Ringtone immaturity

[cudak888]

I've walked up on people before (usually other guys in the airport) talkin' away, and had dropped their jacket or something 30 or 40 yards ago walking through the concourse. They always seem to never really acknowledge you trying to get their attention... until you wave their dropped item in their face - then it's just a wave while they keep on yakkin'. Ummm... "You're Welcome." :dodgy:

Two words: "Free jacket."

-Kurt

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I had one that said "Asshole calling, there's an asshole on the other end of the line, pick up to talk to the asshole. . . . . ."

The response that it is not the ringtone, but the fact that there is any ringtone in certain circumstances is the problem, is one I agree with. I turn my phone off or to silent quite often and feel much better having it put away when interacting with others. Playing with the phone when others are around shows a ceratin amount of contempt for the people around . . . . oops, I have to get that call...

 

[midlife]

"Hello, is this the party to whom I'm speaking?"

 

[Kit Sullivan]

I had one that said "Asshole calling, there's an asshole on the other end of the line, pick up to talk to the asshole. . . . . ."

The response that it is not the ringtone, but the fact that there is any ringtone in certain circumstances is the problem, is one I agree with.

Sorry, I'm gonna' have to completely disagree with you on this one: In a professional, business situation it is bad enough to be interuppted by an annoying but inocuous ringtone...that's just rude.

But to be interuppted by a phone saying "Hey Asshole, there's some asshole trying to call you!"...well that's just unnacceptable on a whole different level.

 

[cudak888]

Sorry, I'm gonna' have to completely disagree with you on this one: In a professional, business situation it is bad enough to be interuppted by an annoying but inocuous ringtone...that's just rude.

In a professional, business situation, it's bad enough to be interrupted by any ringtone. Including that which mimics a normal phone.

-Kurt

 

[Kit Sullivan]

So, you think a normal ringtone is the same level of annoying as a "hey asshole" ringtone?

 

[cudak888]

So, you think a normal ringtone is the same level of annoying as a "hey asshole" ringtone?

At face value, you have a point.

But when one attempts to hold a meeting with a bunch of disinterested coworkers who each have one or two "normal" ringtones going off every 5-10 minutes, it's unacceptable - regardless of ringtone.

In fact, I'd prefer to hear "Hey, asshole!" screaming out their phones. It'd be the most genuine statement made at the meeting.

-Kurt

 

[Mister 4x4]

Well... in my professional office setting (IT Security Manager for the Air Force), we're not even allowed to bring in our cell phones - period. Kind of eliminates that little hassle altogether.

Not to mention, cuts down on all the unnecessary distractions from people who don't really NEED to contact you during the day. If it's important, they have my desktop landline number... if it's not, well then they can listen to my voice mail before electing to not leave a message ("Telephone Tag:" http://www.ahajokes.com/funny_audio.html - I guess this makes me a REALLY immature cell phone user... rofl ).

 

[luxstang]

I think Kit has a point.

I have a hard time taking a person with a silly ring tone seriously.

A phone that is being called makes some noise to get your attention and I think that is all there should be to it.

No need to make a big show out of it. It just gives away too much about the owner of a phone. Expressing your personality through looks, hairstyle or clothes is no longer enough. The ring tone of your phone provides yet another opportunity to tell the world something about you..... that the world doesn't want to know.

Heck, my own ring tone (default) annoys me so I usually keep it muted. If I am close to the phone (desk etc) I will hear it vibrate against the surface it is lying on. If I have it in my pocket while waking through town I will feel it vibrate. Besides, there is no way I could hear a normal ring tone with the traffic around me.

But that is just me. I don't like to annoy my surroundings. (Except here on the forum but somebody's gotta do it.)

 

[Mister 4x4]

OK - I think I've kept "quiet" about this long enough - the original post kind of irritated me a bit for some reason, but I wanted to see where things went and not come off as a jerk. So, without trying to sound rude or condescending, but from the other side of the coin: I've noticed that people who are overly-sensitive about things they can't control (i.e., other peoples' methods of self-expression) can get to be just as annoying as the other people that annoy them.

Moderation in any circumstance is they key, and the current trend is the most people don't seem to 'get it.' That's a given. I think we can also agree that instances of people who ignore common courtesy have also been on the uprise - I would say more so since the advent of the cell phone, and that's disappointing as well. We've fallen a little further into the "me first" abyss as a result.

But unless you're someone's boss, parent, guardian, or otherwise in a position of authority, there's really not a whole lot to be done... and letting it get under your skin only makes things worse for you, depending on how you choose to express yourself on the matter.

There are plenty of things about other people that really bug the crap out of me... annoying and ridiculous ring tones are subjective, based on just how annoying and ridiculous they are. Usually just shaking my head is about all I can afford, because it's just not that important to me. I guess I'm just more tolerant of others because it's just easier to let go the things that really have no bearing on my life (outside of the few seconds, minutes, or little bit of time I'm exposed to them).

I can understand the perspective of 'not taking someone seriously' based on their ringtone - first impressions being what they are... and that's an interesting facet to the topic. I suppose the 'right' thing to do would be to have your goofy ringtone for "off-duty" time if you really need it, and either put it on vibrate/silent mode or have a more 'professional' ringtone as the situation warrants. This makes sense to me because having been affiliated with the military my entire adult life, there's a natural separation involved between on- and off-duty time.

As well, I'm not trying to minimize anybody's thoughts, opinions, or feelings about this particular topic (or any other, for that matter) - we all have different levels of what gets under our skin... that's part of what makes us who we are, and your thoughts, feelings, and opinions are just as important as mine are to me. I just figured a little bit of explanation would be better than, "your being annoyed about others being annoying is SO annoying... get over it."

 

[71mach351]

What kind of society would we live in if we all had the same ringtone, same uniform, same opinion and all drove a Prius?

 

[Kit Sullivan]

What kind of society would we live in if most people had a modicum of respect for those around them, and treated others as they wish to be treated?

I sure can't tell you: We don't have a society like that.+

The focus of my original post was not to complain about someone's ringtone that is only mildly innapropriate; Like a normal ringtone in public where there should be silence (a movie, a meeting, customer service situation, etc...). That is annoying but what can we do...that is how people generally act today.

I was talking about the widly innappropriate ringtones that someone brought up here: "Hey, some asshole is calling you boss!" in meetings, or restaraunts, around kids (my kids!)...Those are the type that annoy me.

And someone said it all too correctly: How can you have even an iota of respect for someone who displays stuff like that freely in public?

 

[Mister 4x4]

What kind of society would we live in if most people had a modicum of respect for those around them, and treated others as they wish to be treated?

I sure can't tell you: We don't have a society like that.+

When have we EVER had a society like that? There have always been people who don't have any respect for others... the numbers of "respectful" people have been on the decline since time began, and has declined more sharply with technology and population. As the population increases, your odds of running into disrespectful people goes up proportionally. Ringtones, I imagine (and have observed) are just the tips of the proverbial icebergs - rude drivers/improper drivers/unsafe driving/road rage, rude shoppers/cutting in line/not moving carts/taking things from your cart, poor telephone etiquette... it's all getting worse and worse under the guise of Political Correctness - i.e., there's always an excuse for whatever anybody does to anybody else, because it's politically incorrect to hold anybody accountable for anything.

 

[73StangCoupe]

Wow... This thread has really gotten a little crazy, very cool stuff. I'm sure we all can agree that a lot of people seem to have no problem acting rude these days. There are multiple reasons for that IMHO. Parents don't want to parent their children, they want to be their friends, or Facebook friends. I drive 70 miles round trip for work daily and I see people every day that are texting, reading the paper, putting on makeup, eating cereal and a lot of other stupid things while driving. All the police do is pull you over for doing 5 mph over the speed limit. I see a lot of them also talking on their cell phones. It's dangerous driving out there. For the record I have the standard ringtone for my cell phone and most of the time its on vibrate. I do occasionally talk on the phone while driving and I never text and drive. Be safe out there...

 

[Don65Stang]

OK - I think I've kept "quiet" about this long enough - the original post kind of irritated me a bit for some reason, but I wanted to see where things went and not come off as a jerk. So, without trying to sound rude or condescending, but from the other side of the coin: I've noticed that people who are overly-sensitive about things they can't control (i.e., other peoples' methods of self-expression) can get to be just as annoying as the other people that annoy them.

Moderation in any circumstance is they key, and the current trend is the most people don't seem to 'get it.' That's a given. I think we can also agree that instances of people who ignore common courtesy have also been on the uprise - I would say more so since the advent of the cell phone, and that's disappointing as well. We've fallen a little further into the "me first" abyss as a result.

But unless you're someone's boss, parent, guardian, or otherwise in a position of authority, there's really not a whole lot to be done... and letting it get under your skin only makes things worse for you, depending on how you choose to express yourself on the matter.

There are plenty of things about other people that really bug the crap out of me... annoying and ridiculous ring tones are subjective, based on just how annoying and ridiculous they are. Usually just shaking my head is about all I can afford, because it's just not that important to me. I guess I'm just more tolerant of others because it's just easier to let go the things that really have no bearing on my life (outside of the few seconds, minutes, or little bit of time I'm exposed to them).

I can understand the perspective of 'not taking someone seriously' based on their ringtone - first impressions being what they are... and that's an interesting facet to the topic. I suppose the 'right' thing to do would be to have your goofy ringtone for "off-duty" time if you really need it, and either put it on vibrate/silent mode or have a more 'professional' ringtone as the situation warrants. This makes sense to me because having been affiliated with the military my entire adult life, there's a natural separation involved between on- and off-duty time.

As well, I'm not trying to minimize anybody's thoughts, opinions, or feelings about this particular topic (or any other, for that matter) - we all have different levels of what gets under our skin... that's part of what makes us who we are, and your thoughts, feelings, and opinions are just as important as mine are to me. I just figured a little bit of explanation would be better than, "your being annoyed about others being annoying is SO annoying... get over it."

Wow... This thread has really gotten a little crazy, very cool stuff. I'm sure we all can agree that a lot of people seem to have no problem acting rude these days. There are multiple reasons for that IMHO. Parents don't want to parent their children, they want to be their friends, or Facebook friends. I drive 70 miles round trip for work daily and I see people every day that are texting, reading the paper, putting on makeup, eating cereal and a lot of other stupid things while driving. All the police do is pull you over for doing 5 mph over the speed limit. I see a lot of them also talking on their cell phones. It's dangerous driving out there. For the record I have the standard ringtone for my cell phone and most of the time its on vibrate. I do occasionally talk on the phone while driving and I never text and drive. Be safe out there...

Well said guys.

 

[Jim and Jutta]

I just hope they never allow cell phones to be used on airline flights. It's bad enough having to sit at the gate listening to someone loudly ranting on and on about private matters and what they had for lunch as if they were the only ones in the area, at least in the gate area we can move away from them.

As far as ring tones, having one that's different from others has it's advantages. It used to be when in a public area and a cell phone rang everyone was digging for their phone.

 

[Luke]

I just hope they never allow cell phones to be used on airline flights. It's bad enough having to sit at the gate listening to someone loudly ranting on and on about private matters and what they had for lunch as if they were the only ones in the area, at least in the gate area we can move away from them.

As far as ring tones, having one that's different from others has it's advantages. It used to be when in a public area and a cell phone rang everyone was digging for their phone.

They do

 

[Ron Tanzi]

As a 41 year old who has had some form of a cell phone since 1993 I stopped progressing at the reliable and seemingly unbreakable Nokia flip phone. I refuse to to give in to the I phone/smart phone crack addicted like behavior of most users I encounter.

Ron

 

[Go Time]

Ok I can remain silent no longer on the subject of ringtones. i Have to tell you what I feel is the best ringtone or a least the most creative I have ever heard.

I repair appliances for a living so I go into 8-10 different homes daily. One day I was working on a ladies stove and no one is present in the room at the time. Suddenly I hear a man voice that starts out calm and cool, "your phone is ringing............honey your phone is ringing..............honey,,, your phone is ringing " Time passes from a few seconds to 10's of seconds the voice begins to increase in urgency. " Hey YOUR PHONE IS RINGING...... YOUR PHONE IS RINGING.........ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER YOU PHONE OR NOT" as the Voice continued into near 30 seconds in at at almost full shout" HEY I BOUGHT THAT PHONE FOR YOU SO YOU CAN STAY IN TOUCH ARE YOU GONNA ANSWER IT OR NOT !!!!!".

About that time the lady who was quite nice came running in very embarrassed and answered her phone. She then proceeded to tell me, after she was done with her call, that her husband set that up as her ring tone and she couldn't figure out how to get it off. I thought it was funny and very creative be she didn't think much of it.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

I have an old-time telephone ringtone for calls from unknown numbers, and calls from people I know ring with the CTU ring from "24".

My alarm to wake up in the mornings is the opening riff from "Big Guns" (AC/DC)