# What part of "No soliciting" don't you understand? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402 "2011-05-27T04:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/42 "2011-05-27T20:39:42Z")
Had a few young people coming in our store with a duffel bag of items to sell to customers and staff. When the third one hit us the two of us up front told him as he entered , “You’re not allowed to sell those things in here” politely. When he just smiled and started his spiel anyway, we snapped, “What did we just say to you?” he grabbed his bag and stormed off as if we were the assholes. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/43 "2011-05-27T21:00:46Z")
Some JW’s came round the other afternoon. I had been enjoying some … ahem… “adult entertainment” on the computer, and mishit the pause button. The apparently rather loud sound track made an interesting backdrop to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/44 "2011-05-27T21:01:25Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Had a few young people coming in our store with a duffel bag of items to sell to customers and staff. When the third one hit us the two of us up front told him as he entered , > > “You’re not allowed to sell those things in here” politely. > > When he just smiled and started his spiel anyway, we snapped, “What did we just say to you?” he grabbed his bag and stormed off as if we were the assholes. Reminds me of a time when I worked in a restaurant and this possibly-homeless Chinese lady came by trying to sell… I think it was socks? That almost seems too absurd to be true now that I type it but I’m pretty sure it was socks. Anyway, she tried to sell them to some people eating out on the patio area when I confronted her and told her she couldn’t solicit here. So what does she do? She makes a beeline for the front door in an attempt to solicit to the people eating _inside the restaurant_. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/45 "2011-05-27T21:11:56Z")
I had to take down my “No Soliciting” sign-the prostitutes wouldn’t come around any more. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/46 "2011-05-28T00:06:20Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I wonder… if one were to answer the door wearing a holstered gun, and politely inquire “yes?” while absently mindedly scratching oneself where the holster was making one itch, would this be considered brandishing? > > And would you need a carry permit to wear such a holstered weapon in your own home? (I assume that the laws are different for concealed carry vs. open carry?). No carry permit required in CA for it. It’s not brandishing by the legal definition unless you’re holding it, either. But the scratching where it is could be considered a threatening gesture, and in some crimes the mindset of the victim is all that really matters. If they felt like they were threatened and in danger… Something to that effect. Plus, if you don’t have video, it’s a he said, she said… And they can claim you drew the gun and pointed it. How can you prove otherwise? Too much room for ugliness. Best to slam doors in people’s faces and call the cops yourself if they get ugly with you. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/47 "2011-05-28T00:19:23Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > For some reason, my husband always objected to being locked out of his own house. My wife is a big door locker, and used to lock the screen door. Then we came home one night when the power had gone out (disabling the garage door), and we had to borrow tools from the neighbor to take the glass out of the door so we could get in. ---
**Author:** ![Nik\_Notorious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@Nik\_Notorious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nik_Notorious)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/48 "2011-05-28T01:04:09Z")
A little over ten years ago, I was a door-to-door salesman. This thread reminded me of what my boss at the time told us. He insisted that we flat out ignore No Soliciting signs. “They aren’t legally binding, just ignore them and go sell those pizza coupons.” I was new at the time, so I was paired up with a more seasoned veteran. He had no problem pretending those signs didn’t exist and happily rang doorbell after doorbell with predictably poor results. I probably don’t have to tell you, but that’s not a fun way to make a living. When the time came for me to go out on my own, I left the company. There was no way I was going to attempt to sell something to someone who clearly wasn’t interested in buying. I only wish I’d have asked somebody how it made any sense that we waste time at a house that wasn’t going to buy when there were so many other chance. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/49 "2011-05-28T04:25:08Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I know I’ve told this story before, but I’ve made it a habit of not answering the door if I don’t know the person, especially if that person is holding a clipboard, a brochure, a box of candy bars, etc. How do I know what they’re holding? I look out the window. Sometimes they see me looking at them, after which I still refuse to open the door. By their level of persistence, it’s obvious that some of them believe that if eye contact is made, or if it’s obvious that someone is home by the sounds inside the home, that there is some sort of law that compels us to open the door. There is not. I love this. It’s so wonderfully dismissive. Fortunately, it seems our No Soliciting sign works. We used to get a lot of salesmen, but only a couple in the past year have dared ignore it. And I think they were all political boosters. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/50 "2011-05-28T05:06:19Z")
> [@Mauvaise](#): > > You could try this one for the religious nuts: > > [Amazon.com: No Preaching' Door Plaque : Home & Kitchen](http://www.amazon.com/Ring-of-Fire-Enterprises-Preaching/dp/B000ETKZIE/ref=pd_sim_misc_4) I might have to buy the T-Rex eating the Jesus fish from them. I hate door to door people, too. I work late so they always ring the door when I’m sleeping during the day. ---
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/51 "2011-05-28T05:43:22Z")
The signs don’t apply to them because, in the words of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who knocked on my door a couple years back, “we’re not selling anything, just offering the lord.” Anti-pit: I did have to give a few points to the lady running for some office or other during the last election. I once got a letter in the mail saying something to the effect of “I was going around meeting your neighborhood, but you had a No Soliciting sign on the door, so I didn’t disturb you.” I was going to vote for her anyway, but hey, nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/52 "2011-05-28T06:42:40Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Sign-based approaches in general are really weaksauce. You know what does work though? Booby traps. Don’t tempt me. I’m thinking that the letter carrier wouldn’t like this, either. You know those old gags of a trap door in front of the Big Boss’s office desk? And the Big Boss likes to push the button? That’s what I dream of. Gotta have SOME way of feeding my tigers, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/53 "2011-05-28T15:02:15Z")
I’m thinking of getting [this owl](http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/05/27/funny-pictures-or-else/) pic made into a sign. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/54 "2011-05-28T15:36:11Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > It was so bad that some advertising place actually sent out _magnets_ (the doors were metal) saying “think you, we do not need any firewood”. I like the Elizabethan language, but I think that sign is a little unclear. It sounds like a question. I imagine the solicitor saying to himself, “Methinks they doth.” ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/55 "2011-05-28T19:56:46Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Thank you SO much. Since you know that I’ve talked to the people in my neighborhood about this problem, you know that it doesn’t work for THEM, either. > > SA’s granny might have had good results with her sign. Maybe she has less aggressive solicitors, or maybe she doesn’t sleep as lightly as I do. Dunno. But I know that my experience is not unique. It was pretty common in my old neighborhood to compare the latest solicitors, and gripe about them. And most of my neighbors did have a no soliciting sign on the door. > > One of the things that I like about this new neighborhood is that we’ve only had one or two solicitors since we’ve moved in. It’s a different town, and it requires [door-to-door solicitors](http://www.ci.north-richland-hills.tx.us/dept_citysecretary_solicitors.aspx) to get a permit before they go out soliciting. JW’s, Mormon Missionaries and their ilk would not be required to get the permit. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/56 "2011-05-29T10:37:19Z")
Giant check holder: The sign says no solicitors, Ed. Ed McMahon: But… GCH: No buts. Ed: I guess we’ll have to draw another grand prize winner. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/57 "2011-05-29T11:10:51Z")
the advantages of 1. Having an intercomm with a video so you can see who is there. It makes not answering so much easier. 2 Living in a foreign country. Even is one were inclined to answer the chime, one one can understand what you say. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/58 "2011-06-20T00:29:10Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I don’t have this problem living in a condo, but I wonder if anyone has ever had luck with a “trespassers will be shot on sight” or “attack dog on premises” sign or something like that. We made our own sign, it says: “No Solicitors. Violators will be considered dog food” We’ve only had a few dare to ignore it. We’ve had a few pizza delivery guys who were afraid to knock, I had to explain that they were INVITED to our home, so it didn’t apply to them. So yeah I think there is something to the notion that some people really don’t know the meaning of the word soliciting, hence they ignore it. I have even mentioned to my husband that we should consider adding the definition of soliciting underneath the sign. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/59 "2011-06-20T17:22:28Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > My wife is a big door locker, and used to lock the screen door. Then we came home one night when the power had gone out (disabling the garage door), and we had to borrow tools from the neighbor to take the glass out of the door so we could get in. My husband once was forced to crawl through the dog door to get in as I’d locked every other door (even the kitchen door to the garage which isn’t accessible unless you know our garage door key code…). We have issues with solicitors in our neighborhood - mainly the school age variety of boy scouts, girl scouts, and kids selling candy bars and frozen food stuff. Though the most annoying are probably the home improvement types and the religious. I sort of do what **PunditLisa** does though - if I don’t know the person through the window of the door I just back away and go back to what I was doing. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/60 "2011-06-20T18:12:45Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I wonder… if one were to answer the door wearing a holstered gun, and politely inquire “yes?” while absently mindedly scratching oneself where the holster was making one itch, would this be considered brandishing? > > And would you need a carry permit to wear such a holstered weapon in your own home? (I assume that the laws are different for concealed carry vs. open carry?). I have a rather evil looking battleaxe (purchased at RenFest) leaning beside my front door. I often have it in hand when I answer the door to strangers. (If there are children I don’t display it - if the person is male I always display it) Amazingly enough, I haven’t had any visits from JW’s in years! ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402/61 "2011-06-20T19:26:36Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > JW’s, Mormon Missionaries and their ilk would not be required to get the permit. More’s the pity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-no-soliciting-dont-you-understand/583402.md?page=4)