Talk about taking one for the team…
There is this guy, Evan, who has this site: http://www.evanwashere.com/StolenSidekick/ where he chronicles he attempts to get his friend’s Sidekick back from someone who found/stole/bought/something from a cab or cabbie a few days ago. Through the miracle of T-Mobile, Evan and some sleuthing friends found out who had the pilfered PDA and knowing some details about them, asked that they apologize and return the stolen phone. As of this posting at about 7:25pm EST June 8, the Sidekick has not been returned.
Evan has burned through all his hosted bandwidth, crashed about two or three forums (some he paid for and some that were donated to him), maxed out Google’s offerings once or twice, and has been inundated with thousands of emails and hits – and has even been interviewed by local media. Its been about 1.5 to 2 days since this started. You’ve got to love to power of the Internet when one can get 400,000 visitors in a short time.
I won’t speak for Evan (you’ll just have to read his own words yourself), but I will say that he is really fighting the opposing side in the name of being good to one another. Although he has many personal details of the young person at the heart of this matter, he is quick to point out that he has, and will not, post that information (at least that which isn’t public or given to him by the perps in question) because he’s more about pressuring them into doing what little right is left for them to do. He STRONGLY advocates peaceful means to resolve conflict and quotes the law and its concepts as the foundation for his strategy to get the Sidekick back.
What I’m most proud of is how steadfast he is about making this a fight of principle and not of person or property. Yes, other people are involved and, yes, there is property missing but you can tell he is sincere about his convictions by staying up all night answering his emails.
I love the viral marketing the Internet is doing in the name of human decency; I’m glad to be a part of that.
Like Evan, I don’t want any flaming, violence, or threats of intimidation/violence on anyone. But check out Evan’s site, the Google Groups (linked at the bottom of Evan’s site), and give props to those who supported, plugged, featured, or otherwise paid homage to the cause in question.
Human decency: 1 Sidekick thieves: 0
Keep it up, Evan!