# Answer that damn thing, or turn it off!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [July 21, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513 "2005-07-21T18:27:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513/21 "2005-07-22T18:54:25Z")

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> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> You got a finite allotment of beebles. I don’t know how many you get but it’s definitely limited, and when you let it beeble one beeble too many I’m snatching it, running down the hall screaming “BOMB!!!”, and I’m throwing it in the toilet.

This, people, this paragraph is genius. I love this image.

😃

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**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513/22 "2005-07-22T20:59:43Z")

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The one that gets me is business meetings.

Here we all are, talking important stuff (well, at least some folks feel it’s important stuff), with people in three other states conferenced in and doing a Webex, when all of a sudden some fairly senior person receives a call, treating us to some totally goofy ring tone that is more appropriate for a college kid than a senior manager or director. The person usually apologies, runs out the door, and takes the call. What gets me is what follows: everyone heard it; everyone thought “what a bozo”; yet, no one then thnks to put their own phone on vibrate at that very moment. Five minutes later, another bozo gets a call.

Maybe it’s just me, and I’m not one for stodgy suit-and-tie professionalism, but I think those ringtones really are unprofessional and have no place in a business context.

Folks, just put them on vibrate whenever you’re in a meeting. It isn’t that hard. In fact, I switch mine to vibrate before I slip it in my pocket when I leave for work. It only goes off vibrate when I leave work.

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**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513/23 "2005-07-22T21:24:47Z")

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Now that email and text messaging has been invented, isn’t it high time to dis-invent the telephone? I hate the damn things.

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**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/answer-that-damn-thing-or-turn-it-off/313513/24 "2005-07-22T21:56:37Z")

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> [@bluethree](#):
>
> Now that email and text messaging has been invented, isn’t it high time to dis-invent the telephone? I hate the damn things.

I’ve only just trained my parents to use email. Training them for text messaging and untraining them on phones would take forever!

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