Have just been informed that said brother, reindeer and rucksack have all returned safely from the perils of Lisbon...
Last edited:
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is It Really So Wrong That I Don't Let Other People Use My Electronics?
- Thread starter MICHAELSD
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Have just been informed that said brother, reindeer and rucksack have all returned safely from the perils of Lisbon...
No OP, it isn't wrong, especially with identity theft and the instance you mentioned about a guest and your laptop. I would let both of my sisters use my iMac, but wouldn't let any of the step sons (who have stolen money, engaged in criminal activities) anywhere near my equipment much less apartment. So immediate family sure. Anyone else, hell no.
I have password protection and may set up the touch id on my iPad Mini 4 (I don't do banking on it but will occasionally buy from iTunes or Amazon.)
I have password protection and may set up the touch id on my iPad Mini 4 (I don't do banking on it but will occasionally buy from iTunes or Amazon.)
For various reasons, this is the first time in years that our household hasn't had a spare computer, usually an old laptop. When we have guests (the kind staying for a few days) who haven't brought along a computer, we just hand over the old whatever and say -- here you go.
To me -- with other items, like cameras -- the deciding factor is the person's experience. Once when I was living in western NY, a photographer friend in Hawai'i sent me an urgent email asking to borrow my D300 body (she knew I'd just gotten a D800) because she was in a jam, with work to do, some Nikon lenses, and a non-functional body. Of course I sent it to her because I had spent a couple of days working with her and I know she was a pro. I didn't get it back for more than a year (and didn't care) and when I did, it was in exactly the condition I'd sent it to her in. Recently, a high school photographer I'd gotten to know (we'd both won prizes in a contest) was going to Japan and didn't have a wide-range zoom. It was last-minute and we couldn't make the connection, but I offered him my 18-200 (which I don't use because I'm on full frame now) without hesitation. The kid would have taken good care of it, I know.
I get the privacy thing. With a computer isn't not important to me, because I always have a guest account and when needed I let people use the guest account. But for iDevices . . . well, that's why I don't have email set up on my iPad. If somebody wants to use it, I don't care. There's nothing importantly personal on it.
The whole borrowing thing is fraught, though. Years ago I loaned a guy my power miter saw and he used it to build an entire deck, and then returned it with the same (now dull) blade he'd gotten it with. I thought that was rude, but I didn't say anything (I should have, I know). I just decided that the next time he asked to borrow a tool, I'd bring it up then and require him to return the tool in the condition in which he'd gotten it.
To me -- with other items, like cameras -- the deciding factor is the person's experience. Once when I was living in western NY, a photographer friend in Hawai'i sent me an urgent email asking to borrow my D300 body (she knew I'd just gotten a D800) because she was in a jam, with work to do, some Nikon lenses, and a non-functional body. Of course I sent it to her because I had spent a couple of days working with her and I know she was a pro. I didn't get it back for more than a year (and didn't care) and when I did, it was in exactly the condition I'd sent it to her in. Recently, a high school photographer I'd gotten to know (we'd both won prizes in a contest) was going to Japan and didn't have a wide-range zoom. It was last-minute and we couldn't make the connection, but I offered him my 18-200 (which I don't use because I'm on full frame now) without hesitation. The kid would have taken good care of it, I know.
I get the privacy thing. With a computer isn't not important to me, because I always have a guest account and when needed I let people use the guest account. But for iDevices . . . well, that's why I don't have email set up on my iPad. If somebody wants to use it, I don't care. There's nothing importantly personal on it.
The whole borrowing thing is fraught, though. Years ago I loaned a guy my power miter saw and he used it to build an entire deck, and then returned it with the same (now dull) blade he'd gotten it with. I thought that was rude, but I didn't say anything (I should have, I know). I just decided that the next time he asked to borrow a tool, I'd bring it up then and require him to return the tool in the condition in which he'd gotten it.
You don't understand the point. You wouldn't want somebody tearing up or not treating your things with care, especially if it's expensive. Wouldn't you get mad?! He isn't saying in any way that he feels like his belongings are more important than people. It's the fact that most people don't treat things with care and they end up messing something up and a lot of people are nosey, so they like to go to places on your device that you didn't give them permission to go to. You can't really trust that someone won't ruin your things unless you know them well enough. I know from experience because I use to get my stuff ruined or whatever by family members that I didn't even give permission to touch my things. Even if it's just an accident it doesn't make the situation any better. A lot of people aren't careful enough or they just don't care and they don't see a problem. If your friend or family member tore up your things you should tell them to pay for the damages because they're the one that caused it. You don't just let people do whatever they want to your things and not give them a consequence. I also don't believe in sharing my phone or computer because some people like to hog up your stuff as if it belongs to them. I don't want to have to confront or firmly talk to someone about my things so I just avoid sharing at all because I really don't want to have to get mad. You can't force someone to share if they don't want to because at the end of the day they are the one that purchased it not anyone else. Money isn't easy to come buy and things are not cheap. That's just like somebody messing up your house and you're the one that pay bills and stuff. You don't just put your property at risk of being torn or something just getting messed up or probed by someone nosey. Your comment is just ignorant. If they have their own phone, tablet, computer, etc. then they need to use their own, so if anything gets ruined they'll be doing it to their own things. If they don't have a computer or whatever then too bad. Tell them to save up money and buy their own then they can do whatever they want to do. I don't care about someone getting mad at me about my own stuff. I'll tell them to their face if they don't stop asking. At first, I'll try to be nice and I might even ignore their question if they keep getting on my nerves because if I don't say anything then that means "NO".
People, you get what the dude is saying so you can stop being extra. He tells people to get their own **** because his parents bought it for him and not anyone else, so if they have a problem with him not sharing then they can shut up because they're just mad that they don't have their own computer. Even though his parents bought him the computer it STILL belongs to him because his parents said so. Yes, they paid for it out of their pocket, but they did it so it can be given to him, so he is officially the owner.
Neither one of you get it. The “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine too” system is the only way to go.
Firstly, might I respectfully suggest that you content yourself with expressing your perspective on such matters (a valid one, even if I disagree with it to a certain - even considerable - extent) - and that does not mean that you cannot express it robustly - while refraining from passing judgment on the perspectives of others - which, frankly, are equally valid, if different?
Telling someone that their comment is ignorant is neither necessary nor mannerly, and nor does it contribute much to the tone (and content) of the topic under discussion (or debate).
Secondly, paragraphs rock. They are wonderful, and especially wonderful when attempting - or struggling - to read walls of text without a break.
Seriously, I recommend paragraphs. It just means that you can read text with greater ease.
Last edited:
Is there some particular reason that this old thread was necro-ed?
One thing that is very apparent here is that a lot of participants do not understand that OCD is a very real and very difficult disorder with which to live, and so casual comments about "yeah, I'm oh, so OCD about...." are really not appreciated by actual sufferers. (No, I don't have OCD but I have friends who do have to deal with this on a daily basis.)
Yes, the issue of being willing or unwilling to share one's personal items (iPhone, iPad, Mac) is very valid and there are many of us who feel quite possessive about our expensive items, and along with that comes the privacy issue as well. Seriously, common sense needs to be used here, don't you think? What ever happened to simply saying "no" when someone asks to use/borrow an expensive and very personal device?
One thing that is very apparent here is that a lot of participants do not understand that OCD is a very real and very difficult disorder with which to live, and so casual comments about "yeah, I'm oh, so OCD about...." are really not appreciated by actual sufferers. (No, I don't have OCD but I have friends who do have to deal with this on a daily basis.)
Yes, the issue of being willing or unwilling to share one's personal items (iPhone, iPad, Mac) is very valid and there are many of us who feel quite possessive about our expensive items, and along with that comes the privacy issue as well. Seriously, common sense needs to be used here, don't you think? What ever happened to simply saying "no" when someone asks to use/borrow an expensive and very personal device?
A few years later, I'll make this comment:
When it comes to cameras, which I tend to have a fair few of, I'm pretty lax about lending and letting others use stuff. Things like my Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 are sort of exotic to a lot of photographers, and I've let coworkers who I determined to be trustworthy borrow it for a weekend or whatever. I have one particular co-worker who I lend stuff to quite often-a while back he was complaining about how he was missing shots with his D7000/80-200mm f/2.8D, something that didn't particularly surprise me. He was debating about going full frame as well as upgrading that lens, so I handed him my D600(basically a full frame D7000), D3s(older pro class body), and 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VRI for a long weekend-after using both bodies, the lens, some of his lenses on my bodies, and my lens on his D7000, he turned around and bought a D4 and 70-200mm f/2.8. Everything was returned to me in perfect condition. The same guy also lent me his 85mm f/1.4D a few months later when I had an occasion to need it-a sort of standing quid-pro-quo agreement between us for his ready access to anything I have that I'm not using.
When I do loan a camera in particular out, I know I'm always taking a chance, but in general if something happens its not the end of the world. There are ones to which I have some sentimental attachment and wouldn't loan, but they're also not things people would likely want to borrow.
I have enough spares of things like MacBook Pros that I sue for specific purpose but that I can bear to be without for a few weeks at a time-I've also been known to loan those to people in need of one. With that said, depending on who is borrowing, they GENERALLY get their own limited-priviledges account just to cover myself and so that they can't access file vaulted stuff.
My main MacBook Pro is a BIT of a different story just due to the amount of sensitive information on it. The only other person who uses it occasionally is my girlfriend, who rarely travels with her laptop(it's rare that I DON'T) but occasionally needs to do something that she can't do from her phone. She does have her own account on my laptop, but it has full admin priviledges so she can see/do anything. I mostly made it because I got tired of her complaining that about the fact that my trackpad scrolls in the direction that Steve Jobs intended
(i.e I don't use "natural scrolling"). Her account is mostly so that it can scroll in the direction she claims is correct without my having to go in and change it
When it comes to cameras, which I tend to have a fair few of, I'm pretty lax about lending and letting others use stuff. Things like my Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 are sort of exotic to a lot of photographers, and I've let coworkers who I determined to be trustworthy borrow it for a weekend or whatever. I have one particular co-worker who I lend stuff to quite often-a while back he was complaining about how he was missing shots with his D7000/80-200mm f/2.8D, something that didn't particularly surprise me. He was debating about going full frame as well as upgrading that lens, so I handed him my D600(basically a full frame D7000), D3s(older pro class body), and 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VRI for a long weekend-after using both bodies, the lens, some of his lenses on my bodies, and my lens on his D7000, he turned around and bought a D4 and 70-200mm f/2.8. Everything was returned to me in perfect condition. The same guy also lent me his 85mm f/1.4D a few months later when I had an occasion to need it-a sort of standing quid-pro-quo agreement between us for his ready access to anything I have that I'm not using.
When I do loan a camera in particular out, I know I'm always taking a chance, but in general if something happens its not the end of the world. There are ones to which I have some sentimental attachment and wouldn't loan, but they're also not things people would likely want to borrow.
I have enough spares of things like MacBook Pros that I sue for specific purpose but that I can bear to be without for a few weeks at a time-I've also been known to loan those to people in need of one. With that said, depending on who is borrowing, they GENERALLY get their own limited-priviledges account just to cover myself and so that they can't access file vaulted stuff.
My main MacBook Pro is a BIT of a different story just due to the amount of sensitive information on it. The only other person who uses it occasionally is my girlfriend, who rarely travels with her laptop(it's rare that I DON'T) but occasionally needs to do something that she can't do from her phone. She does have her own account on my laptop, but it has full admin priviledges so she can see/do anything. I mostly made it because I got tired of her complaining that about the fact that my trackpad scrolls in the direction that Steve Jobs intended
(i.e I don't use "natural scrolling"). Her account is mostly so that it can scroll in the direction she claims is correct without my having to go in and change it
I would have less of a problem lending a camera body and lens(es) to a good and trusted (preferably fellow photographer) friend than I would my iPhone, iPad(s) or computer(s) because the latter do have sensitive, personal information on them. Even at that, though, yes, I'd want to be darned sure that the person borrowing the photographic gear were actually someone who already knows how to use it (or at least in general, if not specifics about placement of buttons and wheels and such on a given body) and to be respectful of the entire kit that is being borrowed. And, yes, accidents happen: lenses do get dropped, body-and-lens do get dropped, tripods do tip over, taking camera body and lens with them, etc., etc. It's a risk that we all take every time we go out with our gear, so sure, it may happen when the gear is in the hands of a friend or colleague, and that risk has to be accepted right up front by both parties as a possibility. Presumably if any such incident happens while the gear is with a (trusted) friend, he or she will make appropriate compensation.
well it was revived by a newbie... but I've revived a thread by mistake now and then.
[I agree about the OCD reference. I dislike seeing it thrown around when what's meant is actually just a voluntary close attention to status including cosmetics of some possession. I mean why not just say you like detailing your gear.]
On the topic, I don't share gear that has personal data on it. I'll hand a phone to a close friend to make a call or look at a photo or something like that. I won't lend it nor a laptop without substantial prep first. It goes away as tabula rasa as I can make it, with a new copy of the OS and ready to be set up as desired, and it's dissociated from links to any of my IDs.
Regarding camera gear I have one colleague who has been shooting for decades. He has some special ability to trash lenses and camera. He sold some second hand equipment to another colleague who asked for my opinion on his 70-200 f2.8. I couldn’t believe what had happened to the front element.
He also trashed a 600mm lens he borrowed from work (which he never paid for).
He gets nowhere near my gear. I have another colleague who I wouldn’t have a problem lending my stuff to (but we mostly have the same lenses).
I don’t loan my computer or iPhone to anyone. Except Mrs AFB of course, but that doesn’t really count.
He also trashed a 600mm lens he borrowed from work (which he never paid for).
He gets nowhere near my gear. I have another colleague who I wouldn’t have a problem lending my stuff to (but we mostly have the same lenses).
I don’t loan my computer or iPhone to anyone. Except Mrs AFB of course, but that doesn’t really count.
Yes, surprising to see such a thread resurrected.
I have given my Leica camera to a careful colleague for a week, a passionate photographer, and he treated it with tender care, which I would have expected.
We've all had that colleague/family member who has little regard for his or her own stuff and treats your accordingly, and may be quite slow - even aggrieved - if the problem of compensation comes up; I have little problem not acceding to the requests and importunities of such a person.
However, I do give leather rucksacks, on occasion my camera, sometimes, my phone, to others.
My computer is a different matter, but I also take issue with the tone of the person who resurrected this thread; it is one thing to hold a position (of not wishing to give your own electronics and other possession to others), quite another to take such a strong tone towards others who disagree with you.
It may also be to do with age, life, death, perspective, sense of self and other matters.
While I have some nice things, they do not define who I am, or define my sense of myself. Consequently, they do not matter in quite the same way as they might have some decades ago.
I have given my Leica camera to a careful colleague for a week, a passionate photographer, and he treated it with tender care, which I would have expected.
We've all had that colleague/family member who has little regard for his or her own stuff and treats your accordingly, and may be quite slow - even aggrieved - if the problem of compensation comes up; I have little problem not acceding to the requests and importunities of such a person.
However, I do give leather rucksacks, on occasion my camera, sometimes, my phone, to others.
My computer is a different matter, but I also take issue with the tone of the person who resurrected this thread; it is one thing to hold a position (of not wishing to give your own electronics and other possession to others), quite another to take such a strong tone towards others who disagree with you.
It may also be to do with age, life, death, perspective, sense of self and other matters.
While I have some nice things, they do not define who I am, or define my sense of myself. Consequently, they do not matter in quite the same way as they might have some decades ago.
This is early morning and I'm grump because of heart burn, but how ****ing stupid is this person? Idiot deserves to have his crown jewels cut off as compensation.
Well, there are people who waltz blithely through life, circumstances (and choices) meaning that they rarely or never end up having to take responsibility for their actions, and are often quite aggrieved if you ask them to do so.
Yeah, this was quite a necropost. I don’t have any problem not letting someone use my electronics.
I think it is perfectly possible to decline such a request (politely and with courtesy) without exploding in a paroxysm of frothing rage at the fact that such a request has been made of you.
Phones, computers and tablets are very personalised items. Its a big no no for me to lent them to others.
I’m not sure where I was frothing. A few years back I was walking at night on a University campus and a random guy asked to borrow my phone. I pointed out several emergency phones on campus at which point he yelled all sorts of stuff at me. I still don’t feel bad about declining his request.