FCC talking about relaxing cell phone rules

I don't blame the cell phones, they're a great advance. I have one, I
hardly
use it, but I have one. I just think that they have allowed rude
people to
be even more inconsiderate. Hey maybe someone should come up with a
"cell
phone booth". A booth with nothing in it!

I don't blame the phones either - they just provide a con-
venient excuse for the inconsiderate in our midst to show
their true nature. Personally I make a point of trying to
avoid annoying others - stepping away or outside when I
can, and speaking softly when I can't. It is hard to remember to
silence the ringer when you should, though.

As for having to listen to other people's conversations,
that is a problem whether phones are involved or not.
Perhaps hearing half of a conversation is more annoying
than a whole one. I have had to endure some extremely
annoying conversations in situations where I couldn't
leave (like on a bus, train or plane) - and one or two
abusive monologues intended to irritate everyone within
earshot. Maybe the answer is to keep handy noise canceling
earphones (or a music player of some sort)for use when you want to
escape the sounds made by your unwanted companions.

I remember an incident years ago (before cell phones) in
which I was seated in a restaurant listening to a conversation
on a two-way radio. I was careful to adjust the volume to
a barely audible level - certainly less than the ambient
noise of dozens of people talking at once. My doing so ap-
parently greatly annoyed a man at the next table, who ap-
proached me in a very hostile manner, asking if I intended
to continue listening. I replied in the affirmative -
whereupon he and his companion moved to another table.
Obviously, the threshold of being offended varies greatly
from one person to another. My question is "what is the
difference"? My radio was simply people talking - and we
were surrounded by talking people!

To get back to the original topic of this thread: There is
nothing inherently wrong with using cell phones on airliners
(provided the technical issues are satisfactorily resolved).
From a passenger's point of view, having a means of using
the time in a productive or diversionary manner helps pass
the time. The real problem lies in being forced to share
an extremely compact space with dozens of strangers - who
may or may not annoy you.

As for private phone booths - yes I remember them. I also
remember that most of them smelled of urine before they
disappeared. They also used to make wall-mounted enclosures
that attempted to provide some measure of sound deadening -
but these seem to have disappeared as well. I think that
the traditional pay phone is likely to disappear in the
near future. I know I never use one unless there is no
alternative.

Maybe the final solution is to pass a law that all cell
phones must be in the form of a helmet - from which all
sounds made or heard by the user must be inaudible to others
at any distance greater than 12 inches.

David Johnson