FC Chest just gets raded, and GMs can do nothing.

[Purrfectstorm]

While there is something to be said for being careful, protecting yourself, and not putting yourself in compromising positions, I do not agree with what many have said that this is the OP's fault. One of the things I hate about this world is that victims seem to get blamed more than the perpetrators. Stealing is stealing, regardless of whether the OP (or their FC leader) had a lapse in judgment. Nobody can be 100% on their guard 100% of the time.

I think I can relate to how you feel, OP. I, too, have had things stolen from me, in-game and IRL. I think it sucks, I wish we didn't live in the kind of world where people hurt each other, and I wish when someone did hurt us that others would refrain from deepening the hurt by blaming us.

I work in restorative justice and one of the things I've observed is that offenders tend not to understand the harm they are causing someone else; they don't connect with the victim or the society in which they live. When someone is made to understand the effect their actions have on others, it can be really transformative, but unfortunately this rarely happens.

I'm sorry this happened to you, OP, and I'm sorry the GMs have done nothing about it. Try to spread the word within your FC and the community in general, warning them about this sort of thing. Let others know about the perpetrator in particular (social sanctions can be a powerful behavior changer). Above all, don't listen to those who blame you for this. It is 100% the thief's fault. All you did is trust someone and I think it's nice to be generous to others (strangers or not). I use the word "generous" in a situation like this because you are assuming someone isn't a douchebag. I don't think there's anything wrong with that (99% of the time you'll probably be right). Just remember to watch out for that small percentage of people who are douchebags; they'll ruin things for decent people if given half a chance.

In my FC, I made a conscious choice to trust people, even knowing that some would probably steal from us. I let all members use the chest but I suggested that they be careful because all members had access. This worked really well for over a year, but as the FC grew more and more valuables ended up in the chest eventually we had someone steal from us. Even this did not deter me at first. Members were warned again to be careful. Some time went by. Then it happened again. Finally, I changed settings so new members couldn't access the chest. However, after even more time went by, I didn't like having to make the distinction between "new" and "veteran" members (and some veteran members proved to be no more trustworthy). So now the FC chest is just for my partner and I, although we will store and retrieve items for members if they wish. And as the saying goes: "This is why we cannot have nice things."