Moral Question

[Sean4287]

I am kind of jumping on the other threads bandwagon, but anyway here is the situation. I recently was out playing golf with some people I had just met. I was telling a story about a lost Champion Beast and one of the guys pulls out an almost brand new orange Champion Beat and says " Here I found this and already have one, you can have it." This obviously was awesome for me because I love the disc and hell it is a free disc. The problem....there was a name and number on it. My rational is that it has been through too many owners for me to call. Am I wrong? I have had some thought about it and really pondered if I should call. Opinions?

[WillA]

I would call and would tell the person who gave it to me he should have called. If you have doubts about whether something is wrong there's usually a reason for it.

[djext1]

The fact you are even asking the question kind of says that you think you probably should call. So just call and get it out of your mind. Chances are, the person is just gonna be like "oh cool...you can just keep it though, it's not that serious". The times that I have called the person of a disc I found they just say keep it, and they have already replaced it.

*shrug*

Or just keep it and see it as the disc golf karma gods giving back for the disc you 'gave up' to them :)

[DirtyMittenDG]

a few weeks ago I would have said keep it, but recently at hudson mills I was at about hole 20 and noticed I didnt have my brand new 150 star valk, I had no idea where I left it, I ran back a couple holes and saw a group of 4, I ask, "did any one see a blue star valkyrie", and as soon as I said it a guy reached into his bag and said, "YUP, here ya go", and I didnt even have my name on it or anything, this guy could have easily said nothing and he would have had a mint condition star valk, instead he decided that it should go back to its origanal owner. After this experiance I will always call a number on the back of a disc, and acually im due to call up "steve smith" tomorrow to let him decide if he wants his cyclone 2 tourny disc back, anyway, I would call, buts its your decision, peace!

[Donovan]

I would call and would tell the person who gave it to me he should have called. If you have doubts about whether something is wrong there's usually a reason for it.

Nice line!

For me, it's "do the right thing"...we all can live with that.

I look at it like this.If you find a disc with info on it and keep it with a conscience, are you really going to ever be able throw it without thinking about it every time you take it out of your bag and not concentrating on the shot? If so, get rid of that disc or at least make an attempt to return it and get that thinking out of your head. That can't be worth keeping the disc, at least not for me.

[Marv Vega]

Do you know if the person who gave you the disc tried calling the number? If not the right thing to do would be to call I think.

[kvanorsdel]

The disc could have also been picked up in a trade.

I would 1st ask the person who gave me the disc how they came to get a disc with someone elses name on it. then depending on the answer I would call the # on the disc .

[fiveonomo]

I agree with the above posts, try to find out where he got it from. After that, depending on what he says I would make every attempt to return it. I always call if I find a disc and it has contact info on it, thats just me, I think it is the right thing to do. I think it says good things about the sport as well.

I started a poll on this site about a month ago about the same thing and I was happy to see that most people feel that they should return it. As stated earlier, you already feal a sense to do the right thing or you would not have posted. The human mind is a neat thing, for the most part it is programed to do the right thing.

[Olorin]

The disc could have also been picked up in a trade.

The guy who gave it to him said he found it.

A wise man once said, "Do for others what you would have them do for you." When I lose a disc I always hope that someone who finds it will contact me... but they rarely do. :(

As so many others have said--call the guy.

[MoPhunk]

I used to call every number on the back of every disc i found. After 2 years of calling numbers and being jacked around by people who said they were going to meet me somewhere and never getting one of my discs back i took another approach. I give the found discs to my nephew, son, brothers, and my cousins so that they can play for free. If i take out someone new i just give them my found discs so that if they enjoy the sport they can play. I think if you lose a disc you are donating it to grow the sport. THink of the lost discs as seeds and every time you lose one hopefully you are planting another player.

Phunk.

[treethacker]

All I know is I lost two discs at a course last week and this past Friday I got two different calls both saying they had each found one of my missing disc.
I got one of my disc back so far and the person I met was very nice and we got into a discussion of different courses in our area.(turns out they had just moved here and didn't know where a lot of the courses were.)
The other I have yet to call but will probably today!
So,yeah give'em a call.

[Sean4287]

So I made the call, I even left a detailed voicemail. Three or four hours later I got a text message from they guy. I thought that was weird but I texted back and didn't hear from him until later today after asking me to meet him on his side of town. So I asked him where his home course was and it is across the state somewhere. After a few more interesting text messages he thanked me and said I could keep it. I feel better about it because the guy who gave me the disc definitely didn't call.

At first I was annoyed because he did not seem thankful and wanted me to drive god knows where at his convenience. But it ended well with a thank you, I will continue to call people.


My conscience is clear

[DGtourist]

So I made the call, I even left a detailed voicemail. Three or four hours later I got a text message from they guy. I thought that was weird but I texted back and didn't hear from him until later today after asking me to meet him on his side of town. So I asked him where his home course was and it is across the state somewhere. After a few more interesting text messages he thanked me and said I could keep it. I feel better about it because the guy who gave me the disc definitely didn't call.

At first I was annoyed because he did not seem thankful and wanted me to drive god knows where at his convenience. But it ended well with a thank you, I will continue to call people.


My conscience is clear

Watch, you’ll hit an ace in the next few days. :)

[ERicJ]

You did the right thing. DG karma headed your way.

ERic

[atl scott]

Watch, you’ll hit an ace in the next few days. :)

DG karma headed your way.

Karma doesn't exist. Don't do something for someone else just so something good will happen to you. Doing the right thing is reward in itself!

I always attempt to return discs to their original owner. Even the ones with only a PDGA# on them. Its easy enough to look them up on the PDGA site and find out what their name is and post on a local messageboard and try to get it back.

I always hope someone will return mine if found, but after all it is just plastic and can always be replaced (remember how life existed before you bought that sweet disc???) Keep it up guys.

[Geoffro]

I really believe in the disc golf community, and would encourage calling numbers on the backs of disc. We are in charge of this, literally. The more times you call, the more that someone who got a disc back is likely to call when they find one. Eventually, it's just understood - you make the call.

I've been on both ends of this exchange, and while MoPhunk is right - sometimes you get jacked around - other times you end up with a very rewarding experience. To minimize the jacking, you might suggest meeting when and where you already intend to play a round.

I'm not much into karma, but doing the right thing is rewarding in and of itself. I'll keep calling the numbers.

[WillA]

atl Scott is exactly right. There is no virtue in doing something because you expect a reward. For me it's too simplistic to say I do it because it's right. That's not it either. I'm not trying to conform to some code. I do it because it's what I do, it's who I am. It also happens to be right. Forgive the philosophical tangent LOL.

[Donovan]

Karma doesn't exist. Don't do something for someone else just so something good will happen to you. Doing the right thing is reward in itself!

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO BELIEVE IN KARMA AND LUCK, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

:D Actually it won't matter, because no schmuck like me is going to convince you how the world turns, but here is how I truly see this stuff.

You can "will" things to happen, because you mentally make yourself believe or justify it to be so!

Karma in itself is the same thing as luck.

They both happen because you are inclined to notice only the examples that fit that mold so as to convince yourself that is-what it is.

OR in another way of saying this:

It's the fact that you are either expecting the good or the bad "stuff" to happen to you, that you will be subconsciously obsessed and tend to allow things to go in that direction mentally believing that it has no choice. BUT you will be "subconsciously" helping it along.

You know the guy that seems "lucky" all the time...start really trying to see how many bad things happen to this guy too. If you are really paying attention, it is actually happening more than you ever realized. You have only been counting or paying attention to the good ones, because that is what you "believe" to be true. Plus, he believes it also, so he is usually only going to tell you about the good things, because he ignores the bads ones. I mean, hey, no one want to think they are lying or misleading themselves. That is why therapists have jobs. ;)

It is no different than this:
Donovan's ANTI-Murphy's Law - The only reason people think Murphy's Law exists, is because they only remember the times they think it does.

That's my end all, say all, on that.




Now if only one good will happen to me today, I just know the good stuff will keep happening. :D

This is how those "lucky people" live their lives everyday brothers and now you can too! If you are inclined to believe it! ;)

[Geoffro]

Right on, Donovan. I am a therapist, and couldn't have said it better myself.
"Self-fulfilling prophecy" is the term I would use to people attaching cause and effect meaning to their actions and subsequent events.

[Donovan]

Right on, Donovan. I am a therapist, and couldn't have said it better myself.
"Self-fulfilling prophecy" is the term I would use to people attaching cause and effect meaning to their actions and subsequent events.

LOL, thanks bro. Now if people could just believe it instead of just reading it. :o

[crusadersounds]

Returning my first one. The guy lives about 2 hours from where I found it...and I was playing 6 hours from home!

[vonDrehle]

Returning my first one. The guy lives about 2 hours from where I found it...and I was playing 6 hours from home!

lol, how did you stumble onto a thread from 2008 and come up with that random post?

[prerube]

I did not know Alt Scott has been around that long. I guess this pointless thread necromancy taught me something :)

[crusadersounds]

lol, how did you stumble onto a thread from 2008 and come up with that random post?

I found it b/c my friend posted on it and I was going through his posts. Probably should have left it alone...

[woodcutter]

^^:eek: :D

[prerube]

I found it b/c my friend posted on it and I was going through his posts. Probably should have left it alone...

don't worry about it, we are just messing with you because it is soooo old. Don't take VonDrehl and myself seriously. It is a Friday night and we are at home on the computer, how cool can we really be :)

[woodcutter]

Uses search ,,he does
http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt237/Harryglen/star_wars_yoda_master.jpg

[crusadersounds]

Haha, so true! I'm 600 miles from home for my buddy's wedding and after discing/rehearsal today, I'm kinda bored, so I figured I'd come make some kind of lame contribution to the DG community! The grooms bro is a member on here (MoPhunk)!

[New013]

It is a Friday night and we are at home on the computer, how cool can we really be :)

i'm clubbing right now... and sitting in the corner on my iphone.

slash

at home because i have a kid and so bored i think its relevant to point this out... even though it obviously isn't

[prerube]

i'm clubbing right now... and sitting in the corner on my iphone.

slash

at home because i have a kid and so bored i think its relevant to point this out... even though it obviously isn't

I am up because my wife took my kid to Busch Gardens today and is too tired to stay up until the laundry is done, so I have to harrass the forums until the laundry is done :)

[yearofrolling]

Good job returning it.
I've returned lots of discs and never had one of mine returned (and never gotten an ace).
Karma is sweet...

[New013]

i've yet to find a disc with a number on it.. i've found 6 i think now. some have elaborate drawings on them (one has a batmobile on the back and 5 sigs on the front)... yet... no numbers. i actually hope i find the person with the batmobile and sigs, they probably want that back.

[REDARMY]

The fact you are even asking the question kind of says that you think you probably should call. So just call and get it out of your mind. Chances are, the person is just gonna be like "oh cool...you can just keep it though, it's not that serious". The times that I have called the person of a disc I found they just say keep it, and they have already replaced it.

*shrug*

I still don't get this; of the (about to be) 33 discs i have returned, not ONCE has anyone said "nah, just keep it, thanks anyway".

maybe people in st. louis are just really greedy?

[Jay Dub]

In 24 years of playing I have had one call about a lost disc of mine. Some guy who was playing with his kids found it, I had lost it about 2 years earlier. I told him to keep it.

I wanted to post one more time today to get the mark of Lucifer off of me. :|

[Dadio]

I always try to call, with mixed success. Had a few disconnected, a few say keep it, and a couple pain in the butt drives around town to meet up. I will continue because I am always really happy when one of mine comes back(about 50%) and after I have made a good effort to return it it doesn't bother me at all to use it. As an added bonus, I am returning one in a couple of weeks to a guy that will show me his home course, one I want to play but sounds hard to navigate.

I like the comment about lost discs being seeds, I have given away many I have found to noobs or kept them as loaners for same. Also very handy on local holes when disc loss is not unusual(long downhill shot next to river @ Corbin Park in Idaho). Figured was already lost once, Won't hurt to be lost again.

[gcr_russell]

I still don't get this; of the (about to be) 33 discs i have returned, not ONCE has anyone said "nah, just keep it, thanks anyway".

maybe people in st. louis are just really greedy?

Probably 4-5 times when I've received calls on lost discs I've thanked them and let them keep the disc. It shows I appreciate their effort and reinforces the behavior of returning discs.

[Johnson]

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Call, end thread.

[Sneaky Alligator]

I can see an argument for keeping found discs and giving them to noobs to help them enjoy the game. I generally evaluate the situation when I find a disc. If it looks forgotten in the fairway or basket, honest mistake. If it was under water, maybe they couldn't get it. But if it's slightly hidden in the woods and they just gave up looking, well... As someone who never ever stops looking for a disc I've lost unless it's under water or in some way unattainable, I feel that someone who leaves one in the woods or brush really didn't want their disc in the first place. That being said, I call simply because I don't want someone else's disc either.