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Topic: More Cell Phone Justice

Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-03-2004 05:45 AM

quote: Randy Stankey
Since most cellular phones are digital nowadays, caller ID is standard. If you don't recognize the caller's number or if you know that it's not an emergency, don't answer.

ah, but how do you read it in the dark? of course the damn things light up which is very distracting to anyone behind. and people are always using them to check the time, too. someone did that in front of me just today.

carl

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Jim Spohn
Film Handler

Posts: 95
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 08-03-2004 09:58 AM

In the old days before cell phones if someone (say a doctors exchange) were to call my theatre in an emergency, we would use the Brentograph to project across the bottom of the screen "Doctor such and such, please report to the box office." This was only used in an emergency, and would happen maybe once every few months. No one ever complained, they understood.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-03-2004 10:52 AM

quote: Scott Jentsch
Not to throw water on this rant fire you guys have going on, but have you considered that some people need their cell phones to keep in contact in case of emergency?

In which case, they shouldn't put themselves in situations where using mobile 'phones is antisocial. Anyone who has a job which requires them to be 'on call' during time not at work is likely to be a professional earning a decent salary (for example, according to a Sunday newspaper feature a couple of weeks ago, the average hospital doctor earns £68k, i.e. around US$100k, a year). Is it really that much to ask for them to refrain from taking their mobile 'phones into places where a majority of those present find them offensive? After all, it's not to much to ask me to refrain from smoking in many public places and observing a whole load of other byelaws and regulations which are put there to provide a pleasant environment for the majority of people. Why should the use of mobile 'phones be any different?

And if you do accept that principle, what do you define as an 'emergency'? There is the risk of a slippery slope here. If it's agreed by a majority of cinema customers that using mobiles in the auditorium is disruptive, however it's done, then the only way you're going to stop the mindless minority is either by convincing them that their safety is at risk (which, in the case of mobiles, would be nigh on impossible) or by adopting a zero tolerance policy.

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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 08-03-2004 06:33 PM

If you are that busy, get a cellphone with silent mode, sit in the back of the theater so the glare of the LCD won't distract, check your received calls periodically, then LEAVE the auditorium to call your party back instead of answering the phone in hall.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-03-2004 10:10 PM

My new phone has distinctive ring tones, based on the Caller ID that comes in. The vibrator pulses to the beat of the ring tone.

Thus, I can program in one or two distinctive rings for people who might need to get in touch with me for an emergency then put the phone on "Silent".

If the phone pulses slowly, it's an average run-of-the-mill phone call. If the phone pulses quickly, it's a call from one of my "Special" callers.

I never have to take the phone out of my pocket before I know who is (probably) calling me.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-04-2004 06:02 AM

quote: Scott Jentsch

quote: Leo Enticknap was the last to post
some people need their cell phones to keep in contact in case of emergency?

What did these "critical" people do before cell phones? They never allowed themselves to go to the movies? What they did was, they gave the theatre manager's phone number to the hospital or whoever it was that had to reach them in a emergency. They informed the theatre manager that they were in the house and in what seat. In a REAL emergency, the hospital would call the theatre and we would send an usher down to the doctor's seat and get him. Most theatres have had similar procedures in place for decades to deal with this exact situation.

As Gordon say, because someone chooses to use this technology, it doesn't place everyone else under any obligation to facilitate it. Do we now have to avoid the use of construction materials like steel and cement because it might cause cell transmission dead-spots? In two of our theatres cell phone reception is practically zero. To bad; that's life. You can't get cell reception everywhere on the planet. And the theatre owner isn't under any obligation to insure you can get reception in his theatre. As a courtesy we will post the fact that there is poor to no cell reception. It's the patrons' choice not to put buy the ticket if they feel they absolutely must have cell reception at all times.

And you know, there are plenty of locations where the cell phone simply doesn't work at all. Are doctors supposed to avoid going to these places althogether? I've been layed up in a hospital a few times and noticed that when was lying there screaming in pain and I demanded that the nurse called my doctor's office to OK my getting an asperin, she would always come back saying they couldn't reach him....evidently cell phones don't work on golf courses.

Nope, these "important" people should keep the cell phone off and check the incoming calls a few times during the film if they feel they absolutely have to. And let's face it, if a doctor has a patient whose life is hanging by a thread between life and death, and he's the ONLY doctor who knows what to do to save the guy, then perhaps the good doctor shouldn't have picked this particular 2 hours to go see a movie. Hey, even the most gifted doctors are not THAT indispensible that being out of touch for the length of a film will cause people to drop dead like flys.

And someone who IS so important that armies can't move or space shuttles can't launch unless they are within a phone call's reach, then you know that they've got enough money to arrange their own private screenings in their own private screening rooms and they shouldn't be coming to theatres to bother the rest of us.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-04-2004 02:56 PM

quote:
What did these "critical" people do before cell phones? .... In a REAL emergency, the hospital would call the theatre and we would send an usher down to the doctor's seat and get him.

We still use that system here. One of our local doctors loves movies and he refuses to bring his cell phone to the theatre. The hospital knows about this and plans accordingly. I've had to fish him out of the audience several times over the years but he's told me that he's never lost a patient due to not having his cell phone with him 24/7.

The whole cellphone phenomenon is mostly due to people being self-centered and thinking they are "cool" if they are carrying a phone all the time. I would bet that real emergency calls make up less than 1% of the total traffic.

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David Buckley
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 525
From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 08-10-2004 01:49 AM

Here in New Zealand, we have a voluntary fire service. Thats right, the firefighters are all members of the community who answer the call when needed, and are not paid. They all have normal jobs and lives.

How do the firemen know that they are needed?

I should state here that this thing is on top of the building in which we show movies. Thats a benefit of being in the tallest building in the village, I guess...

Standing instructions are when this thing goes off, stop the movie and put on the house lights. (a) because the audience cant hear the film (hell, in the booth you cant hear yourself think), and (b) several members of the audience will be departing in a bit of a rush to the fire station, which is conveniently next door.

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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-10-2004 12:59 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
I would bet that real emergency calls make up less than 1% of the total traffic.

I wonder what percentage makes up drug-related "traffic" on cell phones. Could cell phone companies be liable for helping expand and streamline the drug trade? Of course not. [Wink]

=TMP=

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-12-2004 04:00 PM

Related to which, one thing which occured to me recently is that 'pay as you go' mobile 'phones must be the most useful tool going for organised criminals. I don't know if this is also the case in other countries, but here in Britain you can buy a mobile 'phone and connect it to a network paying cash and without giving your name, address or any other contact details. In other words, it's possible to activate a 'phone number totally anonymously. You can buy additional calling credit for them by buying a card (which again, you can pay for using cash and without leaving any record of your identity) with a PIN number printed on it which, when entered into the 'phone, adds the credit to its account. This system was designed for teenagers who are too young to have credit or debit card accounts from which a monthly subscription can be taken. But given that it allows communication with complete anonymity, I'd be very surprised if organised criminals aren't the biggest users.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 08-12-2004 04:12 PM

quote: Leo Enticknap
But given that it allows communication with complete anonymity, I'd be very surprised if organised criminals aren't the biggest users.

Or terrorists. [Eek!]

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 08-12-2004 05:41 PM

Or phreakers. [Eek!]

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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-12-2004 06:06 PM

or tourists. [Eek!]

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John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-13-2004 02:45 AM

It's really frustrating when tools of anonymity are cast as tools of terrorists. It's perfectly reasonable for private citizens to want the privacy that comes with not telling the government who is calling whom.

It's not as if terrorists and organized criminals don't have other tools at their disposal. Encrypted email, voice over the internet, even paper mail, etc.

--jhawk

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 08-13-2004 05:35 AM

Cell and satellite phones have certainly been used by terrorists and drug dealers:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11732282&method=full&siteid=50143

quote:
OSAMA bin Laden has phoned the UK at least 260 times, it was revealed yesterday.

Records from the terrorist leader's satellite phone show he and his top men were in constant touch with the British arm of the al-Qaeda network.

The calls were made from their base in Afghanistan to 27 separate numbers.

The calls only stopped after bin Laden became suspicious that American agents were using the satellite phone to track him.

The records show calls made between 1996 and 1998 to a range of addresses including suspected terrorists, al-Qaeda sympathisers, companies and public phone boxes.

More than 200 were made to the London home and mobile phone of Khalid al Fawwaz.

Al Fawwaz had the satellite phone number listed in his address book under the name Atef - bin Laden's military commander. He was the head of an alleged al-Qaeda front group in London called the Advice and Reformation Committee.

He is currently in jail awaiting extradition to the US for his alleged role in the bombings of American embassies in East Africa which killed 224 in 1998.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,805677,00.html

quote:
Jason Burke in Jalalabad
Sunday October 6, 2002
The Observer

Osama bin Laden is alive and regularly meeting Mullah Omar, the fugitive leader of the Taliban, according to a telephone call intercepted by American spy satellites.
In the conversation, recorded less than a month ago, Omar and a senior aide were discussing the American-led hunt to track them down. The two men, using a mobile Thuraya satellite phone, spoke about tactics for several minutes. Omar then turned to a third person who was within a few yards of him, voice analysis has revealed. After exchanging a few words, Omar said that 'the sheikh sends his salaams [greetings]'. Senior Taliban figures habitually refer to bin Laden as 'the sheikh'.

Voice analysis appears to corroborate the identification of bin Laden. 'It shows he was alive recently at least,' said a senior Afghan intelligence officer. 'Some people might like to think he is dead, but that's just wishful thinking.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone

quote:
Satellite phones are also known more simply as "sat phones". They have gained some notoriety in recent years for being used extensively by people hiding in remote areas, such as Osama bin Laden.

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