealing. Like where to punch them without leaving marks, etc...

also i left early cause i was totally bored cause everyone was playing f***ING CS and i hate that game.

you were so hammering at that game, you where loving it:P

i only played it like 2 time for about 10 mins MAX cause there was nothign else 2 do.. it was a last resort even tho i was caning. i wanted more UT that was a filth game

instead of having more police guards.
my suggestion would be to get to know the people around ya. (unless you just happen to be sitting next to a thief, then there's no hope :()

cause then if someone comes to mess around with your stuff when you're not around, its unlikely they're going to get away with it.

Happy new year stole tungs virginity

I remember I was talking to someone I knew about umm movies, anyway as we were talking some fukwit came and used his PC. He was LIKE WTF, and told the guy to FO...

I remember this happening a few times at QGL.

I have seen that happen to a friend of mine while he wasnt around, I just looked at the kid asked him wtf and he ran off, but seriously ... is there anything else holding me back than giving him the good ol' knuckle sandwich? I think not.

Security guards being present isn't going to help squat

Oh cmon, security guards have their purposes... I remember some geek claiming he'd hired one to prevent him getting worked over at a LAN. Imagine that!! To be that desperate the poor nerd must have been s***ting his pants.

I remember I was talking to someone I knew about umm movies, anyway as we were talking some fukwit came and used his PC. He was LIKE WTF, and told the guy to FO...

I remember this happening a few times at QGL.



I have seen that happen to a friend of mine while he wasnt around, I just looked at the kid asked him wtf and he ran off, but seriously ... is there anything else holding me back than giving him the good ol' knuckle sandwich? I think not.

C'mon most of you use 2000/xp just lock the session FFS.

Security guards do nothing except keep you awake.

I think i know what happened, and who did it, as it was right behind me, i will email the info to trog now!

JEERRRRYYYY JERRRRRY JEEEERRRRRRY!

http://indemand.com/shared/prod/6877_l.jpg

i was not able to make it to this qgl but 2 qgls ago i went home but got a mate to watch my stuff anyway about 2 in the morning some guy comes over and starts looking at my head phones and my mate asks him what he is doing and he says i will give you 20bucks to let me take the head phones. being the good mate he is he told him to FO and he left but always looking to see if he left.

it is really sad when you got to a qgl and you get stuff stollen by some little faggets that can't keep their gruby little hands to them selves

The solution is not more sec guards, but to watch after your stuff a little more wisely

How the f*** do you watch something more wisely? Grow a beard, and rub your chin while looking at it?

God that's disturbing. I was there with friends and we packed up and left about 11 saturday night. I'm glad I didn't decide to leave my PC there...

I know a few people have suggested sitting with friends/someone you know but that could be a bit hard for some people - especially when you rock up last thing. Maybe it'd be worth trying to setup a buddy system where everyone introduces themselves to the people on either side. So that you at least know two people near you.

I wouldn't mind seeing a security camera sitting by the door watching people come in and out too. It may be too late to stop someone nicking your stuff - but at least you'll know who they are so they'll only do it once. It might not stop people nicking a small set of headphones - but you'll catch people if they try to nick a monitor or your case.

There are a couple ways we could ensure stuff never gets knocked off but I don't think strip searches at the front door would be appreciated by many of us. I guess it depends on how worried people are about having stuff pinched - but we could do a quick "inventory form" on an admin intranet. When you roll up the stuff you bring in is recorded, when you leave you need to have it checked off. Unfortunately, that would add a pretty unpleasant burden on the admins and it'd make both the entry and exit times a lot longer...

yeah taping the whole of qgl would be good.. and then you can review the tape around the time you think it was stolen to see who is carrying out your s***.

Mr X, we meet again.

How do u know that this guy who stole did want to steal it, if a hard drive is hangong out the side to me, its clearly a drive for leaching, and would be a target for all. i think it there should be a ban on open cases, i cant see the point in ppl even having there cases open.

I've been lucky and never had anything stolen at QGL, don't wanna jinx myself though :/

I would really, really love to see some little kid get bashed cos he stole someones HDD or RAM. Like, how embarrasing.

The poor kid trying to explain to his friends why 400+ nerds beat the s*** of him because he tried to steal someones RAM.

Screamer and who are you to say tht after 2 posts? I have my case open and its NO invitation to take out my hdd. If i cought somebody taking out my hdd id grab the screw drivers they were using and shuv it up there ass. I have my sides off my case because
1) i did a s***ty paint job on them once and it looks crap
2) i cbf putting them on
3) its easier to carry
4) keeps it cooler

a hard drive is hangong out the side to me, its clearly a drive for leaching

So youre telling us, that if you saw someones HD hanging out the side of their case, you would go up to their computer and take it, without asking permission?

I have an idea....why dont we all keep our cases CLOSED....get an extra fan in the side of it if ya really that worried.

Mr X, we meet again.

what the f***?

yeah keep your cases closed? um. you can screw in a HDD with 4 screws. its gona take someone a while to unscrew 4 screws. how about you people just get friends who will watch your s***?

now that this s*** is happening im not going to hold back from group bashing someone who i find stealing

Theft appears to be gaining a foothold at lans. Some of the reasons are because of the increasing popularity of the events bringing in people that haven't "grown up" in the subculture most of us have been a part of, and don't feel they are a part of the community. Also, once theft becomes known, others start considering the possibility and try it as well. The vicious circle then starts.

For Big Day In, I had planned to have a "check-in" cloakroom type thing going, where people could check in anything from a coat, mousemat, or entire PC and get it later. The "check-in chick" (ok, a guy) would write down the items on 2 tags as well as the person's real name, give one tag to the player, and attach the other tag to the checked in things. In teh case of loose items, they would be placed in a plastic bag and sealed with the tag.
When the player wants to retrieve the items, they'd produce the tag AND ID, or else they'd have to wait until after the lan finished to retrieve it.

Obviously, as with any check-in desk, the people behind the counter cannot be held accountable for lost or stolen goods, but stealing from the cloakroom would be either an inside job or a very clever thief.
And of course the idea's no good if people don't use it/cbf using it.

The reason we didn't do this for Big Day In was simply the overwhelming logistics of the event being a bit too much. Basically I just didn't have time to set it up.

However, I believe the idea is a good one and should be considered by any lan. The logistics though is somewhat of a pain - manning the desk, locating a suitable lockable room, ensuring the key's whereabouts are securely kept.

Not insurmountable, just a lot of extra overhead. No doubt this would add a layer of complexity that might result in extra cost, but it's up to the player community to decide if they'd want this sort of thing and be willing to pay for it - and use it.

As lannage becomes more popular, more visible to the general public, it also becomes less of the sub-culture we've nurtured and enters the mainstream. With that comes all the problems inherent in society.

These problems will not stop lannage, but we all need to be vigilent and considerate and take appropriate personal precautions.

dir.

Security Screws to secure your drives would decrease the amount of drive theft.

Prevention is better than a cure.

Left handed screws and threads!
that would confuse them!

half these little kids couldn't even work out a normal screwdriver, let alone a reverse thread screw.

we all lament for the loss of the sub-culture status, which means more noobs, but what's done is done. now we just have to watch our stash closely for thieving little f***s

and beat the living s*** out of them if we find them. you and me and suhaib and fireblood and dioxide and hemmy would pretty much kill someone if we qall laid into him :d

i'd never steal anything at a lan
1) its mean
2) fear of being gang bashed
3) and in the case of Mr X - gang raped. lol

i left my pc there at the last qgl i was there and think some one thried to pull out my removable hdd because the handle won't go in and i did the same thing on one at my parents factory the other day.

what is wrong with people these days? Repect other peoples things ffs. i f***en cant imagine why anyone would steal anything. especially at a lan. ffs.

Mr X:
I was ready to kill those dudes sitting opposite us, bar microant (dude opposite me)

yeah i had my 10m network cable stolen :( but i think thats pretty common.

what really s***s me is people who think its ok to steal off someone who has worked their f***ing ass off for their gear. that really s***s me off :@

the ID system would be an excellent idea, hand ur ID in at the start of ur day and get it back in the end. yes it would be a hassle but it could stop a lot of theft: as soon as somethings stolen check the video camera (that u did setup, right?) then browse thru some odd 500 IDs :P

ok maybe its not a good idea but id be happy go thru a few hundred ID's to find culpret. even with a the security camera have a projector with their face so they can be indentified.

:)

yeah lol. attach a hidden webcam to your computer to catch the thieves :D

yeah lol. attach a hidden webcam to your computer to catch the thieves :D


better set the webcam to upload to another pc cause hidden webcam and pc might leave together... along with the evidence

wow look this loser I stole off was recording me!


also


how many ppl would fill one isle?
2 clans? 4? group together then like tape off a isle for your group

make it less oviious by just filling a large amount of the isle with chairs make ppl walk around

also keep the beefy mega hockey loving lanners on the ends. incase the alarm is sounded =)

coathanger the theive b4 he leaves the isle

you guys are gay, i hope you get assault charges brought up against you for bashing thieves. you would most likely get banned from qgl for fighting as well so well done good idea, not that i go to qgl, but i think it could do without you poofs.

im not defending thieves but think rationally, find the thieves, ring the cops, get witnesses, do the proper thing - and get THEM banned from qgl

nah...

bash 'em maen!

make it less oviious by just filling a large amount of the isle with chairs make ppl walk around

Thats stupid.

G'day QLD'ers,

I've had a pretty dodgy experience with theft at a recent quite large LAN in Melbourne; 2 good friends of mine had their PC's, mouses, headphones and keyboards stolen when they packed their gear up, put it under the table and went for the night to their house in Ringwood (30-40 mins away from the venue) to sleep. They were sitting only 10 seats away from us and yet we couldn't have had a hope of seeing anything. The value of the stolen equipment ran into the thousands of dollars.

Having read through this thread it's obvious that someone needs to do something about theft at a higher level than just getting friends to watch your gear; your friends can only look after your stuff to a point.

QGL, and indeed any LAN (my own included - which wasn't where the theft occurred btw) say that your equipment is your own responsibility, and it is. However, it's also in QGL/Ausgamers' best interests to eliminate/reduce theft in order to keep a good reputation and to keep getting players along to lans.

So maybe Ausgamers/QGL could look into putting into action something along the lines of what Dan suggested with photo ID cards. If it's managed by Ausgamers the ID cards can be used as a checkin system; a barcode or magnetic strip or something. A card could have a photo & details on it for verification, while also being linked to Ausgamers' user database which would store the same photo and details. Then if need be, every face and name that was at the lan can easily be called up later, along with times in and out.

At 3xtreme LAN we're currently looking into other ways of identifying people; forms are easy to fill out fraudulently, and a lot of people don't put their first and last names into their ausgamers accounts. Legally-valid ID is a good option, but isn't common for 15-year-olds. (maybe it's time for age restrictions =D)

Theft at lans is a bloody ugly situation that's sadly only going to get worse...