Cell phones are over abused. Most of the cell phone conversations I hear in airports sound like this to me:

"Yeah, They just called my row, I'm walking down the jet way and now am getting on the airplane. Yeah, the plane is packed. Wow. Now I'm in my seat and putting the seatbelt on."

(In other words, no content at all, just pointless babble that is just noise pollution.)

As a teacher, I've warned my students that if their cell phones ring just once while I am lecturing, their final grade could fall by a full letter.

Adam

I'm a recovering cellphone user. Haven't owned one for 3 years now, travel a lot for business, and seem to get along just fine.

Was flying the other day. The guy next to me pulled out his phone the SECOND the plane landed, and was pushing buttons before we even taxied off of the runway. The FA who was seated directly in front of us facing us (F-class on a UA 737) saw this and told him to cease immediately (this was after they made the standard announcement that electronic devices cannot be used until we were parked at the gate and the doors were open). He stopped, but gave a grumble under his breath toward the FA...WHAT THE HECK IS SO IMPORTANT THAT IT CAN'T WAIT 4 MINUTES!?!?!?!

Thought about saying something similar to what I say to my friends when they rudely take a call over me. Something along the lines of "Doctor, has the heart arrived from the airlift yet? Do you have time to make it to the hospital to perform the transplant?"

Jamming is a bad idea. I'm responsible enough to leave all of my gadgetalia on vibe, and I think others should definitely do the same when in public places. Yes, I'd be furious if somebody's cell phone ruined a great piece of classical music. But we shouldn't attack the technology - we should, as a society, change our cretinous behavior.

Most of my colleagues now use a two-way pager for business commo. That way, you can respond "I'm at lunch with a client...will call you in an hour" without disturbing a soul. Not to say that 2-ways pagers can't be abused too - I'd hate to eat lunch with someone who spent the whole hour tapping away at the little keys - but they are a vast improvement over a cell phone in specific situations. Most two-way pagers also have an option to silence the key-clicks, making them completely silent.

I also like the silent car on the train and silent rooms in restaurants. Those are a great idea...I just don't like the idea of jamming.

Side topic: Anyone here ever wonder whether casinos jam cellular signals? I noticed that my phone and pager both immediately become useless upon setting foot in any of the large Las Vegas casinos. Maybe they build those huge buildings out of lead or something...

Jamming licensed radio signals is illegal in the United States. Therefore, I don't believe anyone does this until it is proven to me.

I am glad that you are such a good judge of what is and is not meaningful content, and I hope you instill the same open-mindedness in your students. I, for one, will continue having these "pointless babble" conversations with the people who are important to me. And if you stare at me, I will stare right back at you. (By the way, ever seen the social psychology findings about how most of the "connection" of interpersonal relationships comes about from having exactly such "content-less" conversations?)

Do you think it would be appropriate if I walked up to you and told you that the conversation you're having with your friend (in person or on the phone) is "pointless babble"? Why do you feel the need to criticize the conversations of strangers who are causing you no harm? You consider people talking at the airport "noise pollution" -- then stay at home! An airport is not a Trappist monastery.

That said, perhaps my #1 pet peeve is people who have VERY LOUD conversations in public places, e.g. restaurants, airplanes, waiting rooms -- and this applies to conversations in person and on phones. Apparently some people never learned about using the "three foot voice." Especially annoying in settings where people have had something to drink and they seem to be trying to one-up each other in voice volume. Blech. I am on my cellphone a lot, but I am usually quieter than a normal speaking voice.

"Cell phone jammers defy law"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/544178.asp

Pump up the jam...

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"Sire, it is not a revolt. It is a Revolution!"

Have we, as a society, really gotten to the point where we wish to regulate phone usage? My phone is my lifeline. More specifically, it is someone else's life line. It goes where I go. Period, end of story. Just like I don't chew with my mouth open, I use the manners my momma taught me & don't talk during concerts,movies, funerals, or the like. When it rings & I am in a group or closed corners, I step "outside". Not just for the comfort of those around me, but because of the privacy needed for some calls.

Last fall, I was in a resturant in the theater district in New York. I really wanted to eat there & someone had planned a special night for me. Once inside I saw the sign, "Cell phones prohibited". Special night or not, we had to turn around & leave. No way I was going to turn it off.

I have never seen warning signs for buildings stating that they employ jamming tech. If so, I'd have to stay away from those as well. I do hope that those places are advertising the fact clearly & openly. Bottom line, if I missed a call & found out that was in place, I'd sue everyone in sight. After impleding that company using the tech into the HUGE law suit against me for whatever happened as a result of me not responding to the call.

Personally, I don't care about the content of the conversation. Outside observers can't make the decision as to what is important enough to warrant cell phone usuage. All we can do is each try to be polite & considerate of those around us.

"Hi grandma" can be just as important to one person as someone yelling, "sell, sell, sell, @#$^% at 2:45 EST.

Put the phone on vibrate. The restaurant isn't going to search your person for a cell phone.

Pretty simple solution, isn't it? My phone has several "modes", one of which is Meeting. Meeting mode has vibrate turned on and the ringer turned off. I just switch modes when going into a meeting or similar situation.

Like it or not, the trend appears to be toward control and limitations on cell phones and other noisemaking devices. Whether that is jamming with the consent of all participants (restaurants, theaters, etc. can stipulate that use of the private facility constitutes consent to be jammed), or whether it is some other method (I like the cell phone detectors mentioned in the article above), the trend is toward regulating these things.

So far, many users don't appear to be able to regulate themselves with regard to cell phones. As time goes on, non-users and users with "manners" will grow less and less permissive of the noisemakers. And regulations of some sort will become commonplace.

We can debate value judgments about noisemaker regulation, but I perceive that this is the trend.

I agree with an earlier post that the content of a conversation should not cause the person talking on the phone to be looked down upon. I am someone who uses my phone quite a bit, many of the times talking about insequential items. Why? Because I do not have the luxury of seeing those who are of importance to me in person on a regular basis. This is something that should strike a chord with many people here.

We all travel a great deal. We spend lots of time in lots of places, usually separated from our loved ones and dear friends. So, since I can't go out for a drink with friends, or sit on the couch and talk on my private home phone, with the frequency of someone who spends most of their time in their city of residence, I use my cell phone to enable these conversations.

But as has been previously stated, I exercise great diligence in my observance of normal rules of etiquette. My phone is rarely on an audible ringer. Actually, I've found that I've missed calls when it's been on a ringer that makes noise, since it's sometimes harder to hear the ring than feel the vibration.

I don't think the importance of the conversation or the intellectual depth of the topic should factor into whether or not someone is a "responsible" cell phone user. It should be how his use affects others. And as far as I'm concerned, if the tone of conversation is at a normal level, and the phone does not ring obnoxiously (or at all in certain circumstances), then really, where's the fault?

Now, excuse me while I take out two pennies....and answer my cell phone!

-RChavez

edited pending legal review.

[This message has been edited by RichG (edited 03-24-2001).]

Count me in as one of those curmudgeons who would like cell phones banned from public places. If it's that important, use a pager. However, that's just my personal preference.

As to the law, if I recall correctly the law bans broadcast jamming only. As I understand it, you can implace a "passive" jammer in a building without falling afoul of the law.

As to those who would sue, where is it written that you have a right to inflict your cell phone on me in my building?

There is no such thing as a passive jammer. You can shield your building as much as you want, intentionally or not, and it may block cell phone signals &/or other signals, or not, but if you're not transmitting a signal, it's not a jammer.

Any device that transmits a signal that interferes with licensed radio services is a jammer, if intentional, or is simply an interference source, if unintentional, but it is illegal either way.