# That will teach you to turn your F\*\*\*ing cell phone off during a show! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318 "2005-11-22T20:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/61 "2005-11-23T20:08:26Z")
In Doperland, live theater performances are attended almost exclusively by mothers with sick children at home, doctors on call, and people with relatives on the verge of death. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/62 "2005-11-23T20:09:09Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > I’ll probably regret this, but I’m willing to push the argument a little further. Phone on vibrate? Not good enough. Not if the user is going to react by immediately whipping out his/her phone, lighting up his/her little corner of the Globe (ha!), and/or standing up in the middle of the show to make his way past the other patrons to and up the aisle, creating more bonus lighting and sound effects on the way out of the auditorium to the lobby. Another inconvenient fact is that phones on vibrate _do_ make a noise – at least, many of them do. And it doesn’t affect just an unlucky few near the user – it affects the performers, which affects everybody, orchestra and balcony. > > To whatever extent a person is so important and irreplaceable that they must not be denied instant contact at any hour with their client-patient-employer-babysitter-psychic friend-Commissioner Gordon, that’s the extent to which they must deny themselves those indulgences (like the theater) where people gather for other purposes not accomodating to interruption. To do otherwise is to make a present of their problems and obligations and gift them to strangers – which is just…plain…rude. So do you recommend Bed pans also? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/63 "2005-11-23T20:38:16Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I missed the onscreen reminder. Our onscreen reminders happen when you’ve been watching a minute or so of a fake movie trailer: suddenly you hear a phone ringing with the Nokia tune, and because of surround sound it seems like the ringing is coming from the audience. Then, one of the characters in the fake trailer stops, breaks the 4th wall, and chastises the “guilty party.” I don’t go to the movies very often, so I fall for this _every single time_. The Nokia tune begins, and I start looking around for the offendor. And 5 seconds later I feel like an idiot. :smack: It’s effective, though! ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/64 "2005-11-23T20:38:54Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > So do you recommend Bed pans also? You need to have someone call you on your cellphone to tell you it’s time to take a dump? Oh, all right, I’ll go a little way off-topic with you. I recommend going to the bathroom before the show, after the show, and/or during the intermission. It’s worked for small children the world over. Of course unforeseen emergencies can arise, and sometimes a trip to the bathroom can’t be postponed, and if that happens you get a pass (amazing how the puns just pop up unbidden), but that doesn’t mean you’re _not_ inconveniencing anyone: it just means you have a good reason and should be forgiven. But if such emergencies are likely, then they’re foreseeable, and if they’re foreseeable, the impact on others can and should be minimized by the above tactics or the use of products designed to cope with the problem. Of course, someone who leaves a cellphone on can be assumed to _expect_ s/he’ll be inconveniencing others. But many of those people would probably just argue that they had a right to crap in their seat. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/65 "2005-11-23T20:53:53Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Hey, you were there, too? What was really awful about it was the timing - right in the midst of one of Lisa’s “paint music on the canvas of silence” beauties. Still, it was really funny to be in the balcony and see the ocean of little blue lights that came on below us after that, as everyone immediately checked their phones and turned them off. Yeah, it was the worst timing for something like that. Had it happened during one of the louder tracks like “Nierika”, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but during this one, _everybody_ heard it. I was way up front, so I didn’t see anyone else turn off their phone 😃 > [@WhyNot](#): > > And the idiot bartender breaking beer bottles in the next room, but that’s another rant. Another worst timing in the world situation … why are you breaking beer bottles during a freaking ACAPELLA song?? For cryin’ out loud … I’ll be interested to see how the concert sounds on cd … still waiting! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/66 "2005-11-23T21:08:05Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > You need to have someone call you on your cellphone to tell you it’s time to take a dump? Oh, all right, I’ll go a little way off-topic with you. > > I recommend going to the bathroom before the show, after the show, and/or during the intermission. It’s worked for small children the world over. Of course unforeseen emergencies can arise, and sometimes a trip to the bathroom can’t be postponed, and if that happens you get a pass (amazing how the puns just pop up unbidden), but that doesn’t mean you’re _not_ inconveniencing anyone: it just means you have a good reason and should be forgiven. But if such emergencies are likely, then they’re foreseeable, and if they’re foreseeable, the impact on others can and should be minimized by the above tactics or the use of products designed to cope with the problem. > > Of course, someone who leaves a cellphone on can be assumed to _expect_ s/he’ll be inconveniencing others. But many of those people would probably just argue that they had a right to crap in their seat. Look I don’t even carry a cell phone, I dislike being called on it and I use it primarily as a car phone. (With Hands free Headset and very rarely). I just think you are being a little over the top that even vibrate is too much. Whenever I am at a Broadway play I see people get up and I have no idea where they are going. I don’t really care and more importantly I don’t mind if they do it quietly with minimal disturbance. I assume most need the “potty” and a few have got to take a call. Why is this a major hassle to you? Jim ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/67 "2005-11-23T21:27:42Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Doctors on call 24/7 generally don’t attend, and disrupt theater productions. Jerks, and mommies with entitlement issues who need to take calls from their homies, and babysitters, do. Which still doesn’t change the fact that signal-blocking or -dampening mechanics instituted by the theater or concert hall could be dangerous. No cell phone during a performance should ever be audible or noticeable to anyone to whom it doesn’t belong, but there are people who have to be reachable at all times for safety’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/68 "2005-11-23T21:28:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes but if my phone signal has been dampened or I have been forced to give it up before I can go in I will not get that important message. If you have tubes in your ears, it’s incumbent upon you not to stand in the YMCA pool up to your neck and ask other people to stop splashing. If you are allergic to cigarette smoke, it is incumbent upon _you_ not to sit in the tobacco shop and demand they remove all of their allergenic items for your comfort and convenience. If you are expecting a message so important that you can’t turn your phone off, it’s incumbent upon _you_ not to go anywhere that turning off your phone is an entry requirement. Trust me on this one: _I was an organ transplant receipient with a 24/7 pager._ If I couldn’t be _at the doctor’s office_ within 2 hours of a page, the donated organs for which I had waited months might die waiting for me. It was my responsibility and nobody else’s that I respected the urgency of that responsibility. I can’t see why anybody would argue that the other paying patrons of a theater must all kowtow to Mr. Important With the (Self-)Important Message. ---
**Author:** ![MessyPaint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@MessyPaint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MessyPaint)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/69 "2005-11-23T21:32:46Z")
it’s rather ridiculous however, that there was a standing ovation… think about it… people do idiotic things everyday of their life, and then suddenly as a group they indulge in someone elses mistake…yes, she should have had her phone off, yes, she should have learned by the first ring… but quite frankly, i dont think you are very intelligent/independent if you took part in some grand cheer to an asshole actor (who shouldnt have taken responsibility of informing her of her blunder) and some moronic woman. just my spare change… ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/70 "2005-11-23T21:33:20Z")
So doctors, some military officials, and people with ill relatives _never_ get to go to the theater or concerts? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/71 "2005-11-23T21:36:57Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > So doctors, some military officials, and people with ill relatives _never_ get to go to the theater or concerts? If we subscribe to **The King of Soup** rules of theater going ; Yes. Jim ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/72 "2005-11-23T21:55:14Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Look I don’t even carry a cell phone … Great! Neither do I. Let’s be buddies. > [@jrfranchi](#): > > I just think you are being a little over the top that even vibrate is too much. Well, mostly as it still causes the much larger interruption of someone getting up in front of everyone and bumping their way down the row to the aisle, but yes, I’m clearly at the extreme end of the argument. That doesn’t bug me, and I don’t expect that everyone will join me out here. > [@jrfranchi](#): > > Whenever I am at a Broadway play I see people get up and I have no idea where they are going. > I don’t really care and more importantly I don’t mind if they do it quietly with minimal disturbance. I assume most need the “potty” and a few have got to take a call. Why is this a major hassle to you? I wouldn’t characterize it as a major hassle. But for people to leave their seats and the auditorium, and later to resume them, during the performance, is distracting and rude (I like theaters that prevent re-entry during the performance, and some do) and sometimes can rise to that level. I am sure that sometimes there’s a very good excuse for it that deserves everyone’s sympathy. But it is _still_ distracting and rude, and should be discouraged. I am unsympathetic to the point of view that rude behavior somehow isn’t wrong if there’s a reason for it, especially if the reason is merely pleading someone’s personal convenience (urgent bathroom breaks excepted, as noted above). That they are being rude as quietly as possible doesn’t impress me much either. What can I say? I was taught to sit still and be quiet during a performance. It was assumed that I would do so _because_ the performance and the rest of the audience was more important than my convenience, not only until I could construct a plausible excuse that it wasn’t, somehow. But no hard feelings. Opinions are like neckties: we can admire each others’ without having to wear them home with us. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/73 "2005-11-23T22:04:25Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > I also recall reading the text of a very pointed curtain speech for a production of _Macbeth_, as read by Lady Macbeth (and haughtily, as only that character can be). In it, she said most people let their cell phones ring in public to show how important and needed they are, but in truth, **truly** important people can afford to tell their underlings not to bother them at the theater, while only workaday slaves are tied to their phones. > > Not sure how well that went over, but the scything manner of the text was sure fun to read. I think leaving your cell phone on is very inconsiderate, but that is the _wrong_ way to handle it. Heck, I’m just reading _about_ it and it’s not going over well with me at all. For one thing, it sneers at pretty much everyone with a cell phone, not just the irresponsible. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/74 "2005-11-23T22:23:32Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I don’t see what the big deal is. When you get on a plane and you know you’re going to be flying at 40,000 feet for the next five hours with no phone service, what do you do? You deal with it because you have no choice and don’t want to make the plane crash. And if you really needed the phone, there’s one right in front of you anyhow. I thought I heard some time ago that airlines are actually considering changing their rules about phone use, but I don’t know the status of that. > [@](#): > > When you go to the hospital and see a sign that says “no cell phones beyond this point” what do you do? You turn your phone off for the safety of other people. It pains me to say this, but I guess I have to: the movies and the theatre are less important than hospital machinery and the communications systems on an airplane. Thus, when someone’s ringing phone interrupts your movie or show, it’s irritating and assholish, but nobody’s life is damaged. For that reason, I’m not convinced that the more extreme measures are justified. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/75 "2005-11-24T00:14:23Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > Great! Neither do I. Let’s be buddies. > > Well, mostly as it still causes the much larger interruption of someone getting up in front of everyone and bumping their way down the row to the aisle, but yes, I’m clearly at the extreme end of the argument. That doesn’t bug me, and I don’t expect that everyone will join me out here. > > I wouldn’t characterize it as a major hassle. But for people to leave their seats and the auditorium, and later to resume them, during the performance, is distracting and rude (I like theaters that prevent re-entry during the performance, and some do) and sometimes can rise to that level. I am sure that sometimes there’s a very good excuse for it that deserves everyone’s sympathy. But it is _still_ distracting and rude, and should be discouraged. I am unsympathetic to the point of view that rude behavior somehow isn’t wrong if there’s a reason for it, especially if the reason is merely pleading someone’s personal convenience (urgent bathroom breaks excepted, as noted above). That they are being rude as quietly as possible doesn’t impress me much either. What can I say? I was taught to sit still and be quiet during a performance. It was assumed that I would do so _because_ the performance and the rest of the audience was more important than my convenience, not only until I could construct a plausible excuse that it wasn’t, somehow. > > But no hard feelings. Opinions are like neckties: we can admire each others’ without having to wear them home with us. Happy to agree to disagree with no ill-will. Besides I only go to 2 plays a year anyway. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/76 "2005-11-24T00:25:56Z")
Ringing is one thing. But the other thing that gripes me is people who put their cell phones on vibrate, but have enough flashing lights on their cell that a helicopter could land using it for a guide. And of course, they have to take it out and see who’s calling. Repeatedly. I have been known to yell at them. I’m usually just one voice in the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/77 "2005-11-24T00:45:54Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > So doctors, some military officials, and people with ill relatives _never_ get to go to the theater or concerts? > [@jrfranchi](#): > > If we subscribe to **The King of Soup** rules … Yes. Missed this exchange. Let’s take the easy one first. All these people are allowed to go to the theater. None of these people is entitled to spoil the performance for anyone else. See the difference? 1. Doctors/Military. I know a few. I don’t know any who are on call 24/7 for their entire lives. If any job requires that a person be instantly available at all times, with no scheduled down time _at all_, the job requires that the person modify his/her behavior accordingly. You wanna argue for that same hypothetical person’s right to have a few beers at a party and then go to work? Basically, if you’re important and irreplaceable enough to claim the right to be rude in a theater, you’re too important and irreplaceable to be allowed ever to go home, much less out on the town. Fortunately, by and large, such jobs and people do not exist. The occasional professional or specialist called out of a theater for a legitimate reason, oh well. I’ll excuse them, but they’re leaving anyway – it’s an emergency, remember? 2. Ill Relatives. Sympathy for the ill relatives, not for you. Sure you love them, but what exactly entitles you to leave their sides for _your_ entertainment and then demand the right to spoil _my_ evening on the grounds of your devotion to them? Pick some other diversion, or stay home (if it’s that critical a situation), or resign yourself to having to call before Act One, during the intermission, and after the curtain (and exactly what harm would accrue from an hour’s delay? _You_ aren’t their doctor). You get to decide which is more important – instant information about your relatives or a particular amusement at a particular time – and I won’t criticize your choice. But, having demonstrated that you think the theater is more important, don’t turn around and claim the reverse just so you can assert the privilege of rudeness to others. I’m not out to punish anybody. I recognize that sometimes ettiquette can and should take a back seat to exigent circumstances. I think that those circumstances are often far too broadly defined by those whose sense of entitlement exceeds their sense of social responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/78 "2005-11-24T01:59:42Z")
We’ve discussed the cell phone jammer thing a few times. The thing to remember is that many cell phones operate on frequencies adjacent to those used by many public safety agencies (EMS, Police, fire) and any jamming of phones would most likely jam these radios as well. St. Urho Paramedic ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/79 "2005-11-24T02:10:02Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > What I said was, “Doctors on call 24/7 generally don’t attend, AND DISRUPT theater productions.” > > A doctor waiting on that organ transplant is going to put his or her pager on vibrate. You, I have a feeling, are going to be the one taking a call from your girlfriend/boyfriend who just wants to know “whatcha doin’?” or from the babysitter because little Suzie won’t go to bed until she hears mommy or daddy’s voice “just one more time.” And apparently, you’re willing to sue anyone who VIOLATES YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS by telling you to take your silly unimportant phone calls outside. Obviously you have never ever heard of someone using a specific text message like oh, 911-mom or 911-dad to indicate a problem… \ As a matter of fact, there are very few people who actually have my cell number - I use it for emergency or important calls only. And if someone is the type who puts it on vibrate, you automatically assume that they will whip it out and answer it? Asshole. :rolleyes: What part of _I_ put my phone on vibrate. Which _you_ quoted did you not understand? A cell phone is a tool, and many people are actually capable of using it correctly as such. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318/80 "2005-11-24T02:21:58Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > 1. Ill Relatives. Sympathy for the ill relatives, not for you. Sure you love them, but what exactly entitles you to leave their sides for _your_ entertainment and then demand the right to spoil _my_ evening on the grounds of your devotion to them? Pick some other diversion, or stay home (if it’s that critical a situation). I truely hope that you never have to deal with a chronically ill or _very_ elderly parent/child/loved one. To tell someone that is in a high stress time of their life that they cannot seek a few _very_ short hours of down time is intense cruelty. If you ask any family advocate in a hospice or eldercare situaton they will confirm that the healthy members need to take care of their physical and mental health. Part of caring for your mental health is getting away from the situation for a few hours and doing ANYTHING except worrying about the situation at hand. Sod off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-will-teach-you-to-turn-your-f-ing-cell-phone-off-during-a-show/332318.md?page=5)