minor "rules"

don_quixote

Trent End
i got told off the other day by a bus conductor for eating on a bus. this has never, ever happened before. i've eaten on buses all my life. are they for real?

also, answering mobiles on petrol station forecourts. can they really spark? cos i dont believe it for a second.

and, oh my god, driving rules. if someone stops in a car park to reverse into a spot, should they wait for you to go past or should you wait for them to park? because i threw my toys out of the pram at some woman today (she had already pissed me off once on the road going into the car park) and i think i may have been in the wrong.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
and, oh my god, driving rules. if someone stops in a car park to reverse into a spot, should they wait for you to go past or should you wait for them to park? because i threw my toys out of the pram at some woman today (she had already pissed me off once on the road going into the car park) and i think i may have been in the wrong.

No idea what the 'rule' is on this one, but I've a feeling as the recession deepens supermarkets will be second only to pubs for spontaneous outbursts of violence. Ballard will be delighted, and possibly knighted.
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
and, oh my god, driving rules. if someone stops in a car park to reverse into a spot, should they wait for you to go past or should you wait for them to park? because i threw my toys out of the pram at some woman today (she had already pissed me off once on the road going into the car park) and i think i may have been in the wrong.

There isn't any hard and fast rule for this one. If they're reversing they may not see you though, for me it would make sense to keep out of the way of something that's moving backwards until they're done.

Those other two are ridiculous though, the mobile phone one made me snort out loud.
 

martin

----
These are some rules worth abiding by - in any doorway confrontation, the person exiting the building has right of way. If you ponce a cigarette off someone, you have to smoke it - even if it's a menthol (or at least light it, say thanks, and then throw it away when they're not looking) - anyone who can't follow those two rules doesn't deserve to live.
 

STN

sou'wester
Similarly, if a comely bachelor is kindhearted enough to take your photo in front of the London Eye, taking time out of his busy schedule to help you, you don't then offer a bloody critique of it, you stupid old bag.

Agree on the coming out of buildings. Don't know why this should be though...
 

martin

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I'm sure the doorway thing goes back to ancient Hellenic fertility rites...what a rude cow, did she actually tell you it was too blurry? Did she even say thanks?

Another rule for Brits - unless you can name the entire cabinet (and at least 10 regional MPs belonging to the party you voted for) (and your local constituent, obviously) (and their key policies), you can't turn around with a smug pout and inform others, "If you don't vote, you're not entitled to criticise!"
 

STN

sou'wester
No she just frowned and said 'it's okay, I suppose', well excuse me if you didn't stop Cecil Beaton. Hardly my fault is it?

I think for me, the doorway thing goes back to when I had a job I hated, and never wanted to stand in the way of people who were trying to get out of the building.
 

STN

sou'wester
Okay, the buying of rounds, if you know you're going after the next one, must you declare this to the prospective buyer? I think it's rude to force your pennies on someone who's offered to by you a drink, but one doesn't want to appear a calculated chief. Generally I try to get rounds in as early as possible, so everyone is in my debt and I avoid this conundrum, but it does rear it's head on occasion.
 

martin

----
Okay, the buying of rounds, if you know you're going after the next one, must you declare this to the prospective buyer? I think it's rude to force your pennies on someone who's offered to by you a drink, but one doesn't want to appear a calculated chief. Generally I try to get rounds in as early as possible, so everyone is in my debt and I avoid this conundrum, but it does rear it's head on occasion.

Yes, that should go without saying. Often the roundee will say, "No worries, get me one next time" anyway, but just deciding to sup up and bugger off unannounced is the mark of a stratospheric tosser. It's just plain manners and decency.

Also, if you decide to switch to a double spirit on someone else's round, you have to offer the roundee the difference.

What do people think about 'roundees' who pull out a tenner and say, "You go to the bar" to one of the group? I think they're utter scum, they basically can't be bothered to get off their arse and carry drinks (which is part of the round commitment) and I have nothing but contempt for them, though I think I once did this with John Eden and Stelfox
 
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STN

sou'wester
Is it okay to tell off children who aren't yours? I imagine it is if there's a blanket bollocking afoot (i.e. you are telling off your child and her or his accomplices) but what about otherwise?
 

STN

sou'wester
What do people think about 'roundees' who pull out a tenner and say, "You go to the bar" to one of the group? I think they're utter scum, they basically can't be bothered to get off their arse and carry drinks (which is part of the round commitment) and I have nothing but contempt for them, though I think I once did this with John Eden and Stelfox

Not on: these are materialistic types. It's not just about the money, people.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I was in the Caribbean this week, and one thing I noticed was how the culture there is almost devoid completely of these “minor rules”. They have the big ones, but beyond that there isn’t much that can’t be settled in a fast burning, loud thirty second argument.
 

Tentative Andy

I'm in the Meal Deal
What do people think about 'roundees' who pull out a tenner and say, "You go to the bar" to one of the group? I think they're utter scum, they basically can't be bothered to get off their arse and carry drinks (which is part of the round commitment) and I have nothing but contempt for them, though I think I once did this with John Eden and Stelfox

I hate this. A friend of mine always tries to do this, and we've had words about it in the past.
Pub ettiquete is quite the subject really.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I hate this. A friend of mine always tries to do this, and we've had words about it in the past.
Pub ettiquete is quite the subject really.

I haven't noticed this practice as much in Britain, but in Canada when you go to the pub with a group of people you order pitchers of beer instead of rounds and then everyone splits the bill at the end.

Pitchers have their own etiquette. I hate when someone orders a pitcher, pours their glass, and puts the pitcher back down again. The cheek!

This has turned into a manners thread though hasn't it? Minor rules are the worst though and are the biggest bringdown about living in major western cities.
 

don_quixote

Trent End
Similarly, if a comely bachelor is kindhearted enough to take your photo in front of the London Eye, taking time out of his busy schedule to help you, you don't then offer a bloody critique of it, you stupid old bag.

Agree on the coming out of buildings. Don't know why this should be though...

haha fucking hell that happened to me in leicester the christmas before last. this woman stopped me and asked me to take her photo in front of some christmas decorations. then she wasnt happy with it and asked me to take it again... and then she asked me to take ANOTHER ONE!! luckily this were to her standards...
 

don_quixote

Trent End
This has turned into a manners thread though hasn't it? Minor rules are the worst though and are the biggest bringdown about living in major western cities.

yeah... whereas my examples to begin with are actually rules (according to the bus conductor who ticked me off for eating a crunchie and the lorry driver who dragged me physically off a forecourt when i was chatting on a phone - nb i wasn't filling up a car, i was waiting for a friend who was using the cash machine there)
 

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Is it okay to tell off children who aren't yours? I imagine it is if there's a blanket bollocking afoot (i.e. you are telling off your child and her or his accomplices) but what about otherwise?

yes but don't leave (visible) bruises.

the etiquette of mutual child discipline is deep and mysterious, actually.
 
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