Hacker News Reader

Comment by dbish | Hacker News Reader

Pretty neat but as someone who commutes every day on the New York subway I hope it’s never “cracked” here. Phone usage without headphones is already annoying enough and I greatly appreciate the various people trying to take calls eventually lose service.

View on HN

It’s a tough choice, is it worse to hear their phone calls, or hear 2 seconds of every bit of TikTok/Instagram feed trash. Either way, no cellular access seems a plus.

Honestly I'd prefer to listen to phone calls over brainless reels. Both are hell.

Somehow even though there's great cell coverage in Warsaw metro people aren't being obnoxious with it.

Same in Munich

Who still calls anyway? Literally all my friends exclusively message now (on WhatsApp).

It would be really annoying if I were out of touch for the whole duration of subway trips. But in my city it works great. Here the 3 main providers pooled together and shared the installation.

One or two people per carriage/bus.

> Literally all my friends exclusively message now (on WhatsApp).

An annoyingly large number of them send audio messages. It’s worse for everyone involved.

The worst is not calls, it is the thousands of zombies hooked up on tiktok 24/7, of course with headphones, so completely unaware and indifferent to their environment, who block tunnels, escalators, turnstiles, etc.

In the 90s we read the paper and dumbed with our magnetic tickets. In the 00s we listened to MP3s while playing snake on an oyster. In the 10s we played Andy birds and listened to iTunes with a credit card at the turnstile. In the 20s we doom scroll and listen to Spotify while tapping out with our phone.

I don’t see the issue.

All of that that they did while they sit. I don’t remember people reading the newspapers while slow walking in the middle of a corridor. And the problem with headphones is that they make people unaware of their surrounding, alone in the world, and therefore for instance unaware that there is someone on their left that they will cut the way to. Small incivilities, but repeat several times a day every day and it gets seriously annoying.

Certainly people would do that. And sending text messages in the 00s. People have been wearing headphones while commuting for a generation, and (not on the underground but certainly on trains) people in the 80s and 90s were far more obnoxious - get stuck on a busy train between people having conversations about inane stuff while smoking.

Public transport is far better today than it was 30 years ago, annoyances are far less than they were.

> Public transport is far better today than it was 30 years ago

One exception.

Give me the Routemaster bus back.

The real ones, not the Boris ones.

Those who know, know. ;)

They were objectively terrible

The only benefit was the ability to jump on and off away from bus stops. If you had any kind of mobility issue they were awful, and even if you didn’t they were still far more camped than a modern bus.

People need targets to deflect the anger against themselves. Don’t take that away from them!

This behaviour is so bad on London (above ground) trains, if they ever do 'crack it' and roll out mobile signal to the Underground, those tiny carriages will be unbearable.

There already is signal on many underground lines, and it’s pretty rare that people are playing things out loud in my experience?

It's because phones speakers aren't loud enough to be audible over the sound of the tube itself!

It is noticeable on buses and overground when people play things out load, but to be honest quite rare in the grand scheme of things.

That's true. I made several complaints about that to TFL before capitulating and just settling for noise-cancelling headphones.

Never been happier.

The clincher was noticing that the drivers themselves had access to ear defenders ... TFL said that that's because they're down there for extended periods of time. Sounds reasonable but I'm not buying that as a way out of not fixing the issue and exposing my ears to the worst bits of the tube.

Also has the ancillary benefits of blocking out those rare times (for me) when people do have their phone on speaker or are having a chat I'm uninterested in.

Welcome to the UK where citizens are so apathetic they don't care about aging infrastructure or government money being siphoned away.

My daily train to/from London Bridge to West Croydon is borderline unbearable.

London, increasingly common. I’d say a third of the time when I take the tube. Combine that with people making loud calls, 100% of the time. But I find people imposing their music or tiktok videos more obnoxious than a builder discussing his next job a bit loudly.

A third of the time?

Sorry, nonsense. I use the tube several times a day and it's a real rarity.

I do worry about the tube becoming a cacophony of phone calls, but really? Everyone message now anyway so I reckon that'll be a rarity too.

It may also be highly dependent on which direction you travel. When you travel east from the city, you get totally different demographics than when you travel west.

Really? What do you mean?

They mean more immigrants live in certain neighbourhoods.

I've not noticed that correlation at all. I just wanted to see who was brave enough to actually speak their racism or whether they'd just suggest it in a cowardly way.

Race and culture are different things.

Yes, the demographic plays a big role.

I also never see this behaviour, but I pretty much only use the tube for commuting at peak times. I think commuters are generally better behaved. The sheer density of people means that anti social behaviour will get angrily shut down very quickly.

I think it will depend on your route and the time of your commute. I see fairly distinct behaviour at different times on the tube & Elizabeth Line: come in or leave late and it's full of people who are much less considerate, go in with the majority and there's a bit more social pressure against being inconsiderate.

The tube is ~80db (depending on line) so you're not going to hear it anyway.

but, if I was mayor, I would be getting the transport police to have a word with phones on speakers.

Hum. Who should you trust, me or your own ears?

Sorry I don't mean you're lying.

I mean it depends on the line. Old northernline == 80db.

Elizabeth line, much quieter, so you're gonna hear it more

There's literally already signal on half the Underground, has been for six months to a year, and as someone who gets the tube twice a day I've literally never seen someone do voice call. Literally ever.

Bad News! They already ruined that one.

https://www.boldyn.com/us/news/at-t-and-boldyn-networks-brin...

What is the thing with people using phones without headphones? And making calls on public transport? When did that become a thing? It’s the most obnoxious selfish behaviour and it shocks me every time.

It’s not just Gen Z either, I’ve seen a few boomers do it and even a couple of millennials.

Ten of so years ago I was on a train and the women opposite me gave all her credit card details to someone over the phone — anyone close by could have had fun with them

Is that still a thing in the USA that you can buy with just a credit card number, validity date, name and 3 digit code?

In the EU we have psd2 mandating a second factor. Usually an app where the transaction has to be confirmed.

Yep. the US has always been behind on this bc both the card companies and the merchants are loath to spend an extra .01% to implement better security.

Apple Pay on mac is the best we got. Looking forward to getting a new mac this year in part just for that.

This was in the UK, before 2FA was more common for Cardholders not Present transactions

The second factor is a true annoyance, especially because in Europe it tends to be an "app" that requires iOS or Google-certified phones.

Not to excuse other people's behavior but buying a decent pair of noise canceling headphones or earbuds will make putting up with it a whole lot easier. You don't even have to listen to anything, or you can put rain noises and thunderstorms. It's as much better soundscape than public transport.

Noise cancelling headphones on NYC public transit is insanity.

Why?

You want to be aware of your surroundings.

No, riding the Subway without noise canceling headphones is. The track screeching is something else.

That also creates a problem that people then can not hear important announcements or be aware of dangers (such as knife wielding attackers, as happened on an LNER train just late last year)

You can still hear those things, just not obnoxiously loudly. NC works best against static sounds. Speech still makes it through. Just not as loud.

If you're in a busy car enough people will hear it to be aware, and if you're on your own you will hear the announcement clearly.

Besides it's really a one in 10 million chance you'll get stabbed on the metro, not worth worrying about. The chance of getting hit by a car in traffic is much higher. That feeling of always being in some kind of danger seems to be very American, I never really see that in people here in Europe. I think it's the sensationalism in the press there, every little incident is blown up to massive "BREAKING NEWS!" proportions.

Don't lecture me in a condescending manner. I'm British, I've taken the train all my life, and for years have worn NC headphones to counter the incessant announcements and anti social behaviour. I also have to my play my own music to drown it out

Also: generalising about Europeans is quite ignorant. As is ignoring recent data and recent risks and just citing long term data to insinuate people are being hysterical

A deaf person wouldn't be able to either. We need better non audible ways of signalling.

Why is your need for silence more important than other people's need to communicate?

Neither of those things are needs, it’s just wants and preferring your own wants over others is completely normal.

Imagine trying to live your life where other people’s desires by default overrode you own.

Imagine trying to live your life where other people’s desires by default overrode you own.

Unfortunately that happens a lot; it's called the government.

Collective vs individuals desires

Collectivism killed hundreds of millions of people, so I'll take individualism thanks.

Because silence is a common good, like clean air. It's everyone's. When people fill it with their noise they effectively privatize it for the duration. When they shout on speakerphone or play their music or blare sound from their apps it's especially selfish.

It's actually against byelaws to play music or other loud sounds on transport in London and they can prosecute you if they so wished...

It's about acknowledging it's a shared resource and respecting the space. No loud noises, no littering, no being drunk etc

These days people act like they're the only ones travelling

Looks like TFL issued a whopping three fines in total last year...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx4lje9jpjo

I know, it's pathetic. It's partly because they don't want to pay for the staff to do the enforcement and partly probably some other reasons.

In classic British style they just try to influence and nudge people with campaigns and posters. That way the organisation doesn't have to deal with awkward accusations of racism etc

You do understand that one of those “needs”affects others around you, and one of them leaves them in peace, right? Also I’m sure parent wasn’t referring to emergency calls

Etiquette. Some are raised with it.

Their silence disrupts no one, but one call or loud song disrupts 20-40 people their peace.

Don't be a douche.

They can use headphones. The problem is listening to someone scroll through tiktok with volume on max.

You’re be a bit contrarian there and I’m quite sure you actually believe it’s far more nuanced than that

Simply being polite. Understanding there are other people in the world you inhabit. Things like that.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com