What are the rules of cell phone etiquette and usage? - Page 3 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

kutulu · 06-28-2005, 01:14 PM

I think call screening is rude as hell. I hate it when I call someone and then as I'm leaving a message for them they pick up. I guess this time I was important enough to talk to?

pigglet:

Maybe to you but I see it as a commentary on how people care way too much about what other people are up to. Seriously, people are now complaining about people on the phone while riding the subway/bus!!!

How is a phone call so different than hearing two people talk? You don't get to listen to both sides of the conversation?

pig · 06-28-2005, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

I think call screening is rude as hell. I hate it when I call someone and then as I'm leaving a message for them they pick up. I guess this time I was important enough to talk to?

then it's damn good we interact on the boards, because you would hate my phone policy

I pretty much never answer my phone. But I'll call back a minute later. I do it to my best friends. They do it to me. We love it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

pigglet:

Maybe to you but I see it as a commentary on how people care way too much about what other people are up to. Seriously, people are now complaining about people on the phone while riding the subway/bus!!!

How is a phone call so different than hearing two people talk? You don't get to listen to both sides of the conversation?

well, it isn't. i also find it a little annoying when two people next to me in [enter public area] and are talking like they are the only two people there. when i was way-back in school, they used to talk about the old "twelve inch voice" and i think stuck with me. frankly, i don't personally want a bunch of strangers hearing what i say to my friends, so i keep low myself regardless of questions of ettiquette. i don't really care if they're on a phone, talking to another person, or talking to themselves - i just wish they'd keep it where i can't hear. same for the phone. a low phone voice in a subway-type public area = pigglet doesn't care.

Gilda · 06-28-2005, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

I think call screening is rude as hell. I hate it when I call someone and then as I'm leaving a message for them they pick up. I guess this time I was important enough to talk to?

First, what I was describing wasn't call screening. We weren't screening the calls, we were ignoring them. When doing an activity that we don't wish to have interrupted, we turn off the speaker entirely, and check messages at our convenience. If the person calling has something we need to know, they can tell the machine.

When we are taking calls, it's 100% with call screening. If I think your call is important enough to take, I'll pick up or call back. I don't see how that's rude. Your desire to talk to me creates on my part no obligation to talk to you whenever you desire. Most of the calls we get on our home phone are from telemarketers anyway.

pigglet: Love the avatar. Better Than Chocolate is a favorite movie of ours.

Cynthetiq · 06-28-2005, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

How is a phone call so different than hearing two people talk? You don't get to listen to both sides of the conversation?

It isn't, that's EQUALLY rude and people do pipe up about it when on some of the longer commutes.

People do not speak at the same volume on the cellphone that they do in person, maybe you and I do, but more often than not, people are loud on cellphones.

and do you like when people just knock on your door unannounced? Some people equal that intrusion to phone calls. My father hated when people called between 7-8pm on weekdays, that was dinner time, our friends all knew it.

StanT · 06-28-2005, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

I think call screening is rude as hell. I hate it when I call someone and then as I'm leaving a message for them they pick up. I guess this time I was important enough to talk to?

What exactly gives you the right to dial 10 numbers on a telephone and demand my immediate attention? I screen all my calls, I return the ones that I deem worthwhile (not many are).

kutulu · 06-28-2005, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

It isn't, that's EQUALLY rude and people do pipe up about it when on some of the longer commutes.

So basically what you are saying is that people should just sit and stare at the wall and do nothing that generates any noise because a subway is like a library?

Look, if you sleep 8 hours and work 9, that give 7 hours per day of free time during the week. Add in a 1 hour commute each way (not unreasonable) and that means that people spend 28% of their 'free time' commuting. Phones are a way for people to make the best of that 28% of their life that gets sucked away via commuting. I am NOT going to chastise people for that.

You are free to buy a car or get a cab if you don't like it.

Cynthetiq · 06-28-2005, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

So basically what you are saying is that people should just sit and stare at the wall and do nothing that generates any noise because a subway is like a library?

Look, if you sleep 8 hours and work 9, that give 7 hours per day of free time during the week. Add in a 1 hour commute each way (not unreasonable) and that means that people spend 28% of their 'free time' commuting. Phones are a way for people to make the best of that 28% of their life that gets sucked away via commuting. I am NOT going to chastise people for that.

You are free to buy a car or get a cab if you don't like it.

I see you like to read into what I said to blanket EVERY sound. I did not say that at all.

People don't need to be loud and boisterous to have a conversation, in person or on the phone. You aren't allowed to play a boombox on the subway and you can be cited even if the sound leaks too much out of your headphones. I'm not asking for silence, just consideration. I or another passenger may be reading a book, concentrating on something else, having our own quiet conversation.

I do own a car, and that means then I have to be even more careful of drivers who are talking while driving.

And even when I'm in a cab, the cab driver is also chatting on the cellphone. I've complained to TLC here in NYC as cabbies are NOT SUPPOSED to be on the phone when driving passengers.

snowy · 06-28-2005, 03:00 PM

Hmm...this has led me to an interesting question. I wonder how many of us do screen our calls and for what reasons.

I think for us to have a truly well functioning society we must have some element of manners, politeness, and consideration that plays into our actions. Using a cell phone on a subway or a bus is just another example. I would never dream of subjecting people to my conversation in an enclosed space. I know I have a tendency to forget how loud I am (in conversation and on the phone) and so I usually refrain from speaking in that kind of space. That's just polite behavior. I don't know how your momma raised you all, but my momma raised me to consider others when choosing a mode of behavior, regardless of what I see as my "right."

kutulu · 06-28-2005, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onesnowyowl

I think for us to have a truly well functioning society we must have some element of manners, politeness, and consideration that plays into our actions. Using a cell phone on a subway or a bus is just another example. I would never dream of subjecting people to my conversation in an enclosed space.

What I'm trying to say is that being considerate goes both ways. I think it's just as rude to get worked up about what other people are doing.

pig · 06-28-2005, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilda

pigglet: Love the avatar. Better Than Chocolate is a favorite movie of ours.

little threadjack-aside: I've...ummm...actually never seen it. What you see is the result of a random GIS. I can't even remember what I was looking for. I just liked the picture.

/end threadjack.
/end airhead moment

MSD · 06-28-2005, 04:53 PM

I have an easy solution to the cell phones in cars problem. Stop giving licenses to every idiot with a pulse. Make people actually master real driving skills. Take them out on a race track with gravel pits on the side and let them see what an emergency lane change at 85mph feels like. Take them on a highway for the driving test during heavy but fast traffic and see fi they can keep a cool head. I had to drive around the block in a suburban neighborhood plus one main road with almost no traffic for my driver's license test, and I didn't even have to back into the parking space. I learned the rest of the shit because my parents taught me how to do it. I figured out how to handle emergencies at high speeds by practicing control in empty parking lots. If we make people use real-world skills when they take the test, the idiots will be weeded out, and the rest of us can be left to maneuver around 35 of them crammed into a nice, easy-to-avoid city bus.

pig · 06-28-2005, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct

I have an easy solution to the cell phones in cars problem. Stop giving licenses to every idiot with a pulse. Make people actually master real driving skills. Take them out on a race track with gravel pits on the side and let them see what an emergency lane change at 85mph feels like....If we make people use real-world skills when they take the test, the idiots will be weeded out, and the rest of us can be left to maneuver around 35 of them crammed into a nice, easy-to-avoid city bus.

You realize, of course, that the number of accidents caused by nervous 15 year olds ramming the everloving shit out of people in rush hour traffic would go through the roof? I salute the spirit of what you're saying, but I don't think anyone would ever consider the career of "Driving Instructor" ever again. I mean, it's got to suck ass already...now you're adding a mortality rate of > 75% to it?

flstf · 06-28-2005, 05:32 PM

As folks get more fed up with cell phone useage, personal jammers like these little gismo's sales may pick up.

Cellular Mobile Phone Jammer

Quote:

Small enough to fit inside a cigarette packet.
Battery Operated (9V PP3).
9-20 VDC input.
Quad-Band Compatible (Set up to work anywhere in the world).
One switch operation.
Up to 10 metre diameter.
Coolest and lowest priced jammer on the market.
Portable, Small, Compact and Robust.
Battery or Mains compatible.
To keep you away from noise or disturbance of unexpected cellular phone calls or text messages (SMS)..
World wide compatible.
To paralyze cellular phone communication links within an effective area.
No transmissions or receptions of cellular phone calls in coverage area.
All specified frequency bands will be paralyzed simultaneously.
The coverage area is a sphere area with its effective distance as a radius.
For use at meeting rooms, conference rooms, museums, galleries, theatres,
concert halls, churches, temples, restaurants, classrooms, training centers, factories, banks, trains, buses etc.
Easy to operate. No adjustment needed.
http://www.phonejammer.com/index..htm

I understand some restaurants,theatres and hotels are using large jammers now.

Siege · 06-28-2005, 05:50 PM

It would seem to me that as phone jammers became more and more popular. Something would be done/made to prevent them from working.

A phone jammer jammer if you will

pig · 06-28-2005, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seige

It would seem to me that as phone jammers became more and more popular. Something would be done/made to prevent them from working.

A phone jammer jammer if you will

It'll be just like radar detectors. Phones will be specially made to use different wavelengths for broadcast, or different types of frequencies to cut the jamming...etc. Tom Petty will be featured on the commercials. It'll be great.

Gilda · 06-28-2005, 08:31 PM

FYI: The reason cell phone jammers are illegal in most of the US is because the jammers jam a broad band of frequencies, including those used by police, fire, and ambulance services. The concern is that emergency responders won't be able to use their communications equipment when somewhere that a jammer is being used, or at the scene of an emergency. Grace might be hampered in being able to do her job if she couldn't communicate with the doctors at the hospital where she is going to be delivering a patient.

However, I think there is a clear solution: Post quite clearly that phone jammers are in operation in a certain place, and those emergency personnel who are on call can avoid those places. If an emergency responder is on site, turn it off.

What would be nice would be passive jamming, like something that is built into the walls of the theater that blocks signals within the theater, but has no effect outside. It would solve all of the problems listed above.

pig · 06-28-2005, 08:44 PM

what would be nice would be if everyone would just do it my way

jorgelito · 06-28-2005, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilda

FYI: The reason cell phone jammers are illegal in most of the US is because the jammers jam a broad band of frequencies, including those used by police, fire, and ambulance services. The concern is that emergency responders won't be able to use their communications equipment when somewhere that a jammer is being used, or at the scene of an emergency. Grace might be hampered in being able to do her job if she couldn't communicate with the doctors at the hospital where she is going to be delivering a patient.

However, I think there is a clear solution: Post quite clearly that phone jammers are in operation in a certain place, and those emergency personnel who are on call can avoid those places. If an emergency responder is on site, turn it off.

What would be nice would be passive jamming, like something that is built into the walls of the theater that blocks signals within the theater, but has no effect outside. It would solve all of the problems listed above.

Those are good points. I'm sure they'll keep tinkering with the technology that will allow more sophisticated or accurate functions. Like only jamming "civilian" cell phones and not emergency stuff. Plus, I think cell phone jamming is mostly used inside churches, theaters, classrooms, and restaurants, not neccessarily by people randomly pointing them at emergency vehicles.

So far I haven't heard of any of those problems in the countries where they are allowed. It could be our government is protective of the airwaves (not necessarily a bad thing). We'll see.

maleficent · 06-28-2005, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigglet

what would be nice would be if everyone would just do it my way

In a perfect world, it'd be done my way

but I'll settle for your way to.. I'm just feeling cooperative tonite...

I have a new rant to add - -coming back tonite on the train from DC - Amtrak a few years ago - at customer request -- rather demands - instituted a quiet car... the rules of the quiet car are simple, no loud conversations, no loud electronics, NO CELL PHONES... You want to use a cell phone, go to another car... the cars are all the same just the quiet car is just quiet... It's worked for years...

there was this woman tonite in the quiet car.. with no less than 2 cell phones that she never stopped talking on for the entire 30 minutes she was in the car before she was tossed out onto the tracks... I heard her say to the conductor as she hit the third rail.... that she didn't think the rule applied to her because she didn't think she was talking that loudly... (Judging by her accent, she could have been heard clearly in Queens from Baltimore)

Be considerate of others is all I ask... Pretty please...

flstf · 06-28-2005, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilda

However, I think there is a clear solution: Post quite clearly that phone jammers are in operation in a certain place, and those emergency personnel who are on call can avoid those places. If an emergency responder is on site, turn it off.

I guess those of us carrying these little jammers around could wear a button with a picture of a cell phone with a line through it. "No cell phones within 50 feet."

monkeysugar · 06-28-2005, 09:36 PM

1. If you're in class, I don't think you should be answering your phone. Most of the people in my classes turned their phones off when they sat down and turned them on as soon as the class ended. I'm fine with that. There were some people who didn't, but it usually wasn't a repeat offense. Having 200 glaring faces directed at you suddenly is a pretty good deterrant.

2. If you're in the movies, don't play with your phone, or at least cover the screen with your hand like the people in my town do. It's not noticible and if it is noticible enough to piss you off, I honestly think you're the type of person looking for things to piss and moan about. Personally, I find the following things in theaters a whole hell of a lot more annoying than cell phones in theaters: crying infants, little kids, teenie-boppers, tall people, people who smell bad, and above all else, people who whisper to each other during the movie, for any reason. Whispering isn't quiet, it's extremely distinctive and annoying. To me, that's all a whole lot more irritating than a tiny screen.

3. I try not to do it, but I see the same problems when people are messing with their stereo, trying to read, eat, apply makeup, change clothes, or engage in deep conversations with their passengers. Shitty drivers are shitty drivers.

Personally when I'm at work, in a theater, restaraunt, classroom, or anywhere else where I feel a ringing phone is a breach of etiquette, I will put my phone on vibrate. If not, I have the ringer on. I have my phone on 24/7 for two very simple reasons.
1. I take care of my grandparents who are both just a few years short of 90. I'm not going to sit around the house on my free time, because I want to have a life other than watching the bird feeders and wasp traps all day for entertainment. If they're calling, they are paying long distance. The only time they call long distance is in case of an emergency, and I was sure glad my phone was on the other night when my grandma had to be hospitalized and the police/emts needed vital information about her medical conditions, immediately.
2. My girlfriend lives in Japan during the summer. That's approximately a 17 hour time difference and wildly different time schedules to work around, leaving only a few hours a day where talking to each other is possible. If she calls, I'm taking the call, end of story. I'll vacate whatever venue I'm in before I start talking, and if that offends someone I'm sorry, but when I only talk to her once a month (if I'm lucky!) I'm taking the call.

pig · 06-29-2005, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maleficent

In a perfect world, it'd be done my way

but I'll settle for your way to.. I'm just feeling cooperative tonite...

Sixth in one, half dozen in the other...

/end sappy moment

Quote:

Be considerate of others is all I ask... Pretty please...

that's what it all breaks down to.

raeanna74 · 06-29-2005, 11:14 AM

When I find myself in a situation where someone is chatting on a cell phone I try to ignore their conversation as I do when people in line are having an in-person conversation. It's rude to evesdrop when avoidable. When I CAN"T avoid evesdropping because the people are talking too loudly is when I would ask them to be quieter or in some cases save their phone call till later. I will be considerate and not complain about conversations in-person or on the phone until the they start being too loud to be considerate to me as well. In fact I will probably tolerate the rudness far longer than some would. If I say something to you though then you can be sure you asked for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

What I'm trying to say is that being considerate goes both ways. I think it's just as rude to get worked up about what other people are doing.

Suave · 06-29-2005, 11:21 AM

My cell is on all the time when I'm out. It is also always on vibrate. If I get a call in class, I just hang up on the first ring (so I know the number and can call back that person later). In the movie theatre, I walk out to the tunnel as far away as I can before I even take it out of my pocket, hence no distracting light or sound for the other people. On the road, I use it at stoplights sometimes, or pull over. There isn't much point in having a cell if you're going to turn it off, and since I don't have voicemail, it has to be on for me to be able to return people's calls.

monkeysugar: I'm one of those annoying tall people. I even try to sit with perfect posture to boot. At least I don't have a 'fro.

Janey · 06-29-2005, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

It is just plain rude to be checking your phone in a movie theatre (unless you happen to have noone sitting either beside or behind you)... it is even more rude to do this in a classroom setting and I'm astounded that anyone would even consider doing it.

Manners *are* important.

And after all, isn't this what this thread is all about? Not rights versus priviledges, but manners and etiquette. One can disregard both, but then one ends up being a candidate for the next Jerry Springer or Montel show, or a guest appearance on Trailer Park Boys...

Observance of manners provides for civility, and we all want to live in a civil society.

pig · 06-29-2005, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janey

Observance of manners provides for civility, and we all want to live in a civil society.

Or at the very least, knowing the rules allows you to know how to properly break them.

/yeah, I just ripped off the Dalai Llama.

Janey · 06-29-2005, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kutulu

Sorry but extending things to buses and public places and such is petty bitching. I guess we should all just sit there facing forward with our hands on our laps and not say a word. Fuck that. It's boring to sit on a bus and if I had to be subjected to the bus system I'd be on that phone passing time.

Want to know whats wrong with the country? A thread about phone annoyances gets 70+ responses in a day.

because we are all fed up with boors.

Charlatan · 06-29-2005, 12:05 PM

I have no problem with talking on a mobile while on the bus. Just don't shout. Speak in the same tone and volume you would if the person were sitting next to you.

Again, it's just considerate.

maleficent · 06-29-2005, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

I have no problem with talking on a mobile while on the bus. Just don't shout. Speak in the same tone and volume you would if the person were sitting next to you.
.

Not that I am going to defend the behavior becuase it makes me crazy - -(I don't want to know other people's personal business...) But there are some people who are just LOUD TALKERS... Saturday night live had an on going skit witht hem, Seinfeld had an episode about them... I was at a customer site yesterday who had two of them... they weren't on phones this was their normal speaking voice.. Hard of hearing? Perhaps...

Cynthetiq · 06-29-2005, 12:16 PM

thanks mal.. you just reminded me of Inconsiderate Cell Phone man!!!!

http://icpm.8m.com/

Quote:

"You smell like bacon sir" -- obviously funny because Rob can't smell over the phone! Duh, Rob!

Laughing at the funural -- The way he laughs is so great and inappropriate. I love it.

"It's pronounced Areola" -- Why would anyone be yapping loudly about the circle around your nipple?

"Mauled by a tiger?!?!" -- This line was the reason that they had to revise the first spot. They changed it after the Sigfried and Roy incident.

"Hold on this is important...Hey dude, whatsup?" -- Again, the tone and the smile here make it, as well as the way he looks directly at the bride.

"Ohhhh, I dunno. Probably turkey on whole wheat" -- It's not that he is ordering the food, but merely speculating as to what he MIGHT have during this business meeting.

"HA HA HA, Marty, you're a joker" -- Again, priceless laugh while someone who clearly just poured their heart out in therapy is bawling.

"Tell you what, frome here, she looks pretty cute" -- Not only do you have to wonder how he got the judge's gavel, but the fact that he disagrees with the other person on the phone implies that the other person is also in the courtroom, looking at the same girl. Hilarious!

"Oh, well happy birthday to you Nana" -- The way he says it implies something terribly funny. "Nana" must have said "Happy birthday" and he replies with "Oh, well happy birthday to you Nana."

OFKU0 · 06-30-2005, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilda

I'm just curious, is it my writing style to which you object or is it the content? If the latter, did you have something to contribute to the discussion, or did you just intend to insult me?

Both. My apologies though. Guess I'm all spent on reading discussions of cell phone use on this board that seemingly still has a search function intact.

Cuatela · 06-30-2005, 09:02 AM

Everyone should just put their phones on vibrate and use text messaging when it's "rude" to talk. And if you don't want to see someone looking at the phone, don't look at them.

Janey · 06-30-2005, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OFKU0

Both. My apologies though. Guess I'm all spent on reading discussions of cell phone use on this board that seemingly still has a search function intact.

should leave that to the mods to handle, quite an effort to go to complain

pig · 06-30-2005, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janey

should leave that to the mods to handle, quite an effort to go to complain

that's ok. at least he used good manners. so polite, so polite

analog · 06-30-2005, 06:19 PM

1. If people talk loudly on a cell phone, it's because A: they are loud talkers regardless, and the same annoyance would exist if they were talking to someone near you in person, or B: they are an idiot who thinks they have to yell into their cell phone to be heard. Neither of which can be blamed on the phone- both of those issues can only be attributed to the idiot him/herself. Regardless of the conversation, what they're saying, how "stupid" you may think it is, how useless a conversation you deem it to be- it's none of your fucking business what they're talking about, and you're a selfish ass for passing judgment on the way everyone carries on their lives. If you're a loud talker and inconsiderate of those around you, you're going to do the same whether it's in person or via cell phone.

2. Almost every invention has gone through a demonizing, had countless "experts" denounce it and "prove" how bad it is, and so on and so forth. Radio was said to be the end of the family unit, creating zombies that never went outside and played, the economy would fall because no one would go out to get the news anymore, people wouldn't have to pay for entertainment, etc. Then the TV was invented, and the same exact excuses were brought up again. As someone noted, the same excuses given now for cell phones in cars were once given for radios in cars. Experts were brought out, people failed awareness tests, bullshit like that.

3. I don't fear technology, like some people do. Fear is a product of ignorance- and in this case, it's not ignorance of cell phones, but of how little an impact they really make in the grand scheme of things.

People with weak minds, poor self-esteem, and those looking to fit in anywhere they can to get friends are easily lead and coerced into believing whatever gives them a sense of belonging, and the "popularity" gained by mutual interest in a cause. That's how cults operate, and I find it hilarious that people buy into that nonsense.

Of course, this mostly applies in America. Here in America, there is an imbalance. People's desires to get exactly what they want every second of their lives is badly disproportionate to their ability to respect others and what others want. You can't all have what you want, because then you interfere with other people's ability to live happily with what they want. We also can't all sit around trying to accomodate everyone's wishes all at once, or there would be no talking, no music, no art, no theater, no dancing, no anything. We, in America, are a society that wants what it wants, even at the cost of another's inconvenience, exactly when we want it. That means that people feel it's fine to talk in a movie theater. Yes, they're inconsiderate, but they're motivated by getting what they want.

There has to be a balance of respecting that other people have wants, but they also have things they don't want. Common courtesy goes a long way towards that end, but we (here in America) are far from any kind of resolution for this. We are so selfish as a society when it comes to each other's like and dislikes.

Also, there are many countries where the ownership and use of cell phones is so common, that their use is accepted and commonplace in a million more places than it is here- starting with the commute on the bus or subway.

We, as a country, are still coming to terms with how cell phones impact our lives, and how they change the everyday interactions we have with others. Rude and idiotic behavior is brought about by rude and idiotic people. If they happen to be using a cell phone at the time, that's unrealted. They're still rude and idiotic people. They could be holding the back half of a cat, it doesn't matter.

Gilda · 07-02-2005, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OFKU0

Both. My apologies though. Guess I'm all spent on reading discussions of cell phone use on this board that seemingly still has a search function intact.

I did a search. In the last 500 threads including the words "cell phone" the particular topics in my op--cell phones in class, cell phone screens visible in movie theaters--hadn't been addressed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by analog

Regardless of the conversation, what they're saying, how "stupid" you may think it is, how useless a conversation you deem it to be- it's none of your fucking business what they're talking about, and you're a selfish ass for passing judgment on the way everyone carries on their lives. If you're a loud talker and inconsiderate of those around you, you're going to do the same whether it's in person or via cell phone.

Exactly. Their conversations are none of my business, so I shouldn't have to listen to it.

There is a flaw to your logic. If a person is talking loudly on a cell phone, they are talking to someone who isn't with them at the moment. The conversation would not be occurring but for the presence of the phone.

gilbert- · 07-02-2005, 10:13 PM

Here, it is illegal to talk / text with your phone whilst driving a car however if you're using a handsfree method of conversation it's allowed. This i believe is quite fair as talking to someone on the phone with a handsfree kit is basically the same type of thing as talking to a passenger.
Cell phone use shouldn't be tolerated in a cinema as it is very distracting to everyone else nearby, we are asked to turn our phones off whenever a movie starts at the local cinema. Just put it on vibrate and if it starts vibrating just take the call outside the door.

Johnny Pyro · 07-03-2005, 03:18 AM

I can't stand cell phones! Everyone has one. Not me man. No fuckin way! They bug the shit out of me! We should go back to the big ass ones from the 80's. The ones you had to carry around that weighed about ten pounds. They are so annoying. Girls with cell phones are such a turn off. Can ya hear me now bitch!!!

06-28-2005, 03:00 PM	#88 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	Hmm...this has led me to an interesting question. I wonder how many of us do screen our calls and for what reasons. I think for us to have a truly well functioning society we must have some element of manners, politeness, and consideration that plays into our actions. Using a cell phone on a subway or a bus is just another example. I would never dream of subjecting people to my conversation in an enclosed space. I know I have a tendency to forget how loud I am (in conversation and on the phone) and so I usually refrain from speaking in that kind of space. That's just polite behavior. I don't know how your momma raised you all, but my momma raised me to consider others when choosing a mode of behavior, regardless of what I see as my "right." __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

06-28-2005, 05:50 PM	#94 (permalink)
Siege is a tiger Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada	It would seem to me that as phone jammers became more and more popular. Something would be done/made to prevent them from working. A phone jammer jammer if you will __________________ "Your name's Geek? Do you know the origin of the term? A geek is someone who bites the heads off chickens at a circus. I would never let you suck my dick with a name like Geek" --Kevin Smith This part just makes my posts easier to find

06-28-2005, 08:31 PM	#96 (permalink)
Gilda 32 flavors and then some Location: Out on a wire.	FYI: The reason cell phone jammers are illegal in most of the US is because the jammers jam a broad band of frequencies, including those used by police, fire, and ambulance services. The concern is that emergency responders won't be able to use their communications equipment when somewhere that a jammer is being used, or at the scene of an emergency. Grace might be hampered in being able to do her job if she couldn't communicate with the doctors at the hospital where she is going to be delivering a patient. However, I think there is a clear solution: Post quite clearly that phone jammers are in operation in a certain place, and those emergency personnel who are on call can avoid those places. If an emergency responder is on site, turn it off. What would be nice would be passive jamming, like something that is built into the walls of the theater that blocks signals within the theater, but has no effect outside. It would solve all of the problems listed above. __________________ I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that. ~Steven Colbert

06-28-2005, 08:44 PM	#97 (permalink)
pig pigglet pigglet Location: Locash	what would be nice would be if everyone would just do it my way __________________ You don't love me, you just love my piggy style

06-28-2005, 09:36 PM	#101 (permalink)
monkeysugar I'll be on the veranda, since you're on the cross. Location: Rand McNally's friendliest small town in America. They must have strayed from the dodgy parts...	1. If you're in class, I don't think you should be answering your phone. Most of the people in my classes turned their phones off when they sat down and turned them on as soon as the class ended. I'm fine with that. There were some people who didn't, but it usually wasn't a repeat offense. Having 200 glaring faces directed at you suddenly is a pretty good deterrant. 2. If you're in the movies, don't play with your phone, or at least cover the screen with your hand like the people in my town do. It's not noticible and if it is noticible enough to piss you off, I honestly think you're the type of person looking for things to piss and moan about. Personally, I find the following things in theaters a whole hell of a lot more annoying than cell phones in theaters: crying infants, little kids, teenie-boppers, tall people, people who smell bad, and above all else, people who whisper to each other during the movie, for any reason. Whispering isn't quiet, it's extremely distinctive and annoying. To me, that's all a whole lot more irritating than a tiny screen. 3. I try not to do it, but I see the same problems when people are messing with their stereo, trying to read, eat, apply makeup, change clothes, or engage in deep conversations with their passengers. Shitty drivers are shitty drivers. Personally when I'm at work, in a theater, restaraunt, classroom, or anywhere else where I feel a ringing phone is a breach of etiquette, I will put my phone on vibrate. If not, I have the ringer on. I have my phone on 24/7 for two very simple reasons. 1. I take care of my grandparents who are both just a few years short of 90. I'm not going to sit around the house on my free time, because I want to have a life other than watching the bird feeders and wasp traps all day for entertainment. If they're calling, they are paying long distance. The only time they call long distance is in case of an emergency, and I was sure glad my phone was on the other night when my grandma had to be hospitalized and the police/emts needed vital information about her medical conditions, immediately. 2. My girlfriend lives in Japan during the summer. That's approximately a 17 hour time difference and wildly different time schedules to work around, leaving only a few hours a day where talking to each other is possible. If she calls, I'm taking the call, end of story. I'll vacate whatever venue I'm in before I start talking, and if that offends someone I'm sorry, but when I only talk to her once a month (if I'm lucky!) I'm taking the call. __________________ I've got the love of my life and a job that I enjoy most of the time. Life is good.

06-28-2005, 01:14 PM	#81 (permalink)
kutulu Junkie	I think call screening is rude as hell. I hate it when I call someone and then as I'm leaving a message for them they pick up. I guess this time I was important enough to talk to? pigglet: Maybe to you but I see it as a commentary on how people care way too much about what other people are up to. Seriously, people are now complaining about people on the phone while riding the subway/bus!!! How is a phone call so different than hearing two people talk? You don't get to listen to both sides of the conversation?

06-28-2005, 04:53 PM	#91 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	I have an easy solution to the cell phones in cars problem. Stop giving licenses to every idiot with a pulse. Make people actually master real driving skills. Take them out on a race track with gravel pits on the side and let them see what an emergency lane change at 85mph feels like. Take them on a highway for the driving test during heavy but fast traffic and see fi they can keep a cool head. I had to drive around the block in a suburban neighborhood plus one main road with almost no traffic for my driver's license test, and I didn't even have to back into the parking space. I learned the rest of the shit because my parents taught me how to do it. I figured out how to handle emergencies at high speeds by practicing control in empty parking lots. If we make people use real-world skills when they take the test, the idiots will be weeded out, and the rest of us can be left to maneuver around 35 of them crammed into a nice, easy-to-avoid city bus.

06-29-2005, 11:21 AM	#104 (permalink)
Suave Twitterpated Location: My own little world (also Canada)	My cell is on all the time when I'm out. It is also always on vibrate. If I get a call in class, I just hang up on the first ring (so I know the number and can call back that person later). In the movie theatre, I walk out to the tunnel as far away as I can before I even take it out of my pocket, hence no distracting light or sound for the other people. On the road, I use it at stoplights sometimes, or pull over. There isn't much point in having a cell if you're going to turn it off, and since I don't have voicemail, it has to be on for me to be able to return people's calls. monkeysugar: I'm one of those annoying tall people. I even try to sit with perfect posture to boot. At least I don't have a 'fro. __________________ "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato Last edited by Suave; 06-29-2005 at 11:25 AM..

06-29-2005, 12:05 PM	#108 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I have no problem with talking on a mobile while on the bus. Just don't shout. Speak in the same tone and volume you would if the person were sitting next to you. Again, it's just considerate. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

06-30-2005, 09:02 AM	#112 (permalink)
Cuatela Insane Location: NC, USA	Everyone should just put their phones on vibrate and use text messaging when it's "rude" to talk. And if you don't want to see someone looking at the phone, don't look at them. __________________ Any sarcasm was intentional.

06-30-2005, 06:19 PM	#115 (permalink)
analog Banned	1. If people talk loudly on a cell phone, it's because A: they are loud talkers regardless, and the same annoyance would exist if they were talking to someone near you in person, or B: they are an idiot who thinks they have to yell into their cell phone to be heard. Neither of which can be blamed on the phone- both of those issues can only be attributed to the idiot him/herself. Regardless of the conversation, what they're saying, how "stupid" you may think it is, how useless a conversation you deem it to be- it's none of your fucking business what they're talking about, and you're a selfish ass for passing judgment on the way everyone carries on their lives. If you're a loud talker and inconsiderate of those around you, you're going to do the same whether it's in person or via cell phone. 2. Almost every invention has gone through a demonizing, had countless "experts" denounce it and "prove" how bad it is, and so on and so forth. Radio was said to be the end of the family unit, creating zombies that never went outside and played, the economy would fall because no one would go out to get the news anymore, people wouldn't have to pay for entertainment, etc. Then the TV was invented, and the same exact excuses were brought up again. As someone noted, the same excuses given now for cell phones in cars were once given for radios in cars. Experts were brought out, people failed awareness tests, bullshit like that. 3. I don't fear technology, like some people do. Fear is a product of ignorance- and in this case, it's not ignorance of cell phones, but of how little an impact they really make in the grand scheme of things. People with weak minds, poor self-esteem, and those looking to fit in anywhere they can to get friends are easily lead and coerced into believing whatever gives them a sense of belonging, and the "popularity" gained by mutual interest in a cause. That's how cults operate, and I find it hilarious that people buy into that nonsense. Of course, this mostly applies in America. Here in America, there is an imbalance. People's desires to get exactly what they want every second of their lives is badly disproportionate to their ability to respect others and what others want. You can't all have what you want, because then you interfere with other people's ability to live happily with what they want. We also can't all sit around trying to accomodate everyone's wishes all at once, or there would be no talking, no music, no art, no theater, no dancing, no anything. We, in America, are a society that wants what it wants, even at the cost of another's inconvenience, exactly when we want it. That means that people feel it's fine to talk in a movie theater. Yes, they're inconsiderate, but they're motivated by getting what they want. There has to be a balance of respecting that other people have wants, but they also have things they don't want. Common courtesy goes a long way towards that end, but we (here in America) are far from any kind of resolution for this. We are so selfish as a society when it comes to each other's like and dislikes. Also, there are many countries where the ownership and use of cell phones is so common, that their use is accepted and commonplace in a million more places than it is here- starting with the commute on the bus or subway. We, as a country, are still coming to terms with how cell phones impact our lives, and how they change the everyday interactions we have with others. Rude and idiotic behavior is brought about by rude and idiotic people. If they happen to be using a cell phone at the time, that's unrealted. They're still rude and idiotic people. They could be holding the back half of a cat, it doesn't matter.

07-02-2005, 10:13 PM	#117 (permalink)
gilbert- Tilted	Here, it is illegal to talk / text with your phone whilst driving a car however if you're using a handsfree method of conversation it's allowed. This i believe is quite fair as talking to someone on the phone with a handsfree kit is basically the same type of thing as talking to a passenger. Cell phone use shouldn't be tolerated in a cinema as it is very distracting to everyone else nearby, we are asked to turn our phones off whenever a movie starts at the local cinema. Just put it on vibrate and if it starts vibrating just take the call outside the door.

07-03-2005, 03:18 AM	#118 (permalink)
Johnny Pyro Hey Now! Location: Massachusetts (Redneck, white boy town. I hate it here.)	I can't stand cell phones! Everyone has one. Not me man. No fuckin way! They bug the shit out of me! We should go back to the big ass ones from the 80's. The ones you had to carry around that weighed about ten pounds. They are so annoying. Girls with cell phones are such a turn off. Can ya hear me now bitch!!!