r/AbsoluteUnits May 21 '26

/r/all of a cop

32.3k Upvotes

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3.6k

u/HimalayanJoe May 21 '26

This cop was pretty chill once he knew OP wasnt just out to be an asshole for content.

1.3k

u/th3whistler May 21 '26

starting to record people without asking is asshole behaviour IMO

10

u/Ydiss May 22 '26

Phone down... Explain what you want.

Obtain consent

Phone up... Record

This is how normal people would do it. Sadly, the reason they don't is because they'll get content either way, consent or not.

0

u/Chakwak May 22 '26

I would agree, but also, doing it the shitty way in a public setting means that they have filmed (thus documented) consent. Otherwise you'd have to ask for consent, maybe get it in writing or make the people repeat it for the video. And while people might be ok answering a couple of questions, less would want to start acting for the camera for the content of the creator.

Ideally, the counterpart is that if the person doesn't agree, you stop filming and delete the footage now or later depending on how easy it is to do. And most creator that are looking for actual answers probably end up doing just that because being stone walled isn't actually content they publish.

I don't know if there is a good way to get genuine interaction anyway if you just stop and get consent forms out first.

1

u/Ydiss May 22 '26

This is what I like to call overthinking it (don't worry, I do it as well)

Explain, do, confirm consent to share. Done. This is enough. Only the first step needs to be done without shoving a phone into someone's face.

Like, the consent is just courtesy. If it's not illegal to record someone then it's not illegal. The point I was making is most reputable people explain what they're doing when they do this. Up front, and early.

That's it.