In claiming that they've never been asked politely to switch, some of our posters are being disingenuous, are incredibly unlucky, or are hyper-prone to be offended. I've been asked politely many times, and at least half the time, the offered seat was equal. In 25 years of flying, only once or twice have I been offended by the asker's approach. Moreover, the cited examples of obnoxious requests do not prove that all requests are rude. They prove only that rude requests are rude.