Why couldn’t this call be an email? Why would you call, when you know that you are near indistinguishable from spam calls about Microsoft services and Nigerian princes?

  • Admiral PatrickEnglish
    72•6 months ago

    Phone calls also assume the person on the other end wants to be bothered. If you choose to not answer, you’re treated like the a-hole and are expected to explain why (“I’ve been trying to call you. Why haven’t you picked up?”)

    To quote Stephen Fry:

    “A telephone is a fantastically rude thing. I mean, it’s like going ‘speak to me now! Speak to me now! Speak to me now!’. If you went to someone’s office and banged on their desk and said, ‘I will make a noise until you speak to me’ it would be considered unbelievably rude.”

    • @[email protected]
      20•6 months ago

      I was trying to explain to an elderly friend that people don’t just phone other people now and certainly not at times they will be doing something.

      She found it hard to accept that many people find it rude to be called unannounced.

      As an example, at one time if someone was organising a social event (eg party) they would phone around to invite people.

      But that’s incredibly rude you are imposing on someone and also asking them to decide or excuse themselves on the spot.

    • @garbagebagel
      12•6 months ago

      I have a coworker that if you try to call her and she doesn’t want to talk she straight up changes her status to away or busy and then just ignores your call. She is an a-hole but not for this reason, lol.