Timeline for Under what circumstances is it okay to not hold a door open?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 2017 at 13:23 | comment | added | David K | Sometimes as a middle ground I'll give the door an extra shove so it stays open a bit longer. This works well for someone who is following close enough that they'd be able to catch it, but far enough that you'd have to stop to hold the door. | |
| Oct 20, 2017 at 4:53 | comment | added | ESR | @apaul good point, I agree | |
| Oct 20, 2017 at 4:50 | comment | added | apaul | @EdmundReed Most people who are perceived as rude are simply unaware or uncaring. Usually what makes someone polite is the conscious effort to be aware of their surroundings and the other people there in. | |
| Oct 20, 2017 at 4:43 | comment | added | ESR | When people don't check behind them to see if there is anyone following and leave you to grab the door before it closes fully, I don't consider it rude, because they didn't see me. It just annoys me that such people do not have the foresight or awareness. This is different to being rude in my mind. Often the people who do this are very polite in general. | |
| Oct 20, 2017 at 4:12 | comment | added | Marc.2377 | There are many prank videos on Youtube about holding a door open for people far away, like this one: youtube.com/watch?v=QpRO39X1rTk | |
| Oct 19, 2017 at 3:37 | comment | added | jpmc26 | The latter situation isn't even always rude. Depending on which way the door opens, then trying to hold it puts you in their way and makes getting around you much more awkward than if you just held it long enough for them to grab it. (The only way to avoid that would be to go around behind the door, but if they're close enough behind you, then you run into them trying to get into that position, which is also awkward.) | |
| Oct 19, 2017 at 0:39 | comment | added | Rich | Same here. I used to overthink this and you're going to bring it out again... If you spend 5 minutes sitting in a lobby with a manually-operated door, you'll see the odd awkward chap holding a door for 20 seconds and the intended beneficiary trot along, equally awkwardly. In general, it's okay to wait longer when the person over there is someone you know or need to speak with. Otherwise, let the door close: they don't know you. | |
| Oct 19, 2017 at 0:10 | vote | accept | Giacomo1968 | ||
| Oct 18, 2017 at 18:52 | comment | added | gucciferXCIV | @Nilerian Exactly. Some people are clearly overthinking it... In an ordinary situation, if there's nothing preventing the next person from opening the door themselves and you have to hold the door more than a few seconds, let it close. No sane person is going to have their day ruined because they had to open a door themselves. | |
| Oct 18, 2017 at 18:09 | comment | added | Nilerian | Yeah this is basically my policy. I do it by: if I walk through and don't hold the door at all, will it close before the person reaches it? If yes, keep walking. If no, hold the door. Apply modifiers as needed if they are carrying something etc. | |
| Oct 18, 2017 at 15:19 | history | answered | apaul | CC BY-SA 3.0 |