Etiquette

I have to say that I agree with the cell phone etiquette in our text. I fell that is rude when anyone engages in conversations on their cell phone when they are at the movies, out to dinner, and church services. Although, I have had dinner with some women from work and l let them know that I was expecting an important call and that I would like to sit at one of the ends of the table. I wanted to sit at the end of the table so I could easily walk away from the table when I received the call. I believe that by informing them that I was expecting a call and I need to answer it, as well as my placement in the seating arrangements it made it easier for all who attended dinner to understand why I would be on my cell phone. I also have to state like many of you that I hate it when people talk on their phones or text at the movies. It is so disruptive.
The etiquette for answering machines really should be based on the phone number. What I mean by this is that your business phone should not have jokes, weird music, or something snide recorded on it but on your personal home or cell phone it really shouldn’t matter. This is a phone that is paid by the individual not the organization.

I am probably one of the few who hates call waiting. I still have it on my phone only because my caller id will let me know who called and my phone service will automatically connect the call to my answering machine after 4 rings. Otherwise I hate it when I am trying to talk to someone and you keep hearing the beep, it’s like you feel like you have to answer it.

Conference call etiquette does make sense to some degree. I have been on a conference call with just my boss and I. He is a male and I am a female so after the first initial introduction we did not state who we are because we felt it was obvious because of the difference in tone. I do agree with the background noise and snide remarks. People need to remember that on a conference call everything that happens in the room can be hear d on the other side of the room.
I do agree the etiquette for long faxes. I have called several times to recipients to find out a good time to send a 20 page fax. I also thought it was good that the text mentions that faxes can be seen by anyone and they are not private so be careful what you fax.

The timing of communications has become very relaxed with a lot of people because of the technology available. There is a different between the time you call someone on their phone or send them an e-mail.

Screen names and ring tones can sometimes be interpreted by others as offensive or degrading. For instance, I have used sjsueducatedfool since I began SJSU. I have had both negative and positive feedback. This is not a screen name that I would use in the workplace. So it really depends on the environment the appropriateness of a screen name or ring tone.