You're in a room with people and your cellphone rings, but you don't want to answer. Do you

[NightWatcher]

9 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Let it ring at full volume while everyone looks at you as though you're a savage heathen?
	2 (22%)
	Silence the damn thing because we live in a society of social norms?
	7 (78%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[DetlefK]

1. Once I was giving an important presentation and a smartphone started to ring...

The sound seemed to come from a certain direction and one of my colleagues there was shuffling in his seat, so I figured that it was his phone.

I gave him a dirty look but carried on without breaking stride as if there was no ringing.

Later, another colleague told that my behavior had been very cool... Not interrupting my speech despite my smartphone ringing like crazy.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I usually silence it before the meeting because I have some...

strange ringtones. And it is rude to answer the phone.

Once, I was in a work meeting and the phone went off with John Cleese yelling "Some bloody arsehole is calling."

(Worse, when that happened at church.)

[bif]

3. I was at an event hearing George Clinton being interviewed

Someone's phone rang. This guy answered it and had a five minute conversation at full volume. Absolutely didn't care that he was in an audience and people all around him were shushing him. Unbelievable.

[rsdsharp]

4. Several years ago my wife and I were eating in a restaurant.

There were four men in the table next to us, continually talking loudly on their cell phones. At one point the phone of the guy closest to me began to ring. Instead of answering it, he held it out to his right so that it was about a foot from my head, and continued to let it ring. I told him to answer the damn thing or turn it off. I got an ovation from the other patrons, and he slunk out to the entrance area to take his call.

[csziggy]

5. When that happens, take notes on the peoples' conversations!

That is something I read a while back - when people have loud cellphone discussions, ostentatiously take notes on the side of the conversation you can hear. Be REALLY obvious about it, holding up a notepad and pen, leaning towards them to hear better, and make sure they see you doing it. Then, if they object, tell them that in a public place with them talking at a loud volume, they obviously meant for everyone to hear their conversation so you thought it was important enough to take notes.

[rsdsharp]

7. One guy in the group was not only talking loudly on his phone,

he was giving out personal information, like his address and phone number, among other things.

[csziggy]

9. OOOhhh! I would have definitely pulled out a notepad and taken notes!

Then laughed at him if he objected.

Ages ago there was a problem with the then new cell tower down the road - we were hearing pager messages through our audio-video system speakers, even when the amp was turned off. We called the phone company and the pager company and were told by the engineers from both that was impossible.

One day I could hear one of the messages clearly enough to take notes - from the tenor of the calls the recipient was an attorney and confidential information from the clients was being shared. But one of the messages was from someone who sounded like a relative of the attorney, so I called the number she had left on the pager message. I explained what had been happening, what I had done to stop it, and my concerns that confidential info was being broadcast indiscriminately. She promised to let her father (the attorney) know.

The unwanted messages stopped the next day. I guess a demonstration that the messages I was hearing were not in my head and a complaint from an attorney had a big influence on the engineers' opinions it was impossible!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Bingo.

Any cell phone conversation taking place in public is fair game. Sometimes I simply add my own comments and attempt to join the conversation.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. I would have the phone turned off anyways. Or if I forgot to, I would turn off. I won't be ...

fumbling around etc. like you see on TV (kind of an exaggeration when you see them fumbling around looking for the phone to answer, kind of stupid), I know where the on/off button is and would calmly turn it off in my pocket.

Biggest thing here is what one previous poster put up, that you're interrupting everyone around you, etc. when you answer the phone etc. so don't.

I agree w/ this poster, in that when you do answer a ringing phone, especially when you are already in the middle of something, such as a conversation or in a meeting, you are pretty well being very rude to everyone else because it is so critical that you must answer that call right there on the spot. Let them leave a message, for heavens' sake.

My family was really bad (mom, dad, etc.) about answering the phone while you were in the middle of a conversation when them and then ring ring ring! I finally figured out that I would just simply get up and leave. I do this all of the time now, when someone is in the middle of a conversation w/ you and they answer the phone right in the middle of the conversation, I just leave (unless they specifically ask you to pls. pardon them, they have an urgent call coming in and must get this call, then that's okay, they asked you and explained why they must get the call, I can understand that).

[NightWatcher]

14. It's not just about answering it, but silencing it when you're not going to answer it.

Some people will just let it ring and ring and have no interest is muting it. That's what drives me nuts. "I'm not going to answer, and enjoy my shitty ringtone at full volume until it decides to stop ringing on its own, since I'm not going to be a decent human and push the shhh button so that it stops".

I'm convinced I will end up in jail for shoving someone's phone up their ass one of these days. If it's not the enduring ringer,it will be the person at the theater who's phone lights up the whole theater during a movie or play.

My biggest pet peeve.

[tymorial]

8. Your post made me think of this

I'm pretty sure the violinist didn't intend on performing Tarrega

[bif]

13. Sweet!

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Look around with an expression of obvious disdain for that inconsiderate fool. :)

Also known as the "Jeez, who cut that fart ?" expression.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. One time on Oprah,

and audience member's phone went off, and Oprah cheerfully had the phone passed to her and proceeded to chat with the caller.

Found a link: http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahshow/what-happened-when-a-phone-went-off-in-oprahs-audience-video