Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience” • Hacker News Board

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#371

Post by lotharbot » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:42 PM UTC

jonnycomputer wrote: post #215

throwaway43532 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My goodness, all those people who went to concerts before cell phones must have been so hardcore, taking risks like that. I get the point you're trying to make, but to me this just reads like gatekeeping. Cell phones are useful and they can make people safer. In a world with cell phones not having timely access to one is riskier. In a world without cell phones it's a moot point. The more interesting issue -- which…

I was being curmudgeonly. Sure, cell phones can contribute to personal safety; whether it actually does in a standing-room-only rock concert given the distribution of risks one is likely to encounter in that context is another matter. I have a hard time imagining one, except a medical emergency, maybe? Except that having people find security might truly be more expedient. Besides, I cam imagine real harm. Everyone si…

> "I have a hard time imagining one"

Someone mentioned above that, in the event of a fire alarm and being separated from your group, being able to reconnect with them is important. Particularly for vulnerable people (whether due to age, health reasons, or being someone who might be targeted for violence or harassment), being separated from your group for a long time can be a safety issue.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#372

Post by monksy » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:43 PM UTC

nicky0 wrote: post #340

monksy wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony, despite my prior comments, I don't have an issue with turning my phone off and keeping it with me. I do have an issue with being locked away from it or have it taken away by someone you can't trust.

Yondr is a system which locks your phone in a pouch which you put in your pocket. It is not taken away from you.

You are still prevented access from it.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#373

Post by monksy » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:43 PM UTC

paublyrne wrote: post #326

monksy wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Manchester and Bataclan incidents are perfect examples. That's the whole point of terrorism. The groups are not effective enough to influence who they want without fear tacits. They're going to target large groups of people, and events tend to do that. The situation of the Bataclan, the emergency services does need to know whats going on inside, and at multiple points of the building. For Manchester, they needed…

I think the point is those types of incidents are incredibly rare.

That's what the people at the bataclan said.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#374

Post by lobf » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:44 PM UTC

nicky0 wrote: post #331

lobf wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being available for work is part of my "human experience." edit- I really don't understand why this is downvote worthy...

Because it is pathetic. You're available for work while at a Chris Rock show?

...pathetic, thanks.

I work freelance film production. I get calls for work at random hours and if I don't respond quickly that offer can expire. I also work on high-pressure, quick turnaround jobs a lot, and part of the deal as a freelancer is that I'm always available. As a result, I keep my phone with me.

I'm sorry that my earning a living is pathetic to you.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#375

Post by opportune » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:48 PM UTC

monksy wrote: post #308

valuearb wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LOL using the Manchester bombing as reason. First terrorist incidents are so rare you might as well argue that you need your phone in case of a plane crash. Secondly, these events have security, crowd control, management, etc, all with their own phones. Emergency services doesn't need a thousand simultaneous calls. In a genuine mass emergency there is a lot more important needs for network access than providing peopl…

The Manchester and Bataclan incidents are perfect examples. That's the whole point of terrorism. The groups are not effective enough to influence who they want without fear tacits. They're going to target large groups of people, and events tend to do that. The situation of the Bataclan, the emergency services does need to know whats going on inside, and at multiple points of the building. For Manchester, they needed…

I'm more likely to get killed by a fall in the tub than by a terrorist, yet I don't fear going into the shower without my phone. Fearing terrorism is a consequence of innumeracy. Do you carry your cellphone in case you or a nearby person get struck by lightning too? More US citizens get struck (and killed) by lightning every year than die in terrorist attacks since 2001.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#376

Post by lotharbot » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:48 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #176

edgarvaldes wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I don't get why "the safety aspects of this are shocking". Shocking?

It's one thing to say that I like to be reachable by children, babysitter, aged mother, etc. if there's an issue. And OK, I get it. Norms and expectations have shifted with respect to how contactable people should be under many circumstances. But some of the comments here that make it sound like going out with no way for anyone to reach you was an invitation to mortal peril akin to jumping off a cliff in a wingsuit m…

> "an invitation to mortal peril"

There have always been people with (physical and mental) health concerns or disabilities who need to be able to get hold of a caregiver on short notice.

In the age of cell phones, it's much safer for them to go someplace crowded with their caregiver even if there's risk of being separated.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#377

Post by fenwick67 » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:49 PM UTC

noobiemcfoob wrote: post #233

Why don't people enjoy the thing the way I want them to enjoy the thing!? What is it with people having their own preferences that don't align with mine!?

Are asking why rules exist in general or

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#378

Post by icebraining » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:51 PM UTC

whatyoucantsay wrote: post #303

icebraining wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"(...) None of us could live with an habitual truth-teller; but thank goodness none of us has to. An habitual truth-teller is simply an impossible creature; he does not exist; he never has existed. Of course there are people who think they never lie, but it is not so—and this ignorance is one of the very things that shame our so-called civilization. Everybody lies—every day; every hour; awake; asleep; in his dreams;…

I prefer Kant.

Doesn't Kant go against your example of Anne Frank? ("To be truthful (honest) in all declarations is therefore a sacred command of reason prescribing unconditionally, one not to be restricted by any conveniences"). Surely a teenager telling white lies to pushy peers is preferable.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#379

Post by JanecekPetr » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:52 PM UTC

Mister White follows up on his ideas, but this seems to be unnecessary, at least from what I saw at his concert in Prague, Czech Republic, last year.

Before the show one of his crewmen said to all the people to keep their phones in the pockets, that the show will be profesionally photographed and the photos will be on the official Jack White site for everyone to download.

This helped immensely, and I'd guess 95 % of the people kept heir phones hidden and enjoyed the show. Yes, there still were some who recorded alllllll the songs, but that's their apparently their thing afterall, isn't it? I think this approach was nice, human, and worked very well.

Re: Jack White bans phones at gigs for “100% human experience”

#380

Post by parasubvert » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 11:59 PM UTC

doctorstupid wrote: post #147

parasubvert wrote: post #47

People use their phones to have human experiences and connect to others that aren’t physically present. While I can understand certain environments should curb cell use (Where lights and flashes are distracting to performers and the audience), or the desire to maintain mystery or quality by controlling bootlegs... a rock concert has distractions-a-plenty, between flying beer cups, weed smoke, people gabbing loudly ab…

About these people who "use their phones to have human experiences and connect to others that aren’t physically present". How is the sender anything more than a human tripod for a webcam that happens to be in a concert? Nothing is being shared because nothing is being experienced in the first place. If anything, the camera is doing the experiencing. By bypassing our minds and instead offloading experiences directly t…

A person holding a camera is peresent at the concert and doing the experiencing. I don’t understand how holding s camera at all detracts from that experience any more than people at a ballgame watching it partially through the jumbotron. It’s a personal preference, it’s not up to you to decide for others what is preferable.

A phone is also an intimate device for many, it carries our most intimate thoughts, our photos - often nude! - and possibly even sexual videos, along with our banking information and every password to every app or site we touch. Using our phones during art performances does not separate ourselves from intimacy but rather embraces it and allows us to share it with our friends and family and lovers.

Just wait until augmented reality really starts taking off!

I really don’t think a musician performing has any business whether I share my experiences with others - that’s my prerogative. We’ve moved past the tired arguments for copyright and bouncers yanking cameras - it doesn’t fly anymore, and people won’t accept it. They can request no phones as part of the experience, and check ahead, though I doubt it will become a trend . most tickets are moving to phones as it is, and most rock music fans will rightly look at bans as nostalgia, just like paying for recorded music once was a thing (and still is for people over 40, but will eventually fade away).

Other venues like live theatre warrant less light and sound distraction and I think still deserve etiquette of keeping phones down to between acts or sets, though that may evolve.