athenot
5 hours ago
This is a fun app.
One way I deal with people talking on speakerphone, is inviting myself into their conversation and making comments as if I were an active participant. That usually earns me a weird look, and then they go off speaker so I can't hear what's been said. Success.
Similar with folks watching reels on speaker, I fake a laugh or make comments about the content. It's awkward enough that they usually stop because they want a moment alone, not an interactive session with a stranger. Which ironically is the same thing I want too.
indrora
2 hours ago
A friend of mine works AV at shows that have rotating DJs and one of the things she has on her mixer board is "The Suck Button."
It causes a mic at the other end of the room to get cut into the DJ's live feed monitor with a semitone shift down and some reverb. This causes all sorts of inner-ear chaos and usually clears a DJ off the stage when they're over time within a few minutes at most -- usually under 30 seconds. One time they were trying to figure out why it wasn't working and discovered that the DJ had muted their monitor feed, which explained why they were not only peaking the meters but over time: They hadn't heard the FOUR warnings from the back of house that it was time to wrap up.
inlined
an hour ago
There was a coffee shop ages ago in SF that would every few hours play a cacophony (e.g. multiple songs at once). I assume it was to drive away people camping on their laptops to rotate tables. Understand but super annoying to people like me who had a timer to but food or drink no less than hourly to be a good citizen
acomjean
43 minutes ago
We had a friend who would play Metal when the ice cream store he worked at was closed but the customers were lingering too long. It generally worked, as he was immune.
reincarnate0x14
25 minutes ago
I introduced my local restaurant owner to Mongolian Techno and the late night bar flies and some of the kitchen staff have never forgiven me. He won't admit if he plays it for himself, or because of them :)
pseudosavant
2 hours ago
I've recently become a convert to this kind of thinking. The person invited the public to join in when they decided to have a public speakerphone call. If they don't want my responses or laughter, they get annoyed and stop the behavior I was finding annoying in the first place.
I don't even have to act like I'm bothered by it, or that I find their behavior offensive. They change their behavior because they are bothered by mine.
onethought
2 hours ago
How is that different than two people talking in person? Do you interrupt them as well?
itishappy
an hour ago
Yup. Online too! I have no qualms about adding my two cents to any loud public conversations.
mezyt
an hour ago
A half conversation is a lot more disruptive because your brain try to fill in the gap of information.
stavros
an hour ago
Do you think having your conversation on speakerphone in public is the same as talking to someone?
sdenton4
42 minutes ago
People talking to each other in person tend to modulate their voices to match the context. People talking on speakerphone tend to crank the volume and shout.
stavros
41 minutes ago
Plus devices are tinny and grate. Watching a video on the phone of someone speaking is much more annoying than someone speaking in person, even at the same volume.
xattt
4 hours ago
How do you deal with the small possibility that the offending person is unhinged (since they’ve already chosen to throw out societal mores out the window) and could physically hurt you?
Spooky23
3 hours ago
It’s a two-way street.
I used to have to deal with unhinged people on the regular and one of the techniques that keep the peace and stay safe is to present an edge that gives the vibe that you may be more unhinged.
My dad used to run housing projects, and my uncle was an assistant principal at one of the most violent schools in New York City. They were like Jedi masters of presence. They had stories that were absolutely insane.
echelon_musk
13 minutes ago
> They had stories that were absolutely insane.
Don't leave us hanging.
cool-RR
3 hours ago
It's my fantasy to do this. Congrats on having the courage.
hyperbolablabla
an hour ago
My friend does this and I feel the same way. I could never bring myself to do this, I cant even smile at people
anotherevan
an hour ago
Sidled up next to the guy and said loudly, “Mr Smith? Mr Smith? The mistress is ready for you now!”
NoSalt
4 hours ago
This is a good way to shanked on the D.C. Metro.
jcbe
3 hours ago
Kind of a funny day to post this (WMATA just released data showing crime rates at a 25-year low)
nailer
2 hours ago
I have do idea about DC but I don't trust crime rate stats - a lot might be unreported.
In NYC last year someone burnt someone else to death while they sat, relaxed and watched, and in a seperate incident a person died died and someone else had sex with them afterwards.
It could that be crime is lower or it could be that insane brutality has become normalized.
stavros
an hour ago
But do you have reason to believe that crime is reported less often now than in the past?