Talk:Cover stories

Are we coming up with plausible stories, or amusing stories? Or both? --Joanna

Looks like the answer is "both." --Tim P 15:05, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

I need plausible stories for why I am crossing an international border, on a bicycle to go to a random spot on a map. "Because people on the internet told me to" isn't good enough for border guards. I also need to not look like a loony, because I cross the brorder for work, and I don't want to go into the loony database. Robyn 05:28, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Really, you don't look silly until they can see you stand around in a non-notable location, looking for other people. Presumably this will seldom happen in sight of the border guards. Therefore, I would just tell them some sort of incomplete truth, like "Really, honestly, I'm just exploring - I work in your country, and I realized that I had never really seen much outside of my commute..." If you're really worried, though, you might avoid any hashes that are in sight of the border-crossing. ...Though I'm sure ON the border would qualify for some sort of achievement. AshleyMorton 06:36, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Okay, here's the routine ... you roll up to the border crossing. You're already weird for being on a bike. The border guard says "Where are you going?" "Just exploring." "Where are you GOING!" "23.7 km east of Limestone Junction." "What's there?" "Just to visit." "Purpose of your visit?" "Just exploring?" "Yeah .. to see your beautiful country."

See, it doesn't go anywhere good. Rambling nonsense answers are a big red flag. I would definitely do a hash on the border, but it's not going to happen. The border is at 49 00.0000. If the Dow turns up zero one morning I'll almost certainly have other things to do. Hmm, I think I've got it! "I'm meeting some people from the xkcd club, it's a social event." "What kind of club?" "It's a group of people with similar interests in art. We might be doing an art project together." We DO have similar interests in art RANDALL'S art. And by that token a geohashing meet just might be an art project. And "artist" as someone pointed out on the main page is automatically a harmless nutcase.

Oh, THAT border :) - Yeah, then you're fine. That'll come up a total of 0% of the time, so you're fine. ...and I agree about the artist strategy. Actually, you might be able to combine the two - "I'm going to photograph(/paint) a point about 23.7km east of Limestone Junction - I got the recommendation from a friend I met on the Internet."AshleyMorton 14:20, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Hey that's *good*. An--artist--friend. And then if they question the fact that I'm doing it in the pouring rain I can say, "but look at the *light*!" I am so ready for the next northwest point. Thanks Ashley!

Scotland the Best (Except Scandinavia)

Lol, trespassing is so laughable. In America, they'll shoot you. In England and Wales they'll just kick you off or call the police. In SCOTLAND? yes, that's right. There are no Trespassing laws, meaning that there is no concept of it. Anywhere you want. Anytime. there are slightly odd occurrences of this, in that if you damage anything, you can still be arrested, but i suppose that's the same anywhere. Also, they can stop you going on some land, but there has to be a valid reason (MoD Firing Ranges etc. ) Also you can't signpost any long distance paths if the owner of the land doesn't want them, but you can still use them. Beats "Right to Roam" Act every time.

My friend, I beg to differ. We here in Scandinavia have legally-enshrined rights to camp on other people's land as long as we do no damage, and don't stay too long. The right to roam is a given - now written down, but based on millenia of legal tradition. Also, surely you don't mean to say that in Scotland, I can walk into your house, take a nap in your bed, and then refuse to leave? AshleyMorton 21:03, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Aaron Diaz

He's the founder of Pretend You're a Time Traveller day and the writer of Dresden Codak.