3.207 noisy laptops (32)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Tue, 4 Jul 89 18:54:41 EDT


Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 207. Tuesday, 4 Jul 1989.

Date: Tue, 04 Jul 89 17:15:38 BST
From: Donald Spaeth (0532) 33 3573 <ECL6DAS@CMS1.UCS.LEEDS.AC.UK>

Re: 3.137 laptops and noise

It's all very well for Michael Sperberg-McQueen et al.
to argue that noise is
relative and that people will "get used" to listening to the tapping
of computer keyboards in libraries. May I suggest (1) that libraries
are meant to be quiet and that it is rude to be noisy in such an
environment (the noise librarians themselves make is irrelevant to
this argument), and (2) that if we really expect others to convert
to the wonders of computers we must avoid making ourselves
objectionable. We do not want the sins of a few rude typists
to queer the pitch (if I may be allowed a quaint local
colloquialism) for the rest of us. Personally, my hunting and
pecking can be heard from far away!

Donald Spaeth
Arts Computing Development Officer
University of Leeds
email: Janet: d.a.spaeth at uk.ac.leeds.cms1
Earn/bitnet: d.a.spaeth at cms1.leeds.ac.uk