Originally Posted by
Jeff Neese
Ordinarily, no. But in this case if it's clearly an abandoned bike, a case can be made. I do wonder how long something sits before it's considered abandoned. Two weeks, a month? At some point you have to assume that whoever put it there isn't coming back.
No, you don't have to make that assumption. If it was my bike, and I put it there, as is MY RIGHT TO DO SO, with MY PRIVATE PROPERTY, you have ZERO RIGHT to steal it.
You consider it "unethical" to return a used tool, but bike theft is perfectly OK.
Oh, and you wouldn't be "mistaken" for a thief. YOU WOULD BE ONE.