Just got cell phone taken away from movie staff cause i was texting...

[TheVrolok]

I've texted during movies before. Only in less filled theatres where I'm relatively isolated - a number of feet between myself and those nearest. Then, I've very rarely responded, I'll just read the message on the front of the display (no need to open my phone to read incoming text messages) and most likely put it back in my pocket. I have rarely responded with quick messages. I would never do any of this in a crowded theatre, but hey, if I'm far enough away that I can do it without being noticed, I will.

I also have to admit that I can't imagine how some of you find someone answering a quick text (the alleged action) more distracting than the countless number of people rustling with whatever bag of candy/popcorn they have. That paper crinkling sound is absolutely obnoxious, but eh, it's part of going to the theatre so I suck it up. I also don't exactly believe that some of you actually notice the small bit of light (if you can even see it) out of the corner of eye and are immediately drawn to, and transfixed by the cell phone in such a way as to completely ignore the movie. Once again, if you're that easily distracted, then I don't know how someone getting up to go to the bathroom or playing with whatever food/drink they have is any less annoying.

I think a lot of you are doing quite a bit of exaggerating and really, a kid making one quick text is essentially a non-issue. Having said that, the OP was obviously not punished for making one quick text and being considerate as possible as such a thing would be barely noticed. I'm in the camp that he was most likely rapid fire texting during the entire film, so oh well, he had it coming.

In summary, I'd never text or reach for my phone in a crowded theatre except to MAYBE check for a caller's ID if I KNEW there was some reason I needed to be contacted. But hey, in a nearly empty theatre, you're damned right I might just text back.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok
I've texted during movies before. Only in less filled theatres where I'm relatively isolated - a number of feet between myself and those nearest. Then, I've very rarely responded, I'll just read the message on the front of the display (no need to open my phone to read incoming text messages) and most likely put it back in my pocket. I have rarely responded with quick messages. I would never do any of this in a crowded theatre, but hey, if I'm far enough away that I can do it without being noticed, I will.

I also have to admit that I can't imagine how some of you find someone answering a quick text (the alleged action) more distracting than the countless number of people rustling with whatever bag of candy/popcorn they have. That paper crinkling sound is absolutely obnoxious, but eh, it's part of going to the theatre so I suck it up. I also don't exactly believe that some of you actually notice the small bit of light (if you can even see it) out of the corner of eye and are immediately drawn to, and transfixed by the cell phone in such a way as to completely ignore the movie. Once again, if you're that easily distracted, then I don't know how someone getting up to go to the bathroom or playing with whatever food/drink they have is any less annoying.

I think a lot of you are doing quite a bit of exaggerating and really, a kid making one quick text is essentially a non-issue. Having said that, the OP was obviously not punished for making one quick text and being considerate as possible as such a thing would be barely noticed. I'm in the camp that he was most likely rapid fire texting during the entire film, so oh well, he had it coming.

In summary, I'd never text or reach for my phone in a crowded theatre except to MAYBE check for a caller's ID if I KNEW there was some reason I needed to be contacted. But hey, in a nearly empty theatre, you're damned right I might just text back.

It's very easy to notice. The entire room is dark then all of a sudden the people around you are lit up. It IS distracting.

And its not about whether its more or less distracting then getting up to go to the bathroom. That cannot be avoided. If you have to go, you have to go. However, answering/texting with your phone is completely optional. It is your choice whether you want to distract/annoy people around you. Which is why most people here disagree with the OP's viewpoint.

 

[Xylitol]

Originally posted by: MainFramed

Originally posted by: Coolone
IMO, cel phones being used in any way, shape, or form in a movie theater is asinine.

Unless it was an emergency or something

kids running in front of you ten times throughout the movie to get popcorn and crap is asinine, bumping my chair like a jack russell terrier is asinine, i text quietly so no one can see (welcome to 2007) i mean wtf. you wan the luxury of privacy and quiet movie time, put a home theater in your house...

Other people are paying to not have people have their bright screens distracting their eyes. Just stop texting and enjoy the movie. Complain to the manager about the kids instead of your phone

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
It's very easy to notice. The entire room is dark then all of a sudden the people around you are lit up. It IS distracting.

And its not about whether its more or less distracting then getting up to go to the bathroom. That cannot be avoided. If you have to go, you have to go. However, answering/texting with your phone is completely optional. It is your choice whether you want to distract/annoy people around you. Which is why most people here disagree with the OP's viewpoint.

My cell phone is dim (I do keep it on a low dim setting tho), I'm not sure who uses the spotlight-esque phones you're describing but if I'm using my hand as a shield there isn't enough light coming out to accomplish the illumination of my trousers much less catch your eye like a lighthouse.

In addition, there is a rather large correlation between drinking 1.5L of liquid (soda, which IS optional) and using the rest room. I don't see why some people just can't hold it for 2.5 (at the top end) hours, does everyone relieve themselves on an hourly basis?

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: ShadowOfMyself
Oh here we go again, of course ATOT will flame the OP and defend the manager

But having a phone on SILENCE and having it turned off is the exact same thing unless you answer a call, which he didnt, and yes answering calls is stupid, BUT HE DIDNT, so whats the problem again? Oh, it bothers me to see a faint light on the corner of my eye for 30 seconds while I watch my 2 hour movie

Puulease

Thank you! I believe a manager has no right to confiscate personal belongings unless they pose a physical hazard to the safety of the guests (i.e. drugs or weapons, and only when specifically prohibited by law or posted signs). Otherwise, the extent of their authority is to ask you to leave. I would have left the phone in the car or something. If the OP's sisters are minors and he isn't, then failing to let him re-enter could potentially be considered kidnapping (with the right lawyer I guess).

Something makes me think that this is too extreme to be true. Something else that the OP is not telling us must have happened. Perhaps a rude exchange of words took place? Perhaps the OP was unknowingly dressed in local gang attire? No manager in their right mind would do this unless you were a juvenile nuisance already and they just assumed the role of a school teacher accordingly.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: tranceport
I use email on BB for my job. I have to answer it the messages. If a cop told me something or the staff did. I'd gather my family and we would leave after they gave me a refund.
My phone vibrating and me typing a few words is nothing compared to normal theater distractions. People getting up and coming back. People spilling their m&m's. Slurping their drinks. Crunching their popcorn.


Now please keep in mind I am not writing a book on my BB... just answer a question or two.


However, if you were being louder than the normal distractions and were actually disturbing other movie watchers, that's a different story.

There's no money for the theater in text messaging. There's plenty of money in refreshments. You know DAMN WELL where their priorities lie. Pleasing geezers who hate cell phones keeps them coming back, even if it's enforced in a ridiculous fashion. Young people are generally tolerant of all but the most blatant distractions, so the movie staff doesn't need to do anything to keep them coming back.

Edit: by "young" and "old" I generally refer to an attitude toward technology, not necessarily in chronological age

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: userman
Where did you go watch the movie?
I want to buy the hole staff a beer!

Can I buy you a dictionary while you're out buying the whole staff beer?

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: MainFramed

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
Why did you bother to reply in the first place? I understand checking to see if it's an emergency, but if it's just some little cute message from your buddy does that absolutely DEMAND a response?

Were you even interested in the movie or did you come out with some vague sense of how it was good? I ask this question because, barring a real emergency, NOTHING the little gadget in my pocket does is going to tear my attention away from a truly good movie long enough to text someone.

wow, so there should be a sign that says respond to text messages only if its an emergency, we might then have to put what exactly qualify as an emergency...i mean whos to tell me whether or not i have a good excuse to text or not, the time it took me to read and respond to the text was literally a vast 20 seconds. in that time the officer seen it and came right over as superman, made a HUGE scene for the entire crowd to witnes....and then i left, then came back in and made another scene as i got my sisters to leave. WTF im such a bad guy here....

wow, people.....

Lemme be clarify my statement. I don't think you did anything wrong and I seriously doubt that your texting was going to bother anyone. I'm just expressing my disdain for the importance that many people seem to place on anything that happens to come out of that little communications device we call a cell-phone.

You get a text message and suddenly everything else in the world is less important than whatever inane thing you see on the screen. If the damn thing actually rings then you stop whatever you are doing (it doesn't matter what) and answer it.

Like I said I understand that a real emergency would have to supersede most things that you might be doing when you learn of it, but few people seem to make the distinction between a real emergency and some random person calling you up to chat (or text). If you have something better to do the why can't these random people wait? Why must you drop everything and respond immediately?

If I'm driving and I know I can't safely answer it (i.e. not at a light or stuck in traffic), then I won't. I just don't believe that a movie theater is such a bad place to reply to a text for 20 seconds. I'm 24, and often if I don't respond to my mother's text right away, I forget to do so later, and she gets upset and complains that I don't care about her any more, etc. It's worth pleasing her because she's not getting any younger and all...

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
It's very easy to notice. The entire room is dark then all of a sudden the people around you are lit up. It IS distracting.

And its not about whether its more or less distracting then getting up to go to the bathroom. That cannot be avoided. If you have to go, you have to go. However, answering/texting with your phone is completely optional. It is your choice whether you want to distract/annoy people around you. Which is why most people here disagree with the OP's viewpoint.

My cell phone is dim (I do keep it on a low dim setting tho), I'm not sure who uses the spotlight-esque phones you're describing but if I'm using my hand as a shield there isn't enough light coming out to accomplish the illumination of my trousers much less catch your eye like a lighthouse.

In addition, there is a rather large correlation between drinking 1.5L of liquid (soda, which IS optional) and using the rest room. I don't see why some people just can't hold it for 2.5 (at the top end) hours, does everyone relieve themselves on an hourly basis?

I almost always pee after a movie. If I don't pee after the movie then I don't pee the whole time there. You can't discourage peeing, though, because that discourages drinking sodas at $4 a cup.

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok
Having said that, the OP was obviously not punished for making one quick text and being considerate as possible as such a thing would be barely noticed. I'm in the camp that he was most likely rapid fire texting during the entire film, so oh well, he had it coming.

Yep. Something is not adding up.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: kevinthenerd

Originally posted by: tranceport
I use email on BB for my job. I have to answer it the messages. If a cop told me something or the staff did. I'd gather my family and we would leave after they gave me a refund.
My phone vibrating and me typing a few words is nothing compared to normal theater distractions. People getting up and coming back. People spilling their m&m's. Slurping their drinks. Crunching their popcorn.


Now please keep in mind I am not writing a book on my BB... just answer a question or two.


However, if you were being louder than the normal distractions and were actually disturbing other movie watchers, that's a different story.

There's no money for the theater in text messaging. There's plenty of money in refreshments. You know DAMN WELL where their priorities lie. Pleasing geezers who hate cell phones keeps them coming back, even if it's enforced in a ridiculous fashion. Young people are generally tolerant of all but the most blatant distractions, so the movie staff doesn't need to do anything to keep them coming back.

Edit: by "young" and "old" I generally refer to an attitude toward technology, not necessarily in chronological age

Well I'm one of the "geezers" you refer to, I'm 50. I don't hate cell phones, I have
one. It's not the technology, it's how it's used, like someone blaring their cell in
walkie-talkie mode or using it in a crowded movie that gets me irritated about
it..

 

[CFster]

How do I get a hold of that manager.

I want to send him money or something.

 

[Azraele]

Unless it was an emergency, you had no business playing with that phone in the theatre. Maybe I'm old, but I remember the time when people didn't have to deal with that sort of nuisance while trying to watch a movie.

 

[Schfifty Five]

First of all, GREAT THREAD...it truly is some good readin' lol.

I have no problem with a phone on silent/vibrate, people moving around in their seats make more noise than a vibrating phone. Someone making a quick text is ok too, who cares that a little bright light might be shown for a short time.

But I agree with most people here when they say "BS" on the OP's story. There's just no way a cop of all people shows up the exact moment you start a text. You are leaving out a huge part of what happened or you didn't think through this fabricated story.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: randym431
No one mentioned that someone could use the phones video to record the movie & upload it. How do you think new release movies get around on the net, and why the quality is usually so bad.
How would the manager know the video quality or features of a given phone. Some phones are high tech enough to record a movie in a theater.
Just another reason to ban all phone use during the movie...period.
No one really knows what you are really up to.
If someone had their phone out for a long period of time, I can see others telling the staff.
Sounds like you had yours out pretty long, to have management see you and take action.
More to the story???

That bolded statement made me lol ... seriously.

And I'm so glad we have so many Mr. 100% Perfect law biding citizens on these forums.

If what you are saying is the complete story, what the manager did was completely unwarranted and I just can't believe some of the responses in this thread.

 

[captains]

op is an idiot

 

[Deadtrees]

I wish I won the lottery so I could send all that money to the manager for doing a such a great job.

 

[StageLeft]

Well, the light irritates people on the phone. You say it was hidden, but obviously not enough that a cop couldn't see it, so the bright light is irritating and you were given a choice: stay minus phone or leave, and that choice is theirs to give you and you made your decision.

 

[jjones]

I won't get into whether or not what you did was right or wrong, my only question is, would it have been so difficult to go out to the lobby to text your friend?

 

[loup garou]

Although the theaters are terrible, outdated, and overpriced, one thing I like about the theaters in my neighborhood is that many screens are down 1, 2, or even 3 basement levels, which means no cell signal. Don't often have to deal with these sorts of problems.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Although the theaters are terrible, outdated, and overpriced, one thing I like about the theaters in my neighborhood is that many screens are down 1, 2, or even 3 basement levels, which means no cell signal. Don't often have to deal with these sorts of problems.

I keep hoping more places will put up tinfoil or something in the walls.
Not much luck so far.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five
First of all, GREAT THREAD...it truly is some good readin' lol.

I have no problem with a phone on silent/vibrate, people moving around in their seats make more noise than a vibrating phone. Someone making a quick text is ok too, who cares that a little bright light might be shown for a short time.

But I agree with most people here when they say "BS" on the OP's story. There's just no way a cop of all people shows up the exact moment you start a text. You are leaving out a huge part of what happened or you didn't think through this fabricated story.

I guess a lot of people care about "a little bright light" that's why your told NO before
you go in!. Multiply the "little bright light" X 50 inconsiderate buttheads and the entire
experince is ruined for all..

 

[SillyOReilly]

You're using it in a theater, I hope someone crazy and big shoves it up your rectum next time.

 

[Kaspian]

I always turn my cellphone (and wife's) off before going into the theater. You need to start doing the same.

 

[MainFramed]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
So what really happened? Why would a cop suddenly appear out of nowhere as kranky said?

dude the guy was like 70 years old with a hunch in his back, cant believe he was still wearing a badge. its yorktown, va small town theater. he was inside just standing behind me to the left, he seen it and must have thought he could truly earn his paycheck by doing the others the service of removing me and my cell phone from the show...