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Comment by reaperducer | Hacker News Reader

As a former embedded systems engineer, my door bell is two long bits of wire, a bell, a push button and two C cells.

I know a guy who lives is a 1700's-era house. His is a bell, a pulley, and a string.

Which part of that system is connected to wifi? I guess kinetic energy from the bell can be enough to send a zibee message

Nonsense, complete over engineering. I have a door, and people knock on it.

I have an overengineered wifi doorbell, and I've yet to have a delivery where it was used over knocking on wood.

Seriously. Everyone that id want to actually press the button just pounds on the door. The door to door people in particular have figured out they can’t be easily told off.

I haven’t had a delivery person knock in quite a long time. Package deliveries haven’t knocked in close to 20 years. I’ve even noticed DoorDash drivers don’t even knock anymore, they awkwardly stand in front of the porch and try texting. I now open the door as they are walking up to the porch to avoid that. I don’t know if it’s a policy or some kind of shared anxiety, but I find it really weird.

I had one food delivery driver call me while standing in the middle of the street. Seemed like he was afraid to approach and knock or ring. So strange.

Do you perhaps live in a place where people answer the door with a gun in their hand?

Some people get really weird if you approach their house in a way they don't like. I imagine if that happens a few times to you as a delivery driver, you might be more cautious.

I know people like this, but would assume if they ordered a delivery that the person would be expected and not a cause of alarm. If someone can’t handle a person coming to their door, they shouldn’t be allowed to use delivery services.

> would assume if they ordered a delivery that the person would be expected and not a cause of alarm

The problem is they've probably gone to the wrong house before and met an owner who got defensive.

I used to live in a small rural city, in a shared house where the door was never locked. On market day, there would be this woman coming in to do her weekly laundry. I was never given the key to that house.

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