The key to working at a place like Ars Technica is solid news judgment. [eds note: tell that to Benj Edwards] I’m talking about the kind of news judgment that knows whether a pet peeve is merely a pet peeve or whether it is, instead, a meaningful example of the Ways that Technology is Changing our World.
The difference between the two is one of degree: A pet peeve may drive me nuts but does not appear to impact anyone else. A Ways that Technology is Changing our World story must be about something that drives a lot of people nuts.
“But where is the threshold?” I hear you asking plaintively. “It’s extremely important that I know when something crosses the line from pet peeve to important, chin-stroking journalism topic!”
Fortunately, the answer is simple. The threshold has been breached when your local public transit agency puts up a sign about the behavior in question.
Which brings me to the sign I saw yesterday in Philadelphia.
“Unless the tea is REALLY hot, keep the call off speaker,” it said.
(For those not in the US, “tea” in this context means gossip or news.)
I fucking hate speakerphone and don’t use it even in my van unless a photo or document is shared during the conversation that needs to be addressed.
Sure, but like, use your phone at home instead. It’s like people bringing dogs to grocery stores and restaurants (we have something of an epidemic of dogs shitting in food places when they’d have been fine in the yard for an hour here in Austin).
People with several jobs, children, household errands or some combination thereof can’t always time important incoming calls, for which they may have already left several voicemails to receive. Cinema/restaurants, I may be less tolerant.
If you’re starting with “people with several jobs,” you’re not addressing speakerphone use but rather the collapse of the social contract.