Has anyone considered having bumper stickers made that say nothing but "FRAUD!" ? Instead of taking down or cutting a spam sign, place the sticker across it. This has a couple of effects:
1. It makes the sign an anti-sign, i.e., it hurts the spammer instead of helping him. The longer it stays ups, the more anti-advertising it does.
2. The spammer now has to take the time to remove his old sign and replace it with a new sign, which is double the cost.

Granted, this does not help with the visual clutter and ugliness, but it sure hits the spammer where it hurts.

By the way, I never cut up signs because I'm really just trying to make the city look better, so I take them down completely. The technique I use to remove signs nailed to telephone poles (which is about 80% of the ones I see) is to use a steel rod, about 3/8 diameter and 30 inches long. Just aim for the gap between the sign and the pole, and give it a good wack, coming down on the uppermost nail. I can pop a three-nail sign off a pole in one hit. Like a golf swing, it isn't so much about power as it is about follow-through.

I'm also started carrying a pair of surgical scissors for cutting plastic tie-straps used to attach signs to street sign poles. I think regular dykes (wire cutters) would work as well. Take about 5 seconds to cut a sign away.

>I'm also started carrying a pair of surgical scissors for
>cutting plastic tie-straps used to attach signs to street sign
>poles. I think regular dykes (wire cutters) would work as
>well. Take about 5 seconds to cut a sign away.

Back several years ago, when Herbalife was tye wrapping their signs to the traffic median directional signs, most of us were using just plain old box cuters. They worked well on signs that needed to be cut plus the cutters would zip thru the tye wrap in a flash.

The blades are very inexpensive and last for a good while.
I still carry my box cutters, but can't remember the last time I've usd them. Most everything now is staked

>Has anyone considered having bumper stickers made that say
>nothing but "FRAUD!" ?

I've considered this, but I would use stickers that say "ILLEGAL"
instead. The company may be legit, but their sign placement is
illegal. Just having a sticker that says "ILLEGAL" is vague as
to whether or not you're talking about the sign or the business.
Too bad for the business if people misinterpret.

I would encourage a more action-oriented message such as "Call Code Enforcement at nnn-nnn-nnnn".

Newbie (not)

So you complain about the signs being illegal, and then go and break the same law you claim to be upholding?

How does that make any sense?

>So you complain about the signs being illegal, and then go
>and break the same law you claim to be upholding?
>
>How does that make any sense?

Good point and one that has been made by others who post on the forum. I guess, as always, it is up to each person to decide. Whether or not I agree with the tactic, I respect those who use stickers to raise public awareness and get others to help eliminate the underlying illegal sign problem. There is good evidence it works.

Newbie (not)

>So you complain about the signs being illegal, and then go
>and break the same law you claim to be upholding?
>
>How does that make any sense?

Troll alert, just in case it isn't obvious.

This is the same guy who claims to be from Mexico and thanks everyone, in the General Forum, for taking signs down because he will be paid more money for replacing them. Shouldn't he also be thanking us here for stickering signs so they need to be replaced?

A guy in Austin had some white on black bumper stickers with RIPOFF on them. Before applying it, I would obliterate part of the phone number, so they wouldn't be able to just peel off the bumper sticker and leave the sign. I used them until I ran out, selecting which signs deserved them.

I've also thought it would be fun to have EVENT CANCELLED stickers made for signs advertising events like Tattoo Expo or Bridal Expo, which are all over the Los Angeles area.

Stickers seem like a great idea. Some street corners have new signs put up daily. There is going to be a sign on the corner one way or another, so it might as well have my sticker on it. I have been sporadically testing these stickers for a while, here and there. I would like to hear what others have experienced.

I disable the sign with a shark bite, and then put an ugly litter sticker on it. New bandit signs go up almost daily and the new spammers have been kind enough to remove the last carcass I left behind. This also saves me removal and disposal efforts. I can see from a distance if the sign is disabled with a bite.

Experienced spammers learn to recognize the area is monitored and move on to the next corner. (I read this). This saves me from having to repeat the process all over again.

Stickers have worked great with local businesses. They stop spamming right away, usually. The apartment complexes complied rapidly. One apartment complex even moved their sign ten feet off the road on their own property, and stopped placing them around town. The sticker has a web address, other than this site, to educate the spammers. Law abiding citizens just need to learn the local codes. All spammers aren’t bad people.

As far as the sticker being a recruiting tool, I have yet to learn of any new sharks created through the stickers. I want all the help I can get. I can read on this web site what has been going on for years, and I really don’t know how long I can keep this up. I like the idea of expanding my monitored area with no more time involved. Extra help would be nice. Even people with limited physical ability could shark and sticker. No more pulling and tugging.

Over and over, I read how people are directed to the local Code Enforcement (CE), and not everyone is willing to get to know the CE officer. CE may not be interested you. Some communities lack the manpower and will not act on a complaint. There could be a political brick wall and most people don’t want to deal with the bureaucracy to change laws. Newbie(not) pointed out that the local CE phone number should be on the sticker. By getting the public to call CE with the provided phone number, CE may act, and anyone can make a phone call. People will see the stickers and call.

Leaving the stickers on signs also raises awareness. If I do a really good job of keeping an area sign free, there’s still a problem. The streets look great, but there is a permanent long-term situation to deal with –more spam – and no lasting change has occurred. The spam will be back the next day. Having a carcass shows the problem. Once the awareness comes, the corrective changes will come.

The argument against stickers seems to be: the area is still ugly when the stick is left. Well, it was ugly when I got there. It’s going to be ugly tomorrow with new spam. People will say this is littering as well, so I take a big bite and leave less behind.

I recreated the ugly litter sticker in a Word document using Word Art. It can be altered. It’s not complicated to make, but, using the existing document, the words can be changed, such as the CE phone number and city named disclaimer. A copy is attached to this post.

I think there are many good ideas among us and I have tried to bring them together. What works in one municipality, may not work in another. To end the cycle, everything hinges on enforcement. If CE doesn’t get complaints, then there IS NO problem. I guarantee CE will get more phone calls with their phone number on street corners. Surely there are local individuals as concerned as CAUSS. When people start calling on the phone, the problem is exposed and changes will happen – or am I dreaming?

What communities have successfully eliminated spam? And how? What efforts did it take? What did not work? End benefactor rule seems to be the way to go for enforcement. What laws need to be in place? Where is our model city? What featured community gets City Of The Year? And where do they get this recognition?

Sign, Sign, everywhere a sign. Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign? --Song by Five Man Electrical Band 1970

http://www.causs.org/dc/user_files/179.doc

Attachment #1, (doc file)

What I've seen, here anyway, are signs with "Rip off" or something similar are removed very quickly. It seems that the last thing "The future real-estate billionaire" wants future customers to know is that they are trying to take advantage of them. So spammers seem to self police to some extent to remove the stickered signs (with CAUSS info) and those with editorial comments like "Rip off" written on them.

I found out about causs via a sticker.

I've also noticed there is no honor among theives. Spammers often use other spammers signs. Actually, it is fun to remove a sign that was stolen by another spammer and altered for their benefit. Kind of like getting a two for one deal.