• AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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    1879 months ago

    My mom laminated mine when I was like 6 years old. It still has my 6 year-old, childish signature on it. Every time I use it someone says “you’re not supposed to laminate these”, and then they accept it anyways. So who’s the fool now?

    • @garbagebagel@lemmy.world
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      279 months ago

      My ex’s dad laminated his whole ass birth certificate. He had a bitch of a time fixing that lmao.

      Though I think people ask for birth certificate less often than they do our SIN (and also our SIN cards are actual literal cards in Canada not just pieces of paper).

      • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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        149 months ago

        I always thought my birth certificate was the little vanity one with my feet prints on it. I learned it isn’t when I actually needed a birth certificate for the first time. Since I live in an entirely different State now it was a bit of a PITA to get the real one.

      • @Polkira@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        They stopped issuing cards and just print it on a full 8.5"x11" piece of paper now actually lol.

  • @nyahlathotep@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    Not to defend the social security number system (because it’s terrible for unique identification of individuals and when it was created it wasn’t even intended to be used for that purpose) but you’re not supposed to carry it around with you all the time. It’s supposed to be in a drawer/safe/fireproof bag with the rest of your important documents, and only brought out when you need it.

    • @beastlykings@sh.itjust.works
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      1259 months ago

      Why make it a card then? If it’s meant to be stored as a document then it should be the size of an envelope, or a standard A4 sheet.

      I keep mine attached to the envelope sized paper it came on. But it shouldn’t be a card shape, that encourages people to carry it. My grandpa always carried his.

      • @Thorry84@feddit.nl
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        1179 months ago

        Don’t mention A4 paper, it scares the Americans. If any of them could read, they would be very afraid right now.

          • @fsxylo@sh.itjust.works
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            109 months ago

            Right?

            Like just because we export all our media to you (because it’s better) and make fun of our stereotypes in that media, doesn’t mean that most of us are like that. Believe it or not we actually have cool stuff that’s uniquely American.

            And the reason you see Kraft singles is because we don’t want to share our BBQ with you.

            • This is fine🔥🐶☕🔥
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              89 months ago

              export all our media to you (because it’s better)

              Lmao. Get back to me when you’ve got something like Taskmaster, Would I Lie To You, or QI.

              • @Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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                89 months ago

                We can’t do everything for you guys. We’re holding down the imperial system almost single handedly. Help a brother out.

              • @IronKrill@lemmy.ca
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                39 months ago

                America has the Squid Games reality show and Mr Beast. They’re kind of like Taskmaster if the point of Taskmaster was dangling life changing money in front of poor people.

              • @fsxylo@sh.itjust.works
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                9 months ago

                You’re proving my point though? Those all look like C rate game shows that show up in the worst time slots here in the states.

                If you said Doctor who, like 15 years ago, then I’d give you a solid maybe.

                • This is fine🔥🐶☕🔥
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                  69 months ago

                  look like

                  Yeah that’s an American problem. Preferring a glossy looking garbage over something non-glamorous but substantial.

                  FYI I’m neither American nor European.

                • @yuriy@lemmy.world
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                  39 months ago

                  American here, you’re straight up wrong. We have no equivalent to their panel shows. Comparing them to game shows is like comparing open heart surgery to being stabbed.

            • Ebby
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              129 months ago

              sips tea and extends pinky

              Am I doing metric right?

              • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin
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                169 months ago

                Actually no, the Brits shit on us for it but by most approaches they’re actually even worse than we are

                The bruvs be usin’ STONE out here and acting like they get to crack wise

              • @problematicPanther@lemmy.world
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                109 months ago

                Actually a size. More commonly referred to as “letter” sized. It’s 8x11.5 inches, which is pretty close to A4, but it’ll confuse printers if you mix the 2 up.

                • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)
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                  69 months ago

                  but it’ll confuse printers if you mix the 2 up.

                  So far all printers I’ve seen can switch between both. The real problem is your Writer/Word document, because after the slight reformatting it’s now all over the place.

          • @UnityDevice@startrek.website
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            69 months ago

            It’s a size of paper with an aspect ratio of 1:√2, and the short edge that is 21cm long. The long edge will then be 21√2 = 29.7cm. The aspect ratio has the interesting property that it can be halved and doubled while remaining constant.

            This has been your ISO fact of the day.

              • ISO 7304-2:2008 defines a standard for cooking spaghetti. Subsection 3.9 “Completeness” closely resembles “al denté” but isn’t true al denté; as 3.9 states “no white core visible” when a noodle is inspected crosswise with a razor blade. Al denté phase is sensed via the teeth for texture differential of the inner and outer part of a spaghetti. No agreement has been reached by international consortium of Italian food preparers and dentists as to which tooth is to be used. Thus, the standard must be reviewed every 5 years by sensory analysis.

      • @agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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        49 months ago

        Idk. Maybe because there’s only a few pieces of info on it. Someone would say “why do you need to use a whole sheet of paper for just this?”

    • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin
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      379 months ago

      Every time ya try to fix the NatID problem though suddenly it’s a surveillance state system and not just an efficient nexus for federal services and permissions.

      • @jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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        399 months ago

        There are some people who don’t want a national ID system because they think that’s like a biblical prophecy. Somehow those people are still allowed to operate heavy machinery.

        Some people don’t want it because they don’t want a functional government.

      • @Donkter@lemmy.world
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        149 months ago

        That’s the thing. At this point, anything that could replace ssn cards will be much more technical and much more invasive.

        • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin
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          129 months ago

          No, it would be less technical since it would cut down the number of cards you have to carry around, and be less invasive since it would drastically raise the difficulty of identity theft

          • They voluntarily put webcams in their houses with several known security issues which transmit everything open in the cloud. And they purposefully have a listening device which transmits to Amazon whatever they talk about in order to be able to listen to music without having to use a mouse or tap on a screen.

            But having an ID with a photo on it? That’s where they put the line

        • @Kalysta@lemmy.world
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          29 months ago

          Does it even matter when data brokers already know everything about you and happily sell that info?

          People freak about national IDs while happily giving all their info to websites like amazon or facebook. It’s insane.

      • @MisterFrog@lemmy.world
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        19 months ago

        We have the same issue in Australia, and your driver’s licence basically fills the same purpose.

        But honestly, we should just have a national ID system, and just make it optional, like a driver’s licence already is… (You just get asked for other forms of ID)

  • @JimVanDeventer@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Somebody laminated my birth certificate. But what are they going to do about it, unborn me? Wait… will they?

    Edit: What if somebody laminates my death certificate? 😭

      • @JimVanDeventer@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        How often are you even using your death certificate? I mean, yeah, the discount at Disneyworld is a sweet deal, but otherwise?

    • @Baku@aussie.zone
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      19 months ago

      Late but I think it’ll depend where you are and what security features birth certificates where you are have. Where I am, the paper has a unique feel to it and also has one of those little hologram type sticker things on the back. So I imagine laminating it would cause issues in official circumstances where they want to feel the paper. Also not sure if it’d affect the sticker things or not, but the heat from the laminator could cause damage if done wrong

      But if the BDM department where you are is lazy and literally just print your info onto an official looking piece of paper, I’d argue the point. I don’t see what laminating it would do in that situation, although when it comes to government departments, they don’t tend to be very flexible. If you were just showing it to verify your identity or working rights for a job or something I doubt anybody would refuse it in either situation

  • Hazmatastic
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    689 months ago

    I’ve heard blur is not destructive. Please use a paintbrush on 100% opacity if you do this

    • @holomorphic@lemmy.world
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      349 months ago

      Depends on the kind of blur. Some kinds can indeed be almost perfectly removed if you know the used blurring function, others are destructive. But, yes, don’t take that chance. Always delete/paint over sensitive information.

      Source: we had to do just that in a course I took a long time ago.

      • ChaoticNeutralCzech
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        9 months ago

        Actually not always, there is a script that can recover text from mosaic’d screenshots if the font and pixellation technique is known. I just use a fake mosaic – the easiest way is to paste a bitmap of non-confidential text from elsewhere in the screenshot and then apply the filter.

  • magnetosphere
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    579 months ago

    Why do people downvote posts like this? What’s the problem? It’s funny, true, and in the right community.

    • The Picard ManeuverOP
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      649 months ago

      Some people just downvote for weird reasons, so I figure it’s not worth worrying about. Someone once told me they were downvoting every post I share that has bright colors because they use dark mode… Lol

      • @PR3CiSiON@lemmy.world
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        169 months ago

        I always flip a coin for whether I upvote or downvote. It’s not really about trying to make a decision, I’m just trying to get my thumbs in shape for that thumb wrestling tournament I have coming up.

    • @M500@lemmy.ml
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      159 months ago

      Sometimes, I try to swipe to go back and accidentally up or downvote things.

    • @derf82@lemmy.world
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      139 months ago

      Because they are being stupid. You are not supposed to carry it with you. You only take it when you need to for something like the DMV. Otherwise it should just be filed away. A social security card is NOT ID.

      Also, you can get a FREE replacement.

      • @Agrivar@lemmy.world
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        39 months ago

        Thanks for the link! The last time I looked into replacing my long lost SSA card the government was much less “online” and it was going to involve spending money and traveling long distances. Thanks to you, I’m expecting a letter from SSA in the next few weeks to confirm my ID, and then I’ll get a new card issued.

    • @OberonSwanson@sh.itjust.works
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      89 months ago

      Some people just need a reason to hate and avoid any personal accountability. They’ll take anything they can get, they’ve had a shitty day/year/life and somehow beating up on a faceless stranger feels morally acceptable to them. The truth is, they are in fact just awful people, looking to justify their shitty behavior by correcting grammar or downvoting a complete stranger. Trying their damndest to avoid looking in the mirror. Whilst the rest of us humans, have a shitty day but roll with it. Because if you can’t let it roll off, you will never be happy.

    • @evolvor@sh.itjust.works
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      49 months ago

      Except it’s not true. Social Security cards are useless for identification purposes. I haven’t seen my SS card in 30 years. I’ve never been asked for it or needed it in any way for at least that long. 

    • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      It’s funny, true, and in the right community.

      That’s never stopped anybody before.

      Seriously, more than once I’ve posted something completely benign, innocuous, and appropriate in a niche community that gets maybe one post a month, and that post receives a score of -10 or something. I don’t understand it, but if you want niche communities to thrive, you have to quit caring about downvotes.

      Personally, I think that they should only have upvotes, because downvotes are a negative experience for users, and they’re too easy to game. You can have bots, sock puppets, you name it. And having a post with a negative score tells you nothing about why it has a negative score. Was it offensive? Who knows?

  • Ebby
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    9 months ago

    I’m getting “wallet” vibes which should absolutely not be where one keeps important documents. I had mine in a shoe box under my bed as a teen and it survived unscathed.

    Heck, I have a 15 year old free pizza stamp card from a shop that permanently closed in better condition. Haha!

    Edit: someone came through and downvoted every comment for the heck of it? Haha! Youuu get an updoot, and yooou get an updoot… etc.

  • @Got_Bent@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I got mine in 1986 and it pretty much looks like the picture.

    Fun side note: back then, you didn’t get a social security number until you were old enough to get a job. I was fourteen when I got my social security number.

    • @Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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      239 months ago

      My wife found out you can get one earlier as long as your parents sign off on it. They then used her social security to scam some loans while she’s a child, which fucked her up later when she moves out on her own and tried to get an apartment.

      • This is extremely common, and one of the reasons that using SSN for credit reports is a horrible practice. The only way for someone to dispute the debts is to report their parents to the authorities, which is a horrible position to be in when you’re freshly 18. The real solution would be a simple age check, to verify if the person applying for the loan is actually 18. But that is apparently too difficult would prevent banks from saddling literal children with mountains of debt.

    • @shalafi@lemmy.world
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      159 months ago

      LOL, no. I was born in '71 and my parents got me one immediately. I remember them showing me as a child and thinking, “Why do I care about this?”

      • @Got_Bent@lemmy.world
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        149 months ago

        Good for you and your parents, but it wasn’t common until 1986 when Reagan’s new tax code suddenly required social security numbers for dependents. It was 1987 when they started rolling it out as part of the birth at the hospital.

        Your lol no tone implies I don’t remember my own teen years.

      • @jol@discuss.tchncs.de
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        9 months ago

        I mean, for sure you could. In my country would didn’t get an ID card/number until you needed to get a job or travel by plane. I got mine when I was 12. But nowadays babies always get their I’d card after birth.

  • spez
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    269 months ago

    Why are you not allowed to laminate it?

  • @Hootz@lemmy.ca
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    269 months ago

    Plastic sleeve, boom problem solved, I’m 34 and I’ve only ever had one birth certificate because I keep it in a sleeve.

    But hopefully y’all Americans can phase out the physical cards like we did in Canada.

    • @diannetea@lemmy.world
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      19 months ago

      I’m 39 but I had to pay for a new copy of my birth certificate in my 20s because mine was literally falling apart due to just being old and folded up and printed on weird paper and the seal was messed up so the dmv wouldn’t take it

      I got it from my mom like that :x

  • Lenny
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    259 months ago

    Wait are we supposed to carry these around? I became a permanent resident back in 2010 and I don’t think I’ve ever taken mine out of my filing cabinet.

    • @dana@lemmy.world
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      329 months ago

      No, you don’t need to carry it around. Memorizing it and keeping it safe for the few occasions you do need the card itself is fine.

        • @hydrospanner@lemmy.world
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          369 months ago

          The last several jobs I have taken, they’ve wanted a scan of it for tax purposes.

          I think it’s ironic how this super private personal number that is unique to you and not to be shared is what you have to share with every job, college, financial institution, etc.

          • @smackjack@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            This is why I think that temporary SSNs should be a thing . It would be a number that links to your real SSN and would be used to verify your identity, but would stop working after a day or two. That way if a company has a data breach, any SSNs that get stolen would no longer work.

        • @andrewta@lemmy.world
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          29 months ago

          Real ID drivers licenses. In Minnesota it’s one of the forms they accept and if it’s laminated… They say… No

          • @limelight79@lemm.ee
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            19 months ago

            Interesting, my wife and I just got Real IDs in Maryland and didn’t take our social security cards…but now that I think about it, we used our passports for ID, so maybe that’s why.

    • @667@lemmy.radio
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      9 months ago

      The intent is for it to completely disintegrate by the time you need to claim benefits and can’t remember your SSN.

      j/k, the completely disintegrating part is true, the last part is that there won’t be any SSN benefits by the time Gen Y and later gets around to retiring.

      • @Coasting0942@reddthat.com
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        89 months ago

        There will be benefits. Congress has at least five courses of action they can take but will just leave it till the last minute for drama and to make people vote.

      • @Tinidril@midwest.social
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        79 months ago

        The whole design of the SS system is that current workers pay benefits for current retirees. The trust fund was created later in preparation for retiring boomers.

        At worst, it goes back to the original system and benefits get reduced to match what workers are putting in. That might be as high as a worst case 20% reduction, but it’s not going to go away entirely. As others have mentioned, even that is completely avoidable.

      • @Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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        69 months ago

        This is right wing rhetoric meant to convince people that cuts to social programs are needed as a way to make social services solvent, fyi.

        Social security is funded by the current tax payers, taxes were raised so that the social security could have some extra money to buy us bonds, allowing them to cash in those bonds later when boomers retire en masse. Eventually the bonds will be gone and social security will be ‘insolvent’ but this is ok! Social security is always being paid into and social security can be paid out with general funds, or by increased tax rates, or by increasing the cap on SS taxes.

        There is not actually any indication that social security is going anywhere other than Republican fear mongering.

    • @CaptainMcMonkey@lemmy.world
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      99 months ago

      I believe the primary reason is that there are counterfeiting counter measures, and if you laminated it, it would make it hard to use verification methods that allow you to make sure it’s a real one. They want to know that it is not copied, altered, or otherwise illegally fabricated.

      Also, it should be noted that this is an identification card that can allow you to do crazy things like apply for official documents and loans. This number is extremely helpful for people wanting to steal your identity. I believe the idea is that if you lose it, it should degrade and disintegrate so you can get a new one without worrying that your identity will be stolen. Although, this is just my speculation.

      • @CaptainMcMonkey@lemmy.world
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        59 months ago

        Also, you’re not really supposed to carry it around with you, the ideas that you would put this in a safe document storage place until you need it for something specific.

    • @criitz@reddthat.com
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      49 months ago

      I googled it, they say it might obscure security features which would mean it wouldn’t be accepted. They recommend a plastic case that can be removed.

      • Jessica
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        29 months ago

        Stick it in your microwave oven on high for about 10 minutes.

    • Coil
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      19 months ago

      I’ve heard that it was in the event you lost it, it would eventually disintegrate from the weather. It always to help prevent it from being used by others if found.

            • @WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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              9 months ago

              The only thing anyone’s ever done with it is photocopy it. Lamination doesn’t affect that at all.

              There’s no “security measures” on mine. Maybe there is on more recent ones though.

              • @andrewta@lemmy.world
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                29 months ago

                I was born in the seventies. So not much in the way of security there. Maybe the newer ones have something for security and it’s just a blanket policy.

                • @WarmSoda@lemm.ee
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                  19 months ago

                  They probably just say to not do it so people don’t mess with the card at all. Blanket policy is the perfect way to put it.

  • @Adalast@lemmy.world
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    229 months ago

    Oh, you forgot the part where you are only allowed a fixed number of replacements in your lifetime.

  • @peteypete420@sh.itjust.works
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    219 months ago

    I work at a DMV. I have seen 10 yr old cards shredded to shit and 80 year cards in near mint condition. If great grandpappy can do it, yall can too.

    • 4grams
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      169 months ago

      back in high school I stuck mine in a hard plastic card case. Wherever it is now that I lost it, should at least be in good shape almost 30 years later.

    • Yep. There’s no reason to carry this around with you on the daily. Stick it in a file in a safe file box of some sort. I can’t remember the last time someone asked for a physical SS card…maybe when we applied for my kids’ passports? No idea.

      • Jojo
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        49 months ago

        Maybe OP applies for a lot of jobs and is brown enough to be told they need to actually see it? Iunno

      • Something Burger 🍔
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        179 months ago

        Normal countries: “there is a picture on the ID to make it harder to use someone else’s”

        USA: “it’s so flimsy no one will use it for fear of it falling apart”

        • @captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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          89 months ago

          Well it’s not meant for all it’s used for. We’re culturally resistant to government ID cards (aside from driver’s licenses, passports, and social security cards, no this isn’t rational and it’s often from the same group because they fear both government and immigrants) and our social security cards were an early form of government ID. So basically you wind up with one of the only proofs of citizenship besides birth certificates or passports, and the only one that’s free, uniform, and everyone has being a number meant to be used to track your status with the government universal pension program that basically doesn’t exist anymore and very explicitly says not to use the way we constantly and primarily use it.

          Is this stupid? Beyond a doubt. But it’s America as a whole being stupid not the social security administration. As far as the social security administration is concerned this is just a pension ID.

    • @chuckleslord@lemmy.world
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      89 months ago

      That’s United States property and cannot be modified in any way.

      The given reason is that you can’t see the security features on the card if it’s laminated.