We haven't had a reclining or POS thread in a while, so let's see how ugly this one can get
Have you ever either a) been told by a fellow passenger to stop talking to someone else on a plane; or b) told them yourself? I'm not talking about asking someone who is talking to YOU to be quiet, but someone having a conversation with someone else, either in your row or in close proximity.
I've had this happen to me twice; the first time, the man in front of Mr. 757-300 reclined into his lap and apparently was going to sleep. Both my husband and I were having a spirited conversation with the other passenger in our row, who we really clicked with. Then the recliner suddenly whipped around and said, "Why don't you all STOP talking? It's rude!" Taken aback, I replied, "Don't you think it's just as rude to recline into my husband's knees?" He had no answer, so he huffed and shut up himself, but you could feel the attitude oozing over the seat back for the rest of the flight.
The second time was similar; the passenger in front of my husband had once again reclined and then suddenly literally DEMANDED that we stop talking! It was a "Me First" Princess type who I promptly told, "We'll stop when you show us the FAA regulation that forbids it." She didn't say anything else, but instead she spent the flight literally bouncing back and forth in her reclined seat. It must have drove her seatmate crazy. Little did she know that in about a minute, we would have turned on our DVD player and been quiet for the rest of the flight...but once the seat bouncing started, we felt the compulsive need to continue our conversation and to delve into some rather "interesting" topics.
There have been a few times I would have liked to tell someone else to put a sock in it, but a plane is a public conveyance, so I don't see how you can expect others to be silent because of your preference.