Young Gamer Called 911 About PSN/Xbox Live Hacker Outage

[StewShearerOld]

Young Gamer Called 911 About PSN/Xbox Live Hacker Outage

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/PBCountySheriff/status/549031346220580864]

A young gamer in Florida called 911 last week to complain about Lizard Squad's holiday PSN/Xbox Live hack.

You know what stinks? Waking up on Christmas morning and unwrapping that awesome game you've been waiting for only to discover that you can't use the multiplayer because <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139217-PSN-And-Xbox-Live-Down-For-Christmas>someone decided to knock out <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/xbox%20live?os=xbox+live>Xbox Live and the <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/playstation%20network?os=playstation+network>PlayStation Network for the holidays. Granted, there are worse thing that could happen, but it still has to be disappointing.

The thing is, there's a very solid line between "disappointing" and "an emergency that I need to call 911 about." And while I'm going to go on a limb and say that most of you probably know that, a recent Tweet from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office would seem indicate that some gamers don't quite understand the difference.

According to the Tweet, which was posted a few days after Christmas, a gamer called the PBSO emergency line to inquire if the operator knew what was "going on with [the PlayStation 4 and Xbox networks] being down." The operator told them no, prompting the caller to reply that the networks had been down "since Christmas" and that they'd heard two people had been arrested. Understandably annoyed, the operator informed them that the outage didn't qualify as an emergency and suggested they "try going outside or read a book." A partial recording of the call itself can be <a href=http://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/call-to-pbso-via-911-over-sony-playstation>heard here.

Now, it should be noted, that the caller sounds relatively young. That's still not a good excuse,but I can also see how calling 911 over something you're really frustrated about might make sense to a kid. That being the case, one would assume that having access to the PSN or Xbox Live would also mean they have an internet connection. If so, why not just Google the outage? Maybe it's just me being a smug fogey, but I just feel like calling 911 is the last thing that would have come to mind when I was that age.

Source: <a href=http://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/call-to-pbso-via-911-over-sony-playstation>WPTV


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[Xan Krieger]

"try going outside or read a book."
The operator was a bit of a dick, it's a pain to bring all your gaming stuff outside and the books in the Elder Scrolls series are generally boring.

 

[StewShearerOld]

Maybe it's just me being a smug fogey, but I just feel like calling 911 is the last thing that would have come to mind if I'd been in their shoes.

Being an adult, and him being a kid, I'd certainly hope so. But it's a little arrogant to assume you wouldn't do something as silly as a kid. We often forget how ridiculous we were when we were young.

He heard people were arrested. He heard that xbox/playstation being down had something to do with criminal action (and he's right on that account). He knows that you should call 911 for something illegal.

I mean yeah it's still goofy, but I can see the children's logic in making the connection to call 911. Kid likes his video games

To be fair, I'd probably be reluctant/too panicked to call 911 in a real emergency.

"I'm sure the bleeding will stop on its own!"

Edit: Also tweaked the text to be a bit clearer.

 

[RaikuFA]

"try going outside or read a book."
The operator was a bit of a dick, it's a pain to bring all your gaming stuff outside and the books in the Elder Scrolls series are generally boring.

Or it could have been too cold or he was sick. Operator was a dick.

 

[wooty]

Hmmm, I can see this being interpreted on some sites as "OLOLOL konsole kiddies callin da police".

Then again he's still a child at the end of the day, and I've heard grown adults calling 911/999 for more retarded reasons recently...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30644277
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-30586025

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"Only to discover that you can't use the multiplayer because someone decided to knock out Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network"

Actually, some games (Destiny, Diablo 3 etc.) would be completely unplayable, let's not forget that!

But of course this is very moronic. Seen people call 911 over even more stupid things though, which causes me to release a BIG sigh... :\

 

[Elfgore]

It's quite a silly reason to contact the police, but I do agree with wooty. I've seen adults call police for reasons just as fucking stupid. I'm also wondering where the hell the parents were in this whole situation.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

He knows that you should call 911 for something illegal.

No, you are quite wrong! You call the EMERGENCY SERVICES only for... emergencies!!! :O
There is a different number(s) for non urgent police or fire service calls in any country on the planet.
People should learn/be tought this... Maybe the US government should start taking ads to tell people that number.

And maybe next time he should ask his parents first.

And people who thought the operator was "a dick";
Are you crazy? Tying up the line like that (which happens WAY too often) with something that is not an emergency can block a call from someone bleeding out trying to get an ambulance! In an *emergency* sometimes you can only dial once, and if they are unable to pick up at once, someone can and DOES die.

Look up the statistics on those deaths.
Read that one Cracked.com article with tales from real 911 operators...

 

[Roxas1359]

It's quite a silly reason to contact the police, but I do agree with wooty. I've seen adults call police for reasons just as fucking stupid. I'm also wondering where the hell the parents where in this whole situation.

Pretty much this. Hell I'd be surprised if Police operators didn't get things like that from kids from time to time. Kids don't always understand that the police can't fix everything. Hell, when my older sister was 4, she called the police because my parents wouldn't let her watch Dumbo. Sometimes children can be crafty, and I know for a fact that my parents taught my sister that the phone is for emergencies, but to children something as small as not being able to watch a movie or play a game can be seen as an emergency.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

So we can add this to the list of dumbass things people called 911 for like McDonalds ran out of McNuggets (pretty sure that also was brought to Obama's attention at some point but not 100% on that).

 

[Erttheking]

In defense of the kid, a crime was indeed committed. It's out of his local police's jurisdiction, but I doubt he knew that.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I remember that one time where a couple ate too many hash brownies and called 911 to tell them that they died.

"Anything Goes..!"

 

[RaikuFA]

He knows that you should call 911 for something illegal.

No, you are quite wrong! You call the EMERGENCY SERVICES only for... emergencies!!! :O
There is a different number(s) for non urgent police or fire service calls in any country on the planet.
People should learn/be tought this... Maybe the US government should start taking ads to tell people that number.

And maybe next time he should ask his parents first.

And people who thought the operator was "a dick";
Are you crazy? Tying up the line like that (which happens WAY too often) with something that is not an emergency can block a call from someone bleeding out trying to get an ambulance! In an *emergency* sometimes you can only dial once, and if they are unable to pick up at once, someone can and DOES die.

Look up the statistics on those deaths.
Read that one Cracked.com article with tales from real 911 operators...

Still should have said "please only use 911 for REAL emergencies." The way this operator acted reminded me of that one 911 operator that told that kid whose mom was dying to stop calling.

Then you've got this one story where a guy called 911 cause he wanted a helicopter ride to a Lil Wayne concert.

 

[FalloutJack]

To be fair, he probably just got overly-anxious and wanted information because nobody else was helping. Not a good reason, but you can see how it might lead to that.

 

[jackpipsam]

"Try going outside or read a book"

I understand this call is a massive waste of time for the service, but that was a horrible thing to say.

 

[VanQ]

It's quite a silly reason to contact the police, but I do agree with wooty. I've seen adults call police for reasons just as fucking stupid. I'm also wondering where the hell the parents were in this whole situation.

They were probably busy enjoying singleplayer while they waited for the network to come back online like normal people.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

At least he was a little kid. I read at least one story a month about someone calling in because the cable TV doesn't work or McDonald's won't serve breakfast at 3 PM. And then when the police come, because the caller won't shut up, and it turns out the caller is a half naked drug addict in a stolen school bus.

Anyways, welcome to the modern world of video games, kid, where the big companies force this online crap to be the future and script kiddies with attention issues have fun at your expense. The police couldn't help you even if you did call the right number. Just invest in some back up entertainment, whenever these internet storms strike.

.
People should learn/be tought this... Maybe the US government should start taking ads to tell people that number.

Shhh... Don't give them any ideas. Congress and state/local governments will spend months debating allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to PSAs, pushing aside other important issues. Then the PSAs will only air on channels or during times when only the people who know better will be watching, and any billboards or other ads will be ignored. Finally, months later, the politicians will be all smug and happy that they think they made a difference and decide to cut back on the emergency operators so save money. That's how this country works anymore.

Really they should consider beefing up this point in the early education. When I was a kid, my school had a safety learning weak every year that taught all this 911 and fire safety stuff. I think a police officer even came by classrooms sometimes. We even read one of the Curious George books, where George gets hauled to jail (by the firemen!) for making a false call. I guess there just is no effort put into the school system anymore (or he missed the important stuff and his parents didn't bother to cover what they themselves could easily have done).

 

[kael013]

Now, it should be noted, that the caller sounds relatively young. That's still not a good excuse,but I can also see how calling 911 over something you're really frustrated about might make sense to a kid. That being the case, one would assume that having access to the PSN or Xbox Live would also mean they have an internet connection. If so, why not just Google the outage?

Because:

A young gamer in Florida

That explains it; Florida is known as the place full of exceptionally crazy/stupid people. I mean, c'mon, they have [i/]two[/i] Twitter accounts (Florida Man and Florida Woman) dedicated to covering their weird stuff. What other state can say that?