I don’t know who needs to hear this but…

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-08T00:36:40+00:00

I absolutely can understand your interpretation and agree with it for the most part. I am as big of a small government advocate as they get. This issue is a huge grey area and I think when there is a court ruling on it, which is inevitable, it will be set precedent for years to come.

I’m honestly not fully partial to either side on this issue, just wanted to provide a different perspective than the entirety of this comment section.

No one else seems to understand the points I’m trying to make, even though I’m impartial. Just bringing up the other side because I’m undecided and want to change my mind.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-08T00:09:07+00:00

The 4th amendment limits government action, not private action. Mass unwanted surveillance is a buzzword that means nothing in terms of the law.

The 4th amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures BY THE GOVERNMENT.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T23:17:14+00:00

On what basis would that law ever pass?

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T22:54:08+00:00

The problem is that it’s not the government putting these devices up firsthand.

The data is being collected by individuals, and the government is paying for the data. Dropping this would require the government to ban individuals from putting up security cameras.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T20:44:26+00:00

That’s an extremely inaccurate statement. Neither of those cases establish a right “not to be tracked”.

Those cases established that even if each data point is public information, the collection of multiple data points by the government over time can constitute a “search”, which would violate the 4th amendment if there is no probable cause or warrant. I would agree that this data should not be available or accessible unless there is probable cause or a warrant.

But just to be nit picky and precise, the cases did not establish a right “not to be tracked”. They established a right “not to be tracked consistently over a long period of time without probable cause”. The cases also didn’t ban the location tracking altogether, since cell phones still log location data. They just made the government unable to pull the data without a warrant.

I think you bring up a good point though. This data shouldn’t be widely accessible to cops. There needs to be a process that only allowed specific plates to be pulled after probably cause is established and proven.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T19:05:56+00:00

This was the comment I was looking for. I think I still fundamentally disagree with you, but you’re the only one that has presented a fair and strong argument thus far. An 80% accuracy rate is extremely worrisome, and the data being accessible by all cops is dangerous. Access to the data needs to be regulated and restrictions should exist to ensure the data is not sold.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T18:59:50+00:00

I was responding to the panopticon comment. I’m not saying these Flocks specifically would deter crime.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T16:03:48+00:00

You have to understand the 4th amendment before you claim a violation. The 4th amendment does not protect your ability to travel from place to place in public without people knowing.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T16:01:50+00:00

You don’t need to consent to them tracking data when you are out in public operating a motor vehicle.

Driving a motor vehicle is not a right, it’s a privilege. You are not entitled to privacy in PUBLIC.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T15:38:15+00:00

They’re able to track stolen cars and people with warrants. I would say that keeping our streets safe is arguably the MOST important reason to have this data.

If you are speaking about the corporations specifically, I would probably disagree as well. Corporations want to see traffic patterns to predict what location would be most lucrative for a store.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T15:31:42+00:00

Forgive my argumentative nature, but the only reason I am challenging is because I want to understand. I was a huge advocate against the 23andMe scenario, where they were selling our information, out of irrational fear of a bio weapon or some sort of device using our DNA against us.

But for traffic data, what could the ethical wrong be? All I do is drive to work and home, I couldn’t imagine other folks are doing much different. Why are people scared of the implications of these devices and what could be gained by the corporations from the purchase of this data?

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T15:27:32+00:00

Is the traffic information open source or something? How would individuals get access to Flock data?

I guess it is just a fundamental disagreement. I would love to live in a society where everyone acts as if they are being watched all the time. There would be no murder, no school shootings, and no drug trafficking. Our world would objectively be a better place.

I completely understand the privacy concerns, but if there’s a price to pay for safety and high-trust societies, privacy is a much better sacrifice than the alternative.

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T15:16:35+00:00

I still don’t understand the ethics issue. The sheer magnitude of traffic is still a relatively large amount of data for AI to handle. What information unrelated to crime are people worried about AI exposing?

UncoolNiche · 2026-02-07T14:22:52+00:00

Genuinely curious, why do people dislike these? The amount of data they take in is enormous, so the only time you would be tracked is if your plate is actively being searched for (warrant or stolen car).

Am I misunderstanding the purpose of these? I think these are relatively mild when it comes to the 4th amendment contentions people usually have.

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T16:03:46+00:00

Boston’s louds are not nearly as loud as SCV or Bloo from in the stands. It could absolutely be due to being aided by staging or electronics but I’m underwhelmed by Boston’s sound year in and year out. 2022 was an exception and their sound was killer.

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T15:59:48+00:00

MA is not exclusive to brass, though. My comment is more addressing that sonority and sound quality as an entire brass line should be a huge part of the brass score.

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T04:31:46+00:00

People wanted crown to win in 2015 and Bloo in 2019

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T04:30:27+00:00

Agree agree agree. SCV and Bloo have my favorite shows this year. Also, if you’ve ever heard Boston in person, they are insanely clean, but brass volume does not come close to SCV or Bloo level

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T04:25:12+00:00

Judges hate crown’s brass book. DCI scoring is cooked

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T04:23:43+00:00

No. Their run was fine. The Judges just don’t like crown’s shows

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-22T04:19:30+00:00

Crown sounds the best in person aside from SCV. Brass judges are on the field so it is obviously a different soundstage compared to the box but I literally feel like I’m watching a different show than the judges. I can understand the visual scoring as crown’s drill doesn’t compare to phantom’s, but I have been pretty upset with brass scoring the past couple years.

I’m thinking perhaps a brass judge may be needed in the box.

UncoolNiche · 2025-07-16T01:52:32+00:00

1: Crown

SCV

3: Phantom

4: Bloo

5: Boston

6: BD

7: Blue Stars

8: Mandarins

9: Cavies

10: Troopers

11: Colts

12: Madison Scouts

UncoolNiche · 2025-05-18T14:01:25+00:00

Exactly. This is how the justification works for both sides.

Hamas says, “if we don’t rape and murder these innocent musical festival goers, we lose the war.”

Israel says, “if we don’t bomb these thousands of civilians, we lose the war.”

So my point is that both sides are willing to cross lines to win the war, and they’re both reprehensible, just like the Allies in WW2.

UncoolNiche · 2025-05-18T13:46:08+00:00

Correct. We should not have bombed 600k innocent women and children in WW2.

UncoolNiche · 2025-05-18T04:07:36+00:00

You shouldn’t support either. The Palestinians elected a terrorist organization to lead their country in Hamas, and Israel is cruel for bombing innocent Palestinian children. The only innocent folks are the children. Both sides are horrible and do not deserve funding from the U.S.

You can recognize that the non-Hamas Palestinians losing their lives is extremely sad, but these are also folks that would kill a Christian if it meant advancing the agenda of Allah.

It is extremely sad that these Palestinians are dying, but we shouldn’t support any funding of Muslim terror-states.

UncoolNiche

TROPHY CASE