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Comment by buckbova | Hacker News Reader

I don't want to hear you crunching into carrots or biting and slurping an apple. I don't want to smell your leftovers from yesterday. I don't want to hear the rustle of your take-out bags. Please find another place to eat. Why is that so difficult?

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If the sound of a bag rustling sends you into such a tailspin what does an overheard conversation do?

At some point you simply have to develop the power of concentration. Try focusing intently on your work rather than focusing intently on your surroundings.

I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on silent at all times when at the office. If I need to make a call, I step out.

I would like others to do the same.

Edit: Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep when the phone rings.

I'd like to share an office with someone as considerate as you.

    > I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on 
    > silent at all times when at the office. If I need to 
    > make a call, I step out.
    >
    > Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep 
    > when the phone rings.

That's going a bit overboard, but that's fine. Good for you.

    > I would like others to do the same.

That's not really a reasonable request.

FWIW I agree with buckbova and don't think its overboard in the slightest to ask for personal calls to be made out of the office. Nor do I think it unreasonable for this to be part of the company culture. It happens to be part of how we work in the startup I work at (except the desk phone on silent thing) and I'm not aware of any problems this has caused. So I find your pronouncement that its not "reasonable" to be a bit presumptuous.

Agreed. I wish my company was more like that. I don't want to hear you arguing with your wife, making a doctor's appointment to get that lump checked out, or trying to convince your kids to do their homework while you're at the office.

Overheard conversations are worse, yes.

Magical solutions don't seem to work for me. I do not think I have the somatic components necessary.

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