Thomas Hawk, a dedicated amateur photographer who has been shooting around San Francisco, has found himself increasingly confronted with goons in shops and museums who tell him to put his camera away. He's written an essay with a hall-of-shame for San Francisco businesses that are cam-unfriendly, and a hall-of-fame for businesses that encourage picture-taking:
San Francisco Giants (SBC Park): The home of the San Francisco Giants has one of the most accommodating policies regarding camera usage around: "All cameras still and video are permitted into SBC Park for Giants games. Tripods are permitted, but may only be set up in areas where they do not obstruct walkways or other guests' view of the game action." According to Rick Mears, Vice President, Guest Services, "if there isn't a very good and demonstrable reason (guest safety, or for the greater good of all guests' ballpark experience) for having a restrictive policy on our guests we won't have the restrictive policy. We want our fans to feel like honored guests when they visit SBC Park because that is precisely what they are."
(Thanks, Thomas!)