If you don't have the personality to tell them, just print out a small label that says "Please don't touch the screen" and tape it to your laptop.
Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
11–20 of 134 posts
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#12Boy, it seems like your post hit a nerve. On the other hand (no pun intended), we look forward to buying Apple's tablet... Go figure.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#13I think it's fine to touch the screen.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#14I've seen children do this (and asked them politely to look but not touch), but adults, really?
You could keep a couple of laser pointers handy for the touchy ones. Just hand it to them whenever they show up. Everybody likes lasers.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#15Wow I'm hearing tons of complicated ways to avoid direct conversation. If you pay several thousand dollars for a machine, I'm pretty sure you get to decide to gets to do what with it. If it is your companies screen, you are still responsible for it, so the same thing applies. Next time it happens, just politely explain how you feel. There's no need for the passive aggressive solutions that a few people are suggesting.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#16I always start the sentence with...
"I know this is weird, but..."
It helps me get to the actual point of direct confrontation, but by blaming it on myself it helps absorb some of the awkward.
Truly though, I hate it when people touch my laptop's screen!
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#17I agree completely, people do this all the time, waving pens at my screen, etc. I think the easiest way to do it was the way you suggested, most people will get the hint if you just polish the smudge they left in front of them. You don't have to be rude or anything. You can even be discreet about it. People will still get the point.
A "space violation" which doesn't involve actual damage to something might be a matter of social/cultural etiquette. Different cultures have different distances that people stand apart from each other or different amounts of touching between friends and acquaintances.
But I think its always over-the-line when a touch can actual do some small amount of damage to the item - any touch to laptop screen is going to be reducing its lifetime at least a bit.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#18I agree completely, people do this all the time, waving pens at my screen, etc. I think the easiest way to do it was the way you suggested, most people will get the hint if you just polish the smudge they left in front of them. You don't have to be rude or anything. You can even be discreet about it. People will still get the point.
I had a co-worker who used to stop what she was doing, and blurt some variation of "here, let me help you clean that fingerprint off my monitor" and then proceed to engage in her ritual of cleaning the CRT (this predated LCD monitors). Several other coworkers intentionally would poke the monitor with their fingers (the grease from the side of your nose is great for this), just to get a rise out of her.
The day she pulled her little routine on one of the vice presidents was her last day at the office. She was out of the building before lunch.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#19I agree completely, people do this all the time, waving pens at my screen, etc. I think the easiest way to do it was the way you suggested, most people will get the hint if you just polish the smudge they left in front of them. You don't have to be rude or anything. You can even be discreet about it. People will still get the point.
That might come across as a little passive-aggressive, I think bringing it up and asking either they they not do it or they they use the back of their finger as others have suggested is a better idea.
Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?
#20Create a funny web page and have it bookmarked on your browser.
Whenever someone approaches you, quickly switch to that web page.
donttouchmyfuckingscreenorillkillyou.com is available.