Damn the door....or the ambiguity of door etiquette.

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Damn doors!!!

My life is filled with 'em.

There's several sets of lift doors (one where you can see people waiting for the other lift because there is a weird mezzanine thing...one lift is for everyone, the other has staff only floors where you need a swipe card.)

These lifts are forever breaking down or becoming confused, One often finds folk who have been going up and down for ages because they no longer have any idea what floor is which. And they often stop with a big step up, or a big step down, into the lift....this is ok, it's the little steps that people hurt themselves on, because they don't notice.

There's doors into various other parts of the office space which variously have swipe cards, or punched in codes.

There's the door out of one of the buildings I work in that slams like a bastard after you.

Then there's the other building which needs two lifts and only has one. (For now.) This has made a psychological difference to "how long do I hold the door for some poor bastard I can see coming" vs "I am late already".

So, you know the dilemmas.

So, what are the answers?

Eg. How far away EXACTLY is it ok for another human being to be before you stop holding the door that slams like a bastard...(this is an intrinsically ruder door than the others.) I mean, it's really dumb if they feel pressured to run to stop making you wait.....but that door makes people jump if it slams in their face.

Do you try and let people waiting for the lift that you can see in the dumb mezzanine situation know that YOUR lift has come? (There's stairs, so there's no dilemma re really sick looking people and people wheeling objects and such.)

How far away is it ok for someone else to be before you stop holding the lift in the "needs two but only has one at the moment"?

(That's a fun lift...you NEVER know if it will
a. Go to the floor you want.
b. STOP there and open its doors if it does.
c. Go up if its arroe says up, down ditto.)

And the office doors, combination or swipe....what's the critical polite distance?

To the millimetre, eighth of an inch, please.

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@dlowan,

Snort. I well remember a contretemps on this between Roger the Gentleman and me. I'll have to look up the link. (He remains gracious.)

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@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

Eg. How far away EXACTLY is it ok for another human being to be before you stop holding the door that slams like a bastard...(this is an intrinsically ruder door than the others.) I mean, it's really dumb if they feel pressured to run to stop making you wait.....but that door makes people jump if it slams in their face.

Quote:

And the office doors, combination or swipe....what's the critical polite distance?

To the millimetre, eighth of an inch, please.

Official distance is 15 feet.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2712977762_52dd174218_d.jpg

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You might both enjoy reading christopher alexander.. (patternlanguage.com), but then I figure you both have. I don't remember if he covers door opening.

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@Robert Gentel,

No....that's the CRUEL distance!!!!!!!!!

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@ossobuco,

No, I haven't....thank you.

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@ossobuco,

ossobuco wrote:

Snort. I well remember a contretemps on this between Roger the Gentleman and me. I'll have to look up the link. (He remains gracious.)

Was that a critical distance thing, or a man/woman thing?

You know, the fella who thinks he has to rush ahead to open the door?

I figure whoever the **** gets there first opens the damn thing, and holds it for others...or if that is plain awkward (you notice a fella looking very uncomfortable because you are suggesting he go first, you make a micro-second assessment and just go through the damn thing.)

I have told this one before, but it was one of the funniest and sweetest door incidents I have ever experienced.

I was heading to a self-opening door. Now....this one was a pressure opening door..ie there was a rubber mat covered thingy that sensed when someone stepped on the mat and opened the door.

A young man was standing near the door...waiting for something.

As I approached, he winked, made a courtly bow, and, with great fanfare, stepped on the rubber mat for me.

Made me laugh for some time.

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@dlowan,

Yes, that was what it was all about. I suppose I am now propelled to SEARCH.

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@ossobuco,

I'll look first at my own threads. This may take a bit. I'll put it at around 2006.

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@dlowan,

To answer, a man woman thing.

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I will wait 5 seconds to hold a door for a woman, two for a man. I will hold and release if they are slightly behind that. Otherwise they are on their own. I have had people hold a door for me 15 seconds, I hate those people, as they act like they are trying to lay a guilt trip on me for walking at a zen pace.

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@hawkeye10,

Bit of a Rorschach then, isn't it, this door thing?

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@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

(That's a fun lift...you NEVER know if it will
a. Go to the floor you want.
b. STOP there and open its doors if it does.
c. Go up if its arrow says up, down ditto.)

Do you work in a chocolate factory? Willy Wonka had a lift like that in his factory.
I suggest you listen very carefully to see if you can hear Oopa loompa dobitty do.

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@dadpad,

Definitely not.

Is hearing "Oopa loompa dobitty do" good or bad?

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I figure if somebody is rushing to get get in I will hold for them. If they are not showing signs of haste, I will let it close. If they are ridiculously far away, I will ignore them. Fifteen feet sounds good to me.

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If they're close behind me, I'll keep it open for them. If they're not, I don't.

The distance depends on whether I'm early or late for whatever I'm doing. If I have time and feeling expansive, I'll wait. If they are in a wheelchair or are on crutches with nobody with them, I'll wait. If they've got a stroller (pram), I'll wait. Otherwise, you're on your own.

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@Mame,

Sounds like a good plan. Me, too.

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When in doubt, I hold the door open for as long as it takes them.

I had this strange dream the other night. In the only part of it I remember clearly, I approached a glass door in a building at exactly the same time as a man slightly younger than myself. The door opened automatically, and both of us squeezed through the opening at the same time. We were stuck for a few seconds, but neither of us gave up pushing our way in. The strangest thing was that we did not make eye contact, say anything, or even change from a blank facial expression through all of the grappling. Neither of us was going to acknowledge that the other was even there. Once inside, we went different directions, but people were staring at us. I remember thinking the guy was horribly rude. Laughing

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I hold the door for as long as it takes. If the person makes out like they have to run to hurry up and get to me holding the door, I say to them "Take your time, there's no rush."

I've never been in such a rush that I won't hold a door for someone.

Same with elevators. If someone else in the elevator huffs about waiting, well, let them huff.

re elevators, don't they have the number of the floor printed on the inside of the entry of the elevator, for people to see when it opens, in Oz?

chai (making a connection with the human race, one door at a time)tea

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@chai2,

You're so nice, Chai. If I see someone running for the elevator and the door is open, I press the Close button really hard several times. Then when they arrive just as they're shutting, I say, "Sorry! I pressed Open and it wouldn't open!" heh

Eva, wonder what that guy was thinking about you Smile

That's a funny dream .

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Damn the door....or the ambiguity of door etiquette.

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