Thou shalt not...
1. Preview ringtones while commuting
Listening to your ringtone playlist - even if it is polyphonic or MP3 - while on the train or bus will unner ve other commuters, especially during peak hours. Other passengers shoul not be subjected to listening to one shrill melody after another as you check every ringtone on your phone to decide the one you want. If you really must test your options, do it privately - when in the bath room.
2. Thou shall not ignore the company before you
When with friends, limit your phone conversations to only the necessary and if the call is urgent, excuse yourself and walk away before you talk.
When on a date, ignoring your partner to talk on the mobile is rude and checking or sending messages every few minutes is distracting.
3. Use the mobile phone in the toilet
Do not hog the toilet cubicle. How many times has the queue to the loo in a public toilet stretched because someone is chatting away inside a stall? Also, people in the adjacent cubicle do not need to hear your conversation.
4. Display the mobile phone as if it is an accessory
No matter how many sparkly studs the phone makers put on it, a mobile phone is not jewellery. It does not make good fashion sense to have phones clipped on belts or hanging around necks.
5. Forget that mobile phones are used for making calls
Some people have broken up their relationship via SMS. Others have had meetings cancelled on them at the last minute also from an SMS. The senders of these SMS messages must not forget that mobile phones are primarily used to make connections - not break them.
6. Expect mobile phones to be turned on all the time
Unless your job absolutely requires it, you are not obliged to be contactable all the time. The mobile phone is for reaching others and for others to reach you - at your convenience.
Thou shalt...
7. Cram as many questions as possible into one SMS note
Have you ever been asked a question on SMS, answered it, only to get a follow-up question - and another and another, without a pause?
Repartee is great in a face-to-face conversation. But a back-and-forth question and answer session on SMS is not recommended.
Ask the two or three most pertinent questions. It is less annoying and could even save you from repetitive stress injury.
8. Answer all calls within two rings
This does not apply only to customer service representatives at call centres, you should practise this rule too. Answering a call promptly is being considerate. No one needs to hear Paris Hilton sing Stars Are Blind over and over. Besides, if the ring is loud enough to irk others within a 10m radius, you should be able to hear the ring yourself.
9. Turn off or silence thy mobile phone during meetings
Like at concerts, the movies, meetings, weddings and funerals, many mobile phone users are still unenlightened about this rule, despite reminders, say, before a concert starts. It is not okay to leave your phone's ringer on. Or worse, to answer the call and proceed to chat.
10. Resist the urge to talk loudly
The microphone in your mobile phone is made for picking up sounds, even whispers, so there is no need to talk loudly. Yo! Do not be a yokel!
Technorati tags: miscellaneous, etiquette, mobile
