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Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

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Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#91
Yeah, this makes me crazy, especially since it always seems to be the clueless project managers who touch my screen.

Personally, I have long arms, big hands, and terrible close-up vision, so I approach other people's monitors very slowly, with the back of my pinkie, and really do my best not to touch the part of the computer that isn't supposed to be touched. Anything else is just rude; you are sticking your finger into the retina of the person who owns the machine.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#92
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is definitly one to remember. And it is actually good advice, making a joke out of it will make the other person feel less bad.

Unless they keep touching the screen. Then it could get awkward.

Just up the ante. Scream like a madman, do a rain dance. Silly scales.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#93
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let out a little scream like a madman, "aaaahhh! no touch screen!" Silliness works. Or my favorite: "Touching my computer is like touching my penis. Seriously."

In my opinion comedy only works in situations like these if you're also a bit silly/comic in other situations. Otherwise it's obvious that you're just using it to try to diffuse the confrontation and it doesn't work.

True. I'm silly most of the time.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#94
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let out a little scream like a madman, "aaaahhh! no touch screen!" Silliness works. Or my favorite: "Touching my computer is like touching my penis. Seriously."

Ok, if someone used your favorite line on me it would provoke an entire hand rubbing across the screen, but then I'm a bit of a real life troll. :-)

See: rain dance.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#95

I see a lot of posts from the anal retentive crowd. Here's the opposite opinion: I think it's ok to touch laptop screens. I touch my own and if I'm interested enough in pointing something out I may touch yours because at that point I'm at a completely different place mentally and not thinking about your little quirks. One of my co workers stressed out every time I touched his screen but it didn't make me stop. I'd av…

yea i know its fun to touch things, but if i was your co-worker i would have put up one of those protective screens that covers the LCD panel. That way everyone's happy.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#96

I see a lot of posts from the anal retentive crowd. Here's the opposite opinion: I think it's ok to touch laptop screens. I touch my own and if I'm interested enough in pointing something out I may touch yours because at that point I'm at a completely different place mentally and not thinking about your little quirks. One of my co workers stressed out every time I touched his screen but it didn't make me stop. I'd av…

Now replace "touching my laptop" with "urinating in my car".

It won't ruin the car. And it's just an object after all.

If you urinated in someones car and they were upset, would you tell them they were being irrational or to get over it? Maybe tell them they should keep a towel in the car in case the passengers urinate? I mean, if you think it's ok to urinate in a car then it's not really your problem if they seem annoyed by it...

For me, that attitude is heading beyond rude and into the realm of sociopathic.

Seriously, are you really saying that you think it's irrational to try to set the boundaries on how other people interact with your own personal property?

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We clearly have very different ideas of what "polite" means. Your little exchange makes you come off sounding like a prized asshole. And, seriously, what kind of unevolved cretin can't communicate without pointing anyway? This is ridiculous. Pointing serves a very useful purpose in communication, and is often far more efficient than verbal cues. Have you really never pointed at anything while trying to communicate so…

Yes, I know what pointing accomplishes. But it's also very effective to communicate without marking up my screen in greasy finger prints. Everyone — everyone — who thinks that they can point at something on a screen effectively without touching it, is just fooling themselves. You will touch my screen if you point at it, and I'll know you touched it, because your fingerprint will be there, painted in disgusting finger…

I'd react roughly the same way if someone rubbed their genitals on my screen while I was using it. It's that offensive to me.

Really? You'd politely say "Please don't touch my screen with your genitals"?

I don't know you or anything, but it seems like life is too short to get this worked up over something so trivial.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#98
post #12

Boy, 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.

If the Apple tablet is real, it will most likely come with that fancy-schmancy oleophobic screen they put on the iPhone 3GS. So, no problemo: put it in your oversized pocket, take it out, and "boom" (tm) it's clean.

Re: Ask HN: Trivial etiquette question - can he touch my laptop screen?

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company shouldn't fire someone for not knowing their place in front of a vice president and making a snide remark? I think that's absolutely acceptable. If the vice president wants to touch your screen, you're not really in a place to chew him out about it. I would venture to guess that doing so was most likely indicative of broader issues with the employee in this case, i.e., if she doesn't know her place in fro…

This is hacker news dude! We hate authoritarians throwing their weight around.

Whatever. Maybe the Vice President worked 80 hour weeks for 5 years and has paid for her monitor, her chair, her desk and the building she works in.
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