belongsto.org, know as both BelongsTo ( .net | .org ) and ItemID ( .net | .org ) , is a project by David P. Discher. Within the first year of moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, I've recorded nearly $1,000 of loses to theft. After having my car broken into and my ipod stolen (2005-Jan-25), I remembers back in the early 90s seeing services, usually for laptops, where youd register you stuff, and get a id tag, that has a 800 number and tracking number on it. These were usually tapper resistance tags, that would either display an overlaid void or message if removed. These tags would not contain your name or information. Owner information would be retrieve by calling the phone number, then the third party company would arrange for its return.

After my front bike tire was stolen (2005-Oct-26) and was found forsale on craigslist, Ive moved on this idea of creating a free stuff registration and tracking site. The great thing about labeling your things this way, is that if you every transfer ownership of the item, move, or change your phone number or email address, you do not have to worry about your name or phone number on your iPod, laptop or bike. Just logon the website, and update your information, or transfer ownership.

Ultimately, you wont have to buy any extra protection. For example, you could get your iPod laser engraved with ItemID.org/#### or BelongsTo.org/####, instead of a name and phone number. You won't have to buy something from here, though I would like to offer something like the destructible vinyl labels below ... completely optional, as you can engrave or label your items yourself, as you see fit.

Examples: Destructible Reflective Vinyl by maverick label Or CamCode's Destructible Vinyl Labels

Yes, there are commercial companies doing this. Have you ever heard of them? Have you ever seen a tag like this on someone's stuff? Not me. Why? Because it costs money. Not sure about you, but Im subscription-feed to death right now. Information and commutation should be free (or nearly so) and have no contracts or subscriptions. My idea, and hopefully the reason why it will be successful will be because its free. Well, nothing is really free, so initially Ill be footing 100% of the costs. If this project does ever go live, and becomes successful and useful, I will need to look for additional funding. I am considering donations, selling advertisements, or who knows. But first, lets build it. And it will always be free. It's your stuff.

-David, October 30, 2005