Poll: Leaning a chair back onto two legs (when you're a guest at someone's house) is:

[AreaCode707]

Re: the "cracked a friend's chair" thread.

I was taught that it's bad manners to lean a chair back onto two legs if you're visiting. I presume the rule was put in place because it places stress on the chair that it wasn't designed to take and risks breaking something belonging to your host.

I still wouldn't do it today, even if it was at a very good friend's house and even though I'm only about 125 lb (female) and the reality is that I'm very unlikely to damage anything. In the other thread it sounds like there's a large contingent that considers this everyday use and not bad manners at all. So what's ATOT's overall opinion?

[edit]I have a friend who comes over and leans the kitchen chairs back on two legs all the time. The kitchen set belongs to my roommate and is secondhand from his sister because he considers it special from his memories growing up. Every time my friend leans these chairs back on two legs I watch them twist a little and wince, waiting for them to break. I've asked him not to but he still does and I'm not sure how much more I can ask him to stop without breaking the good manners of being a host.

 

[TheNinja]

It's bad manners unless the people are uncivilized a-holes who don't have any manners

 

[TallBill]

Where is the option for neither. This isn't a manners related question.

 

[waggy]

bad manners and it amazes me people know they shouldnt do it yet do it anyway.

 

[Goosemaster]

absolutely awesome when the person leaning back is a step relative and you give them a slight nudge and they fall backwords, slicing their head open on a conveniently placed glass table.

fvk you edgar.

 

[bobsmith1492]

It's not bad manners but it tends to break chairs. If your friends don't mind you breaking their chairs... go ahead and do your thing.

 

[GenHoth]

Poker night? A-OK to lean back on the chairs. Sunday dinner? Not so much. Context is everything. As someone in the other thread said, why are you playing poker on a $250 chair? (Plus $10 for spilling beer?) Time to find a new house to play poker at!

 

[Cattlegod]

to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

 

[lokiju]

I lean back in my own chairs.

I don't see the big deal unless they're POS chairs from Ikea that snap like toothpicks with the slightest strain.

But that poll is retarded.

It's not expected but that shouldn't mean it's bad manners IMO.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Poker night? A-OK to lean back on the chairs. Sunday dinner? Not so much. Context is everything. As someone in the other thread said, why are you playing poker on a $250 chair? (Plus $10 for spilling beer?) Time to find a new house to play poker at!

Exactly : Poker night isn't a formal get together. It's not sunday brunch, it's time to kick back, relax, and try to steal your friends money.

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

Seriously? you're going to compare leaning back in a chair (Something that the average person would probably do in their own chair) with driving in that manner?

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Where is the option for neither. This isn't a manners related question.

Well, then it's not bad manners and therefore would be fine. Your answer would be the second one.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

What if I lean back a chair because a baby girl is falling from a bookshelf and I have to lean back to catch her? IS THAT BAD MANNERS?!

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

What if I lean back a chair because a baby girl is falling from a bookshelf and I have to lean back to catch her? IS THAT BAD MANNERS?!

LOL! Well played!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Poker night? A-OK to lean back on the chairs. Sunday dinner? Not so much. Context is everything. As someone in the other thread said, why are you playing poker on a $250 chair? (Plus $10 for spilling beer?) Time to find a new house to play poker at!

$250 is pretty reasonable for a decent table chair....

leaning in a chair at another's house is bad manners.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
[edit]I have a friend who comes over and leans the kitchen chairs back on two legs all the time. The kitchen set belongs to my roommate and is secondhand from his sister because he considers it special from his memories growing up. Every time my friend leans these chairs back on two legs I watch them twist a little and wince, waiting for them to break. I've asked him not to but he still does and I'm not sure how much more I can ask him to stop without breaking the good manners of being a host.

I don't consider it bad manners depending on context, original context in the other thread being a poker game - I say it's fine. That said - If a host specifically asks you not to lean back on a chair and you do it anyway, that's not fine. That sucks.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

What if I lean back a chair because a baby girl is falling from a bookshelf and I have to lean back to catch her? IS THAT BAD MANNERS?!

well yeah..why the fuck is a baby girl on a bookshelf? ok..



and since when does good manners depend on the setting? if its poker night you can still show good manners.

but yeah i sure woldnt play pokar on my dinning room table. we tend to drink a lot and don't want stains on it heh.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Poker night? A-OK to lean back on the chairs. Sunday dinner? Not so much. Context is everything. As someone in the other thread said, why are you playing poker on a $250 chair? (Plus $10 for spilling beer?) Time to find a new house to play poker at!

$250 is pretty reasonable for a decent table chair....

leaning in a chair at another's house is bad manners.

No its not. And no it isn't.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: oogabooga

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Poker night? A-OK to lean back on the chairs. Sunday dinner? Not so much. Context is everything. As someone in the other thread said, why are you playing poker on a $250 chair? (Plus $10 for spilling beer?) Time to find a new house to play poker at!

Exactly : Poker night isn't a formal get together. It's not sunday brunch, it's time to kick back, relax, and try to steal your friends money.

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
to those who voted perfectly fine: how about if i take my friends car up on 2 wheels and crash it because 2 of the wheels buckled in, is that bad manners or expected use?

Seriously? you're going to compare leaning back in a chair (Something that the average person would probably do in their own chair) with driving in that manner?

The point is simple. The shit isn't yours. No matter how good a chair is, you are doing damage to the chair by leaning back on it.

Yes, I lean back in my own chairs but they are mine to damage as I want. Damaging my friends stuff is not cool.

How about this for example that really happened. My friend has a temper and I have played many games(xbox 360) at his house with him. When he is losing he has a tendency to throw his controller. When I am over there I certainly don't care. It is his stuff.

However he came to my house one time and pulled that shit with my controllers. Is that acceptable in your world?

 

[her209]

I think if the angle of the lean is less than 30 degrees, its fine.

 

[mugs]

Definitely not something you should do in a dining room chair.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: her209
I think if the angle of the lean is less than 30 degrees, its fine.

Now I have a mental image of the host with a protractor, double checking.

"31 degrees. Too far! Too far!!"

 

[DrawninwarD]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
[edit]I have a friend who comes over and leans the kitchen chairs back on two legs all the time. The kitchen set belongs to my roommate and is secondhand from his sister because he considers it special from his memories growing up. Every time my friend leans these chairs back on two legs I watch them twist a little and wince, waiting for them to break. I've asked him not to but he still does and I'm not sure how much more I can ask him to stop without breaking the good manners of being a host.

Smack him every time he does it.

 

[TallBill]

What about for tall people? It's bad manners for a host to invite me over and not dig a trench in front of my chair for my feet to go in.

 

[SlitheryDee]

It's not something I would advise doing, but I don't see it as bad manners because it can happen sort of inadvertently. In a close hand of poker I might be so astonished at the cards I draw that the only thing I can do to keep my pokerface is lean back somewhat, lifting the front two legs of the chair without realizing what I'm doing. Someone might tell an extremely good joke, sending me into gales of laughter and causing me to rock backwards in my chair to catch my breath. It's something that can happen without you meaning to do it, which is why I don't think it's bad manners in a relaxed setting. Having everyone feeling like they should be watching everything they're doing takes away from the enjoyment of the occasion and should be avoided by any good host.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
It's not something I would advise doing, but I don't see it as bad manners because it can happen sort of inadvertently. In a close hand of poker I might be so astonished at the cards I draw that the only thing I can do to keep my pokerface is lean back somewhat, lifting the front two legs of the chair without realizing what I'm doing. Someone might tell an extremely good joke, sending me into gales of laughter and causing me to rock backwards in my chair to catch my breath. It's something that can happen without you meaning to do it, which is why I don't think it's bad manners in a relaxed setting. Having everyone feeling like they should be watching everything they're doing takes away from the enjoyment of the occasion and should be avoided by any good host.

Now I know your tells. Want to play poker?