# Cell phone ringtone in an open office environment.... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 11, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579 "2017-10-11T15:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/1 "2017-10-11T15:56:35Z")
Who thinks a klaxon is a good ringtone in this kind of environment?!? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/2 "2017-10-11T16:29:40Z")
It’ll make sure everyone’s awake… ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/3 "2017-10-11T17:25:16Z")
One woman where I used to work hand that musical piece from “The Sting” as hers. Whenever it would ring, a coworker would yell: “The icecream truck’s here.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/4 "2017-10-11T17:30:30Z")
My ringtone is that snippet from _Stairway to Heaven_ that when reversed, sounds like “Here’s to my sweet Satan…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/5 "2017-10-11T17:45:24Z")
At least it isn’t “MmmBop.” I still have PTSD from a co-worker that had that ringtone. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/6 "2017-10-11T17:56:43Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > At least it isn’t “MmmBop.” I still have PTSD from a co-worker that had that ringtone. That is funny! Thanks for the ear worm too. 😃 I can’t help but stop what I’m doing and play air marimba when Apple’s “Marimba” ringtone plays. [aside] I’ve dreamt that in the future people listen to ringtones instead of music. I was in a nightclub and various generic ringtones play. People shouted, “Yeah!” and raged into dancing to them, looped and looped and looped. [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/7 "2017-10-11T18:07:29Z")
Got a co-worker who uses the Looney Tunes “That’s All, Folks” theme. Oh Frank, you’re such a zany guy. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/8 "2017-10-11T18:50:54Z")
I try and make ringtones for nearly everyone in my contact list; I have well over 100 hundred now. Many of them are culled from metal songs (natch) and cause heads to turn in small and/or quiet spaces. Most of them are so much fun to hear that I’m actively happy that the other person called even before I say “hello”. And all of them let me know who it is without my having to look. > [@Locrian](#): > > [aside] I’ve dreamt that in the future people listen to ringtones instead of music. I was in a nightclub and various generic ringtones play. People shouted, “Yeah!” and raged into dancing to them, looped and looped and looped. [/aside] Funny you should say that; I’ve been compiling my custom ringtones under the album title _Avalanche of Ringtones_. It’s about 40 minutes long now and makes a decent if ADD-like playlist. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/9 "2017-10-11T19:04:37Z")
Also annoying when a co-worker leaves his cell phone on his desk, wanders off and it starts to ring (or play the text alert) repeatedly. I’ve been tempted to throw the phone out the window. I haven’t actually done that yet, but have turned off someone’s phone or stuck it in a drawer, just to muffle the noise. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/10 "2017-10-11T19:40:30Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > One woman where I used to work hand that musical piece from “The Sting” as hers. Whenever it would ring, a coworker would yell: “The icecream truck’s here.” I can’t believe this. Is it a sped up, almost cartoony version of “The Entertainer”? That’s what a guy here has and it bothers me wayyyy more than is logically possible. His text notification is a tweeting bird. Both go off multiple times a day. I have no idea why this bothers me so. ---
**Author:** ![hermitcrab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@hermitcrab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermitcrab)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/11 "2017-10-12T21:20:56Z")
You want to make a previously pleasant sound universally loathed? Make it into a ringtone. Doesn’t matter if its the sound of water falling, waves on the beach, birdsong, a woman moaning in orgasm, or a baby’s giggle - EVERYONE within a ten foot radius of you will HATE that sound within a week. It’s just a law of nature. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/12 "2017-10-12T21:26:08Z")
Who thinks an audible ringtone of ANY kind is appropriate for a cell phone in an office environment? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/13 "2017-10-12T21:40:05Z")
[This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJu23YZBpw)ringtone is available. It will make you sound important. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/14 "2017-10-12T21:45:02Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Who thinks an audible ringtone of ANY kind is appropriate for a cell phone in an office environment? Someone who doesn’t spend all day staring at their phone screen and yet, strange to say, wants to know when they receive a call or text. :smack: > [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Also annoying when a co-worker leaves his cell phone on his desk, wanders off and it starts to ring (or play the text alert) repeatedly. I’ve been tempted to throw the phone out the window. I don’t have that problem at work because most people here have actual offices with lockable doors and all. 🆒 But I hear this way too often on the train, when someone’s asleep or listening to headphones and doesn’t hear their ringtone or text alert going off _repeatedly_ as he/she isn’t answering it. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/15 "2017-10-13T07:57:29Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Someone who doesn’t spend all day staring at their phone screen and yet, strange to say, wants to know when they receive a call or text. :smack: > I don’t have that problem at work because most people here have actual offices with lockable doors and all. 🆒 But I hear this way too often on the train, when someone’s asleep or listening to headphones and doesn’t hear their ringtone or text alert going off _repeatedly_ as he/she isn’t answering it. :dubious: Vibrate? ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/16 "2017-10-13T11:18:38Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Vibrate? The only time I have my phone make noise is if I just got a new phone and haven’t set it to vibrate yet. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/17 "2017-10-13T11:24:04Z")
Yeah, I rarely have the ring volume set above anything louder than “silent”. Same with my daughter - her phone _never_ rings. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/18 "2017-10-13T11:29:31Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Who thinks an audible ringtone of ANY kind is appropriate for a cell phone in an office environment? Really? Every office I’ve ever worked in has a phone on every desk and the assumption has always been that that phone will audibly ring. Indeed, the stereotypical sound of an office is phones ringing. Why should that be any different for cell phones? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/19 "2017-10-13T11:43:34Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Really? Every office I’ve ever worked in has a phone on every desk and the assumption has always been that that phone will audibly ring. Indeed, the stereotypical sound of an office is phones ringing. Why should that be any different for cell phones? I think jobs and offices in general are on all different tiers of technology and personal communications policy. Many people have jobs that don’t involve answering phones. Some offices would have no personal phones ringing as a rule. It wasn’t that long ago that no one had cell phones at work at all. How is it not obvious that a business phone ringing for a business call is different than a personal cell phone with a non-business purpose? Plus, many people with cell phones don’t use them for calls or have a “don’t disturb me while I’m at work” policy with personal contacts. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2017, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579/20 "2017-10-13T11:50:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Really? Every office I’ve ever worked in has a phone on every desk and the assumption has always been that that phone will audibly ring. Indeed, the stereotypical sound of an office is phones ringing. Why should that be any different for cell phones? Desk phones don’t sit in your pocket. Ours light up. If you insist on it ringing you better have the volume set so it can only be heard within a few feet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-ringtone-in-an-open-office-environment/798579.md?page=2)