I try to answer my phone as quietly as possible- not always easy on BART! But I'm don't not answer, I just attempt to be discreet, and get my conversation over with quickly. Who knows how successful I am!

I try not to talk on the phone in places like buses (and I never do in restaurants) but I still don't think it should be banned. Sometimes you really need to make or answer a call wherever you are.

I love to listen on the phone in public places. Usually, I'll just grunt out answers

I've done a quick "I've just finished where I was -- should I come get you or head home first?" type quick calls on the sidewalk a couple times, but usually not.

I suck I guess cause I talk on mine all the time, not loudy or obnoxiously, but if I'm shopping or whatnot, then yeah. I don't talk in restauraunts though

I usually only talk on the phone for at most a few minutes anyway--usually making plans or something--so yeah, I'll talk in public if I have to.

My conversations are kept to a minimum though I DO talk on the phone. I also do NOT talk on the phone while checking out at a register.

wallking from class to home, i sometimes makes calls, but mostly i wait until i get into my apartment.
i only make calls in class (in school building) when i need to (doctors appointments, calling my mom is she is getting me to go to lunch). i rarely answer my phone during class. i have 3 hour work studios mostly so most people answer their phone.

I've never really grasped the difference between talking on the phone to someone in public and talking in person to someone in public. Why is one conversation offensive and ban-worthy and the other totally commonplace...? The only thing I can think is that people are pissed they can't eavesdrop on both sides of the conversation.

I don't talk on my phone in public usually unless it's my husband calling from Iraq, in which case eff everybody else. They can say goodbye to their spouse for months on end and THEN b*tch to me about my conversation annoying them. But, the only reason I don't usually talk on my phone in public is because I'm usually doing something in public and a phone conversation would be a distraction.

The concept of banning phone conversations while simultaneously allowing any other conversations is just ludicrous, IMO.

seriously, what is the point of a cell phone if you can't use it on the move? why should you have to wait until you're indoors, you might as well use a regular phone.

i agree that it is annoying when there are people who are talking loudly on their cell phones, but it is just as intrusive when two people are talking loudly to each other.

the solution? when out in public keep in mind that there are people around you who aren't part of your conversation so you don't need to speak loudly. a total ban is just wrong. what if there is an emergency?

I don't presently have a cell phone [I know ... who AM I?] but I have never minded talking in public places. Who cares if someone's going to listen in on my conversation. Maybe they'll hear something really embarrassing and think I'm scandalous. Oh well. That's their problem. If I've got something private to talk about, I'll wait until I'm in a more private place.

I only use the phone in public if it is a necessity. I was at the post office the other day and there was a looooong line. This chick was on her Razr the entire time. I think I know more about her than I do my friends. She was sooo obnoxious.

I do it only when needed. I think it is so darn annoying when people are on their cell phone talking and laughing loud. Sometimes they can't concentrate on other things going on around them because they are so much into that conversation that could probably WAIT! Some people see talking loud on their cell phone, as looking important but when you sound and look ignorant over the phone while making stupid moves, then it's the total opposite. You do honestly look stupid.

seriously what is UP with these pictures of cell phones from the 1800s on these posts!

It depends on what the nature of the call is. If there's someone I'm trying to avoid, like a guy hooting and hollering and I don't want to talk, or even if there's something that I feel that I need to get off my chest, I will. I also do it in terms of multitasking: if I have to call my job and I'm walking between classes, etc...

I talk quietly on my cellphone: on lunch-breaks from work, usually at a table in a bustling mall cafe and wandering around. I'm not afraid of the convenience and connectedness the cell phone offers me. However, if there is any reason to interact face to face with another person, you'd better believe my cell phone is Nowhere near my ear.

Well, cell phones don't work in the subways. But yes I use my phone when I'm crossing the street and stuff. Sometimes I'm making plans for later or I have to meet someone and I'm planning my travel route so as to not spend much money on subway fare. I keep my conversations quick and as quiet as possible. And yes I talk on the LIRR. I call my mom to tell her what station I'm at and when I leave so she can know when to leave the house to come pick me up. The problem is that people don't know when to quit-- give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile-- its not the phones. They just give those people a tool to be rude where they would be rude anyways.

I am so glad they're being banned.. I LOATHE CELL PHONES and chronic selfish twats who are constant cellphone users

I would be just as annoyed with some loud f*ckwad on the street who doesn't know how to respect other people..As I am with the majority of people on cell phones who talk loudly and about stuff they should never discuss in public... It's not because I cannot eavesdrop on the conversation it is because I don't want to be involved in the conversation at all..

Most people think they're not being loud, but they generally are.. Because cellphones are hard to hear on.. and people think because they can't hear very well they have to speak louder..

I loathe cell phone users.. who wander the sidewalks.. they are also generally not paying attention to anyone but themselves and the person they're having a conversation with.. So they weave, and take up space

I don't care if you stand off to the side out of other ppls way to have your quick convo's..

Seriously, some people are just loud and oblivious to the existence of other people, cellphone or no cellphone.

Don't hate the poor innocent gadget.

Only if it's something I have to say right away (ie tell my mom something important I forgot to tell her). I don't hold full-on conversations, like calling a friend to chat, in public.

One of my big pet peeves is people having full conversations while on-line at a register (while being rung up). :|

Sometimes I do. Depends on who is calling, but I always keep my voice quiet or if I can, leave the building.

I'll talk on the phone in public, but not in really close quarters. I usually text people if I need something.

i do, and i am not always aware of who is around me the whole time. one day i was at the grocery store when my oldest daughters neurologist called and i had been waiting for her call for 2 days. there was no way i was going to say i couldn't talk and i had a whole shopping cart full of food, so there i was.

i'm trying to hear about some test results and this man about 80 starts yelling at me saying no one wants to hear my private conversation. it took me a minute to see that his antics were directed at me. when i realized i said "just a minute" to the neuro and looked at the guy and said "it's my daughters doctor", hoping he'd get a clue. nope, "then you should be home with her if SHE'S SO SICK!". yeah, not that kind of sick. i was almost crying and so mad i blurted out "you smell like pee. get away from me before i throw up." guess what, all these months later i'm still not sorry i said it and if i saw him again i'd probably remember him, dick.

some calls can't wait and it's really no ones business. permanently ill children have to eat so their mothers have to go to the grocery store, so there you go.

I try not to in enclosed places like trains or buses, though I sometimes do talk quietly if it's not crowded. I frequently talk outdoors in parks or while walking down the street. It's the best time because I'm not doing anything else.

I pick up and mack short calls but I don't have long conversations on my cell. Also I always have it on silent, as I hate all those stupid ring tones.
And it is very different to have a conversation in person in public and on the phone. Some people may not realize this, but they talk much louder on the phone and on the train, when everyone else is quietly reading their newspaper I don't want to have to listen to other peoples life stories. People just don't value privacy anymore.

i don't own one but when i did (in my early 20s) i basically used it to call my mom for a ride, from the train station.

lol julibul, I thought I was the only one that picked apart the pictures. And this one is affirmative action to boot!

Yah, I use my cellphone a lot in public. Well, mostly when I'm driving. That's when I deal with all my appointments and whatever. There's just something about making calls from home that feels like such a waste of time to me at this point - oh, and my mind seems to function more clearly when I'm on the go. Banning cellphones on public transportation sounds so stupid. I guess they want you to... pray?

no way, I will text but not talk. If I am on the phone when I am walkng into a place I will rush the other person off the phone. And I won't answer until I am alone again. I can't stand hearing other peoples convo's...

If someone calls me when I'm out and I'm not with someone else, I will answer it and talk. I will talk in my normal voice, like they are right next to me, and if they can't hear me I tell them I'll call them back. Some people can hear me fine and others can't. If it's important then I find a quiet spot.

The only people I think are rude are the people who are in their own little world talking loudly, or blocking aisle. And people who talk on it while driving. There's a reason most people doodle while on the phone: it helps them concentrate. Talking on the phone without the presence of the person and 3D sound of someone next to you takes a lot more concentration than you think.

i only talk quietly if i'm in close proximity to other people, like on the bus or something because i don't like people listening to my conversations. i know that they do because if i hear someone talking all loud on their phone i'm listening. haha.

No, I definitely do not talk on my cell phone in public places. Last week I was at the public library and this woman was yakking on her cell phone so loud, that I wanted to walk up and smack her on the head!

I don't use my cell phone much at all, but I generally don't care if I'm in a public place or not. My calls are short, discreet, and conducted in an inside voice, or else I'll call the person back. If a person next to me if annoyed by my asking my mom if I need to pick up milk, well, too bad.

I don't hold full conversations on my phone, but it doesn't bother me if others do so long as they aren't being too loud or holding others up (which is unacceptable with or without a cell phone).

To be perfectly honest, no matter where you are or at what volume you talk, it's ALWAYS annoying to people around you. Especially if you're with someone, and you're on your phone. It's so rude.

Ya I mean I don't care who is around it's MY cell phone to talk on whenever I want.

All people annoy me.

a cell phone ban would be most welcome in just about any public place. as far as i'm concerned, cell phones in general should be used for emergencies only.

1. too many people have waaaaay too personal conversations (loudly) on their cell phones. i don't know you, so your abortion, illicit affair, family issues and mental problems are *not my concern*. have people never heard of discretion?

2. too many people are so self absorbed their cell phone use intrudes upon *MY* life because you're too busy having a pointless and loud conversation instead of paying the friggin cashier thereby needlessly holding up the line; you're too busy gabbing to realize you're doing 45 in the left most lane of the highway; you're too oblivious to the life around you to realize you're taking up the whole sidewalk and walking way too slowly.

3. generally it's a courtesy thing. in most places where one wouldn't dream of having a loud conversation, people feel at liberty to bray on their cell phones like donkeys. you're not the only person on earth, no one else's life revolves around you so please *please* shut the eff up!! and act like a human being.

This thread is cracking me up! People who talk on cell phones don't realize that the world isn't all about them. It's all about me! And how I think things should be! And a.) I don't want to hear the sound of human voices, b.) it skeeves me out to realize the people around me are people! with personal lives! not robots! damn them! and c.) everybody should get the hell out of my way so that I can hurry, hurry, hurry because it's all about me! me! me!

The funniest thing of all is that I bet some of the outraged posters here are some of the same people who get all annoyed when they can't get a hold of somebody! But, damn anybody else who answers their phone.

Every once in a while I'll get all annoyed with somebody in say the grocery store who is dawdling along on their cell phone and I have to wait to move forward. But, then I have to stop and think why is that any more annoying than getting stuck behind an old lady who just can't move very fast? Or two people having a face to face conversation and not paying attention to the world around them? And I have to admit that there isn't any particular reason why that should be more annoying. And frankly getting all annoyed because someone else isn't making sure that I! can do everything I! want as fast as I! want to is just not how I'd like to live life. Live and let live, y'all.

jennifer76 not only do you have a talent for hyperbole, you utterly miss the point.

if you don't see that there's a difference between a senior citizen who moves slowly due to arthritis or age and someone who's too self absorbed to put a pointless conversation on hold in order to pay & get out of the way at the front of the line, then go ahead & keep laughing.

Oh dang, you're right! It would be much better to walk around pissed off than to laugh off minor annoyances. I better work on that...

your capacity for hyperbole is truly astonishing.

rock on, jennifer.

Hey, when in Rome...perhaps you noticed the hyperbole throughout the thread? Some examples...

"This chick was on her Razr the entire time. I think I know more about her than I do my friends."

"I LOATHE CELL PHONES and chronic selfish twats who are constant cellphone users"

"too many people are so self absorbed their cell phone use intrudes upon *MY* life"

"no matter where you are or at what volume you talk, it's ALWAYS annoying to people around you"

"your capacity for hyperbole is truly astonishing."

Of course, if I was really going to go with the "when in Rome" thing, I guess I'd have to get all annoyed and start ranting. Really not my style...

My commute is the only time of my day when I actually have time to make calls. Usually it's to make plans and the calls are quick and quiet. There's no way I'm giving that up!

Talking on your cell phone while driving? That's the kind of thing that screams "HEY I WANNA RUN PEOPLE OVER" And yet those who talk on the phone will argue that of course they're fully payin attention.. I've put a few dents in the side of ppls cars with this selfish single minded attitude

And I doubt they want you to pray, I think they want you to offer other people courtesy and respect not to subject them to the drivel of your daily lives. At a loud decibel that makes people want to stab others

i absolutely hate people who take calls and yell into their phones so much that everyone within 5 meters can hear him or her. i take calls only when i have to. i keep my voice down and i keep the calls short - unless i'm lost and asking for directions. i absolutely don't take calls in the cinema, at church, in public restrooms and as much as possible while i'm commuting (although this last one is avoided more in fear of being mugged or missing my stop)

I try not to take calls in public places. I do not take calls in bookstores, call me weird but I consider all places with books a library, but the other day I was trying to browse and this woman was standing next to me going on and on about the weird growth on her boyfriends intimate area. Gross. How can people discuss such things in public? I once had someone ask me to stop discussing politics with a friend because they thought it was rude. What! I can't talk about the upcoming election but you can describe you most recent conquest in graphic detail? Privacy is lost and I so miss it.

I just can't handle people talking loud on the train. I'm on it for an hour each way, and love to use the time to read, play my video game, whatever. It's so distracting when you're trying to relax and end up in someone else's conversation, you know?

I'm hoping not for a ban outright, but for the start of "quiet cars" like they have in some other countries. THAT would rock.