Like how we all face the door in an elevator or feel the need to say ‘ope’ when we almost bump into someone. What’s a silent rule of society that you find hilarious or totally unnecessary?

    • Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de
      21·
      3 个月前

      It has been introduced in my country during the early 80s, so I have to disagree on that one.
      That’s just about 40 years ago, so pretty sure there are still people left who agreed to it.

      • leadore@lemmy.world
        8·
        3 个月前

        Yeah, I was over-simplifying to make my statement more dramatic and semi-funny, because so many people hate the clock-switching.

        It’s complicated. DST is mostly observed in North America, Europe, and part of Australia, and mostly since pre- or during WWII, BUT yes there are a few countries that started later. There are also some original ones that stopped observing it and then started again later. Also, some of the people still alive from when it started would have been too young to be able to agree to it.

        So I’ll amend my statement to “The vast majority of people alive today didn’t agree to DST”. Doesn’t have the same punch.

        • Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de
          2·
          3 个月前

          l agree that it’s complicated.
          The DST in the early 80s actually was the 3rd time people introduced it here, one of the predecessors of our current state even being the first country to ever use it in its current form during WWI.

  • otp@sh.itjust.works
    37·
    3 个月前

    The elevator one seems pretty universal, but “ope” is regional.

    These kinds of social norms aren’t universal.

    One that I wish were more universal would be standing on the right when using an escalator, and leaving the left side for walking.

    • prettykat@lemmy.worldBannedOP
      8·
      3 个月前

      Interesting point! I guess ‘ope’ is my regional bias showing lol. The escalator thing is a great example of a rule that makes life so much more efficient, yet people still ignore it. I wonder why some rules like ‘facing the door’ stick so well, while others like ‘stand on the right’ are a constant struggle. Do you think it’s because one is about comfort and the other is about efficiency?

      • otp@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        3 个月前

        On the contrary, I’d say the elevator thing is only comfortable because it’s a social norm. Unless it’s a subconscious “face the door so you can see if any attackers enter” thing.

        The escalator thing is less universal because it’s something that helps other people, and not ourselves. This isn’t valued as much in individualistic societies like the ones in most of North America.

        • aramis87@fedia.io
          6·
          3 个月前

          I think the elevator one is the same as escalators: to minimize traffic disruption. If you’re facing away from the elevator doors, you can’t tell if you’re at the right floor (causing a delay), you can’t see if there are people interested in entering (another delay), people interested in entering will likely assume this isn’t your floor (yet another delay), it takes time to turn around when it is your floor (delay), and you disrupt anyone behind you in the elevator who also wants to exit there.

        • Mothra@mander.xyz
          6·
          3 个月前

          Disagree. First of all, you are in an elevator for a very short time, unlike with public transport for example. You might as well be facing the direction you need to go to, so that when the doors open, you go, instead of having to turn and then go.

          Second… I regularly take crowded elevators and while it’s true that almost nobody stands facing back to the door, it’s also true that easily half the people choose to stand sideways, facing the side walls. (Which btw makes someone with a pram or wheelchair easier to get into the elevator). It’s a mix of being ready to go and being able to rest your back against the walls of the elevator more than an unspoken social convention.

          Edit: hey well, at least in Australia. Maybe wherever you live everyone faces the door in an elevator.

    • hexagonwin@lemmy.today
      1·
      3 个月前

      that’s what many people do including me, but honestly i’m not sure if letting people walk on the escalator is a good idea.

      they literally have “please do not walk on the escalator” audio on repeat lol. i’ve heard it’s also bad for the escalator’s structural integrity.

      • Luc@lemmy.world
        3·
        3 个月前

        Elevator walker here. This is the first I’m hearing of it! Given that it’s not a thing being played or said in various European countries, where do they have this on repeat? Where did you hear it was bad for it? Any idea why bigger cities generally have markings on the sides of escalators to designate which side to stand, and which side to walk on, since that would only promote the bad-for-their-infrastructure behavior?

        Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator_etiquette doesn’t mention anything about damaging the escalator. Walking along increases your chances of falling or something though. In Hong Kong they apparently measured 43% of accidents stemming from “moving or walking along”. Methinks a stationary bicycle rarely crashes… I’ll take my chances. Can’t be that bad if 57% of accidents stems from the people who just stand there. I’ve never met anyone who was in an escalator accident whereas most people who drive have a traffic accident at some point in their lives and loads of near-misses, so the escalator accident odds must be much lower than that, as well as the speed and consequences involved in escalator accidents, I’d assume

        • ChexMax@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 个月前

          I know someone who was in an escalator accident. The issue is that if you trip, your hair can get caught in it and if you don’t resolve it by the top it rips the hair from your scalp. Idk if modern ones have mechanisms to prevent this, but i know of a gnarly accident from the 80s or 90s. Makes me stressed every time I ride one. I almost always stand still, with one foot on the stair above and a hand on the railing to maximize stability.

          Can also happen with a loose shoelace but then you just slip your foot out of the shoe so not so bloody.

        • hexagonwin@lemmy.today
          2·
          3 个月前

          interesting, i live in korea and hear similar audios in various places. (like this, “please do not walk on the escalators and hold the handle on both sides”)

          and indeed, seems like i can’t find much about standing on one side damaging the escalator. not sure where i’ve even heard of it lol.

          kinda unrelated but after having seen this (pic attached) recently, i’m kinda scared of escalators in general lol. machine translated screenshot of xcancel link

        • hexagonwin@lemmy.today
          4·
          3 个月前

          i kinda worded it poorly. the primary reason they say that is because one may bump into others or lose balance and fall down. and there’s usually stairs that can be used instead if one wants to walk.

  • zeppo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    3 个月前

    I like the tradition of “bless you!” when someone sneezes, but it is surely not necessary. And why do we say that for sneezing but not coughing?

    • credo@lemmy.world
      23·
      3 个月前

      I was at the urinal the other day and sneezed; someone said bless you from a stall.

      It was awkward. Breaking one social norm to uphold another.

        • metallic_substance@lemmy.world
          7·
          3 个月前

          If he doesn’t take the handshake the only appropriate thing to do is to wait outside the bathroom, follow him to the parking lot and then follow him home. Once you learn his address, you can start learning his routines and the routines of his family. There are many options at this point, but the one I recommend is applying for a job where he works. The next step could take a long time, potentially years. Work your way up the ladder. Take night classes to fit the roles you’re applying for internally, and dedicate yourself to the job. Delay finding “the one” and starting a family like you’ve always dreamed of. Nothing matters but the job. Bide your time and when you finally are promoted to this man’s boss, on your first day, offer a handshake. Of course, he won’t deny you. Relish this moment. Feel the warmth of his hand I yours. Smile and say “was it really that hard?” When he gives you a quizzical look, laugh it off like it was a joke. You want to call it there, but you’re in too deep. You’re making nearly 300k a year in salary and commissions and you have a clear shot at EVP if you play your cards right. Your lifestyle has changed and you have an expensive mortgage, a boat payment for a yacht you don’t have time to take out, and a number of women half your age that you spend what little free time you have with wining and dining. They have expensive tastes. You tried coke recently and you really like it. It makes your job so much easier because you need to be “on” all the time and you haven’t been sleeping well, but you’ve discovered that if you do just exactly the right amount, you can perform at peak. You have it totally figured out.

    • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
      15·
      3 个月前

      I say gesundheit as I’m not religious and don’t like to propagate religious sentiment, but I like the idea, too. I’m not German.

      • hcf@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        3 个月前

        I say gelassenheit as I’m not superstitious and don’t like to propagate superstitious sentiment. I’m also not German.

        • FosterMolasses@leminal.spaceEnglish
          2·
          3 个月前

          My favorite thing about Russian is that most things translated to English sound so rude out of context, haha

          Most of the speech sounds like aggressive dictation “Come over”, “Sit down”, which is such a stark contrast to the English manner of speech: “Do you think it might be possible if it doesn’t terribly trouble you to pass the salt?”

          I also learned a little while ago that apparently this manner of speech is also seen as somewhat offensive in parts of Scandinavia because it’s seen as passive aggressive lol

          • Allero@lemmy.today
            1·
            3 个月前

            It depends regionally and contextually, quite some Russians are quite hyper-polite in their own right, which in turn is a laughing matter for the others.

            I mean, if you would be so kind to accept another possibility, that is. I don’t insist!

      • Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        3 个月前

        Funnily enough, it is not universally agreed on in German to say “Gesundheit”.
        Many don’t do it any more (me included), because it is a comment on an uncontrolled body function and thus pretty intrusive.

        Exception to this may be people who are really close to you.

        • kindnesskills@literature.cafe
          2·
          3 个月前

          Regardless of which phrase is being said, I think it’s nice that we have a little rituals here and there.

          A sneeze is often loud, sudden, startling and disruptive, so having a standard word or short phrase can ease us back into normal conversation mode without derailing the preceeding conversation (like actually asking if someone is okay could take us too far from the original topic). A quiet sneeze recuires no easing out of.

          If I do a loud sneeze and no one says any variant of gesuntheit, I feel compelled to mildly apologise (pardon/excuse me) before carrying on, so one party does the little ritual to bridge between violent sound and normal speaking either way. Can be nice to “bless” the sneezer so they dont have to apologise for disrupting.

    • Pommes_für_dein_Balg@feddit.org
      11·
      3 个月前

      In the team I work with, we’ve established saying “Shut up!” if someone sneezes instead.
      The proper response for coughing is “Die quietly”.

    • SelfHigh5@lemmy.world
      6·
      3 个月前

      I hate this tradition fiercely and I’m glad to have moved to a place where sneezes are generally ignored. As they should be.

    • FosterMolasses@leminal.spaceEnglish
      2·
      3 个月前

      It’s so weird how you can sneeze a million times and people will treat you like the panda meme, but a few coughs in the row and suddenly this quiet blanket of dread falls over the room like “Are they dying? Should we call the CDC?” 😂

    • SharkWeek
      1·
      3 个月前

      They don’t do that in Vietnam, and I find it odd

  • LemmyFeed@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    23·
    3 个月前

    Having to sell our labor for a fraction of the profit and being outcast if you want to opt out.

    Coupling healthcare to employment.

    Forcing the majority of retirement savings to be tied up in the stock market and killing company sponsored pensions.

  • crapwittyname@feddit.uk
    13·
    3 个月前

    All of them, in a way. We don’t sign on to social rules we just kind of learn them, usually from our parents, then from other kids. Someone who’s never been in an elevator might face inwards. I’m from the North of England. The first time I took a ride on the London tube I was 30ish, and I was completely unaware of the incredibly complex and subtle social rules at play there. I made eye contact and even smiled. I tried to strike up a conversation. This was completely wrong to do, it turns out. I never agreed to be so unfriendly, specifically on the tube, but now, I am.

    So anyway to answer your question, the weird requirement to sort of suppress your humanity on public transit in big cities is maybe necessary, definitely not hilarious, but very, very strange.

  • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world
    7·
    3 个月前

    Like how we all face the door in an elevator or feel the need to say ‘ope’ when we almost bump into someone. What’s a silent rule of society that you find hilarious or totally unnecessary?

    I look in the mirror when there is one.

    And when i bump into someone i go “SORRY IM SORRY IM SO SORRY IM SORRY AREYOUOKAY”

  • Mothra@mander.xyz
    7·
    3 个月前

    Not sure I agree with your appreciation of the elevator. I don’t know where you are (I’ve never heard “ope” either) but at least in Australia not everyone faces the door in an elevator. I’ll copy my own comment left below to someone else:

    …you are in an elevator for a very short time, unlike with public transport for example. You might as well be facing the direction you need to go to, so that when the doors open, you go, instead of having to turn and then go.

    Second… I regularly take crowded elevators and while it’s true that almost nobody stands facing back to the door, it’s also true that easily half the people choose to stand sideways, facing the side walls. (Which btw makes someone with a pram or wheelchair easier to get into the elevator). It’s a mix of being ready to go and being able to rest your back against the walls of the elevator more than an unspoken social convention.

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
    7·
    3 个月前

    i wonder if there is natural instinct to not have your back to the only opening in any space… which then leads to the question of how can you discern a ‘silent social contract’ from instinct? is there even a difference?

    • ChexMax@lemmy.world
      1·
      3 个月前

      Yeah, because people are fine to face sideways in an elevator, toward the center, I’d say much more likely the more people enter, especially if you’re occupying a front corner.

      Plus, if you’re last in, it’s not uncommon to face backward if it’s tight. It’s more polite than jostling to turn around, so maybe it’s best to face the center?