I applaud United Artists Theaters - their no pager policy. (1 Viewer)

[Patrick_S]

The subject of jamming signals has long been debated in the HTF.

It’s no secret that if jamming were allowed I would have zero sympathy for those who are on-call not being able to go out to the theater or the movies.

While there are a few, very few at that, jobs that require someone to be on-call 24/7 every day of the year, the vast majority of on-call positions do eventually have times when they are off. This is particularly true for most medical professionals who have other physicians who cover for them on a regular schedule. To these people I say, “go to the movies when you are not on call.”

For those who are on call 24/7 every day of the year, who cares if they can’t go out to the movies or theater? These individuals chose their positions, if they don’t like the fact that they might have to make a lifestyle sacrifice find another job.

 

[Paul_D]

To these people I say, “go to the movies when you are not on call.”

Or, set your phone to vibrate, leave the theater to answer the call, then miss the rest of the film if you're needed elsewhere. What's so hard about that?

 

[Chris Dugger]

Well...

Let me add, that I removed a patron the other night.....

They continued to answer their cell phone 2 times before I had them REMOVED.

See... they did think that answering the important call was a problem for the rest of us.....

Dugger.....

Oh...... just so you know.... The cell WAS on vibrate.... and he was a doctor... diagnosing from his theatre seat....

 

[Patrick Sun]

The problem stems from inconsideration for others by those who choose to allow their cell phones to ring while in a theater, and even answer and converse on their cell phones while still in the theater with the film playing.

The reasons you have a cell phone inside the theater are immaterial. I don't care if you are a doctor on 24/7 call or a person wanting to know if they have a date for the next weekend, or a drug dealer who got another deal going. It doesn't matter to me why you have that cell phone. It's what you do with it that makes you a considerate or inconsiderate cell phone owner inside a movie theater.

 

[Mike Broadman]

You folks are absurd. I'd much rather have someone get in touch with their doctor and be disturbed for one minute during a movie.

We allow cell phones in hospitals, churches, libraries, etc, where silence and respect are also important.

Jamming? People, you have got to get some perspective.

Yes, of course people shouldn't be rude. Set the thing to vibrate if you absolutely need it on and leave the theater to take the call. No need for fascist preventative measures that can endanger others just so that you can hear the next crucial piece of dialogue Nicole Kidman has to say.

 

[Ricardo C]

Believe it or not, one of the main contributing factors to this behavior is the Home Theatre environment where everything is acceptable from phone calls to talking to putting your feet up on the coffee table.

Wrongo... Poor manners are to blame. If someone can't tell the difference between what they can do in the privacy of their own home and what they can do in a commercial theater they are sharing with other paying patrons, they have lousy manners, plain and simple. Their lack of manners is not related to the existence of home theater.

Edited to remove borderline-bratty comments. Sorry, folks.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Let's keep it civil, folks.

 

[Martin Fontaine]

About 5 years ago (I think when I went to see Spice World or Titanic) there was a trailer playing, looking like a new James Bond movie or something similar. Some Bomb-Squad guy was coming near a bomb, his partner was talking to him on a headset about the fact that the bomb had an accoustic detonator so he had to be very quiet and then you heard a cell phone ringing. Then he got yelled at because he forgot to turn off his cellphone and then he said "That's not me, it's from the audiance." The partner replied "Why would someone bring a cell phone in a movie theater" as the timer was approching Zero and then KABLOOIE! Then it was written in big letters "Don't blow the film, turn off your cell phones and pagers."

They should put these back since cell phones have become a lot more popular.

 

[BobV]

Sorry, but I don't even like the idea of having it turned on vibrate. Some guy sitting beside me gets a call, stands up, trips over my legs, blocks the screen during a crucial scene, etc, etc. Hate that.
When the movie is playing, be quiet and stay in your seat, unless you're peeing down your leg... even then I dunno... . Even when I have people over to watch a movie in my own home, they all know... when the movie starts, the chatter stops.

You folks are absurd. I'd much rather have someone get in touch with their doctor and be disturbed for one minute during a movie.

Wrong. I'd much rather my doctor NOT go to a movie when he's supposed to be on-call, and ready.
I rarely get to go to the theatre, I live in a small town with none and the nearest one is 2 hours drive away (the main reason I have a substantial one in my own home). It's a sacrifice I make. If I want to go to the movies more often, I will move to a bigger center. As others have said, if someone's on-call, it's the sacrifice you make... accept it and go some place where you can be notified in the normal manners without disturbing others. I have the utmost respect for people who are needed to be on-call, but it doesn't mean they have carte-blanche(sp?) .

 

[Matthew Brown]

The bottom line is that some people are slaves to their cell phone. Whether it's a theater, while driving a car, or on line at the surpermarket, some people are just rude. I wish the signal could be blocked in a theater but people who are on call shouldn't be penalized.
I've almost completely stopped going to the theater. I can't stand the cell phones and people talk way too much during the movie, not to mention people who bring their kids to R rated movies at 11PM. The whole theater going experience has been ruined for me.
I think ticket prices should be raised to $15. I think it would keep people out that don't really care about watching the movie.
People who talk on their cell phones during movies are probably the same ones who hate black bars on their DVD's.

Matt

 

[Benson R]

I think some of the people here need to get some perspective. I get just as pissed off as anyone here when someones phone rings and even more pissed if they actually take a call in the movies. I go to the movies almost every weekend and I hate it. But to say people shouldn't be allowed to bring their pagers and phone in with them even if they are courteous enough to leave them on vibrate is absurd and approaching fascism. If I see someone in the theater look at their pager or phone then get up to go outside the theater I feel that person is polite and courteous. If theaters actually did have a zero tolerance policy the courteous people who need their pagers and phones would abstain from the movies and the jerks who will take a call in the theater would continue the practice since the ushers at most big movie houses rarely catch anyone doing anything. Mobile communication is here to stay and instead of going overboard trying to ban it everywhere we should be developing an understanding of how to be courteous to those around us with their use.

 

[Benson R]

Double Post, sorry

 

[KeithAP]

Actually, I think the theater should eject people without a refund.

If people set their beepers/cell phones to vibrate and leave the theater before answering, I would find that acceptable. The problem is there will always be someone that leave it on ring and/or answers the cell phone in the theater.

As far as blocking technology goes, the cell phone blockers I have read about do not affect beeper signals. That being said I think any commercial business should be allowed to use blockers as long as there is plenty of sign-age to their customers so that they know what is going on.

And at the risk of saying something off topic...fascism?? Your kidding right? To me it sounds more like capitalism and democracy.

 

[Roland G]

Sometimes i just don't get you americans *lol*

I go twice a week to the movies here in Vienna and never in my life have i seen anyone starting to call somebody or taking a phone call!!! I mean how would you get the idea to suddenly start talking on the phone will in a movie theater ???. People don't even dare to talk during the presentation here....*lol*

 

[Benson R]

Although fascism might be an exageration I still think its a good point. The problem isn't because of phones and pagers. And likewise the solution isn't theaters asking patrons not to bring their devices in whether the ringer is off or not. At the chains I go to I rarely ever see an usher and if their is a rude patron nothing is ever done unless someone goes outside the theater to get someone. On a Friday night when all the shows are full their should be an usher for every theater. This is no different then talking during the show. If ushers were present then they could ask a person to not disturb other patrons and if they still bother people they could be politely asked to leave. If theaters actually did this like they are supposed to it wouldn't be a problem because people would not want to be embarrassed in public. And as far as someone getting peeved by an audience member getting up to take a call outside the theater, do you get annoyed when someone gets up to go to the bathroom or get food? My feeling is that as long as a person is polite about it it doesn't bother me one bit.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The annoying thing is when someone takes a call, keeps talking, gets up, jostles a bunch of people getting to the aisles and then keeps on talking a normal level on the cell phone while making their way down the steps towards the exit.

Is it too much for that person (if they MUST answer their cell phone) to answer it, say "hang on one second" get up, jostle the people, and then continue the conversation outside the room?

It's all about consideration and etiquette, and many many cell phone users who leave their phones in the audible ring mode and answer calls don't have either in abundance, nor common sense.

 

[Benson R]

I agree with Patrick's post and would like to add one thing. Almost all of today's phones and pagers display the number of all missed calls on the digital display. There is no need to rush out of the theater to answer a call or page if your phone vibrates. So again there is no reason someone can't use a phone if they have to as long as they are courteous to those around them. Myself I turn off my phone but if I am expecting a call I leave it on silent so it doesn't even vibrate and instead check the display for missed calls every once in a while. And I have never gotten up to take a call unless I thought it might be an emergency.

 

[Malcolm R]

This is a technology we all did just fine without up until recent years when it became affordable for the masses. I think it's reasonable for them to either be left at home or turned off (not vibrate...OFF) in theaters. If you can't survive a 2-hour movie without your phone, how did you possibly survive before you even had one?

Personally, I'm beginning to move toward the camp that feels cell phones are a menace and should never have been made available to the general public.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I like the no pager/phone policy. I'm in a position where having my phone on me is a requirement. Not only because someone might need to get ahold of me, but also because if a particular system goes down I'll be notified of it via a text page to my phone.
I simply turn my phone off or set it to vibrate if I go to the movie theater or any other public place where a cellphone would be a nuisance. If I get a call the phone vibrates. I'll wait for someone to leave a voicemail and then check it. If it's important, I'll call the person back after I excuse myself to the lobby.
This method causes absolutely no inconvenience to anyone else in the theater except me. I don't see what's so difficult about a little common courtesy. No jamming required. :rolleyes
And I have no problem with telling anyone off who leaves their ringer on or has the audicity to actually start a phone conversation in the theater. I remember being with a group of friends once and this stupid high school kid's phone kept ringing, and he kept answering it during the middle of the movie. Finally one of my friends, a guy who is about 6'5" and nearly 300lbs of football player leaned forward and said, through his teeth "If that fuckin' phone rings again I'll shove it so far up your skinny ass that you'll shit ringtones for the rest of your life." Then he sat back and resumed watching the movie. The guy's phone did not ring again.

If people set their beepers/cell phones to vibrate and leave the theater before answering, I would find that acceptable.

I don't even know about this, really. I could see getting up once to respond to an important call - but if it was important enough to leave for (IMO) then it's gotta be something important enough that you'd actually have to depart from the theater to go deal with. I can just see Mr. Cool Cellphone Guy getting up 20 times during the movie to go gab on the phone.
And I might as well throw in my biggest peeve of all, even worse than cellphones - Whenever I go to the movies there's always a pack of dorky high schoolers that come in 20 minutes after the movie has started. Then they stand around in the aisle and talk loudly for 5 minutes trying to find seats that aren't there, since they came in too late to be able to sit together. And then, for reasons that STILL elude me, individual members of the group get up and leave after another 20 minutes, or they all leave entirely! What the hell are they doing?

 

[John Thomas]

After a bit of thought on this, I must agree with Mike (Broadman). You can't regulate personal responsibility and laws don't stop stupidity. The theaters should police this themselves and eject the offender, no questions asked with this information readily available to all patrons of said theater.
"The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the state."
...I'm going to stop before I go too far into the political venue.