4 ms·

What I find weird about all of this is that people actually answer their door to unexpected & unknown visitors?! Do you also answer your phone to unexpected & u

What I find weird about all of this is that people actually answer their door to unexpected & unknown visitors?! Do you also answer your phone to unexpected & unknown callers?! My rule of thumb built up over years of annoyance & bullshit is: if you don't know who it is, or aren't expecting anything, ignore it; 99.9% of the time someone unexpected/unknown on the phone or at your door are just going to be wasting your time and attention. (trying to sell you something/con you/religious recruitment/generally be weird/mad etc)

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
I once had someone knock on the door who was having a heart attack. At first sight he looked like he was drunk. I'm glad I didn't ignore him and was able to help.
Arnt 7y ago
A friend of mine once read the local newspaper while he was on vacation somewhere, and there was a half-page article along the lines of: "Among the fans expected to show up for tomorrow's big sporting event are a large contingent of the country's worst hooligans. The police plans to increase its presence massively to ensure peace, with no less than eight extra officers." My friend decided to move there. Maybe you should too. You do gain a certain peace of mind from being able to open your door without risk or trouble.
- Joe-Z 7y ago
  Maybe I should just forget about it, but I don't understand your point. Where did your friend move and why? Where you criticizing the police for increasing presence in case of a hooligan invasion? Or where you applauding them for doing so? And how is this connected to what GP posted? I'm genuinely confused. If you read this, maybe you'd like to elaborate. Cheers!
  - netsharc 7y ago
    Not the poster, but maybe the fact that they only needed 8 officers means the hooliganism wouldn't even be that bad, meaning it's a very peaceful place.
    - ascar 7y ago
      And that 8 is a massive increase in presence.
  - liability 7y ago
    In some places, 100 extra cops would be considered a modest increase. If 8 more cops is considered a large increase, and the region is nice enough to vacation at, chances are it's a low crime community.
etaioinshrdlu 7y ago
Yes, most people open their doors in that case for better or worse.
sonnyblarney 7y ago
When the police come to your door, you're going to answer. Agree with the program or not, this is not spam.
- dao- 7y ago
  If they say "can we come in?" it likely means they're legally not allowed to come in unless you invite them in. Which means they won't kick down your door either if you just don't answer.
  - whenchamenia 7y ago
    But they can 'see something suspicious' inside, and then suddenly be duty bound to investigate. Do not open your door for cops, and if you feel you should, step outside swiftly and lock the door behind you. They will always find something if they want to, even it it was not there before they entered.
- king_magic 7y ago
  There’s a reaaaaaally thin line between (sincere) “We’re so worried about you, can we come in and chat?” and (menacing, oppressive) “We’re so worried about you, can we come in and chat?”. And there’s a really thin line between having the choice to answer your door, and being compelled to for no legitimate reason.
  - liability 7y ago
    Less menacing than either would be "can you come out to chat", or better yet, "come to the door to chat". I'd let concerned EMTs into my house, but I'd rather keep concerned cops out.
- Griffinsauce 7y ago
  Nope, I'm not obliged to.
- StanislavPetrov 7y ago
  Sorry that's wrong. If someone knocks on my door unexpectedly I don't even bother to look outside to see who it is - I'm not answering.
Joe-Z 7y ago
I can't claim to have been harrassed by unexpected visitors, I also do find unannounced visits annyoing however. It's something that I also communicate to my friends (although I would never not open the door for them, for obvious reasons). My reasoning is kind of like "I've been fulfilling my societal duties all week goddammit, if I want to be alone in my cave for a few hours just leave me be!"
Waterluvian 7y ago
This fascinates me so much because the idea that there's anything at all risky about opening your door to a stranger is the thing that's completely alien to my world.
- StanislavPetrov 7y ago
  I never answer my door to unexpected visitors and it has nothing to do with risks.
- whatshisface 7y ago
  They might be trying to sell you something. How often would an unannounced visitor be unwanted vs. wanted?
  - maccard 7y ago
    Or it might be someone from a few doors down with some badly delivered mail, a courier with a parcel your partner/roommate ordered or a new neighbour introducing themselves, someone felling you theyre having a party and would appreciate you not calling the cops at 10pm. I get maybe 4 sales knocks a year, I just say not interested and close the door!
    - turk73 7y ago
      We get tons of a-holes cruising our neighborhood trying to hawk home repairs, driveways, roofing. It's constant and annoying as hell. I have a "No Soliciting" sign up, but that doesn't deter the idiot political campaign people, for one. Also, if we're outdoors working in yard or the kids are playing, you get the walk-up treatment. It's so annoying--you work all day, you get home, you just want to do your thing and here's some idiot you don't want to talk to showing up trying to sell you something. Also, more than a few have been downright creepy encounters where I thought I was possibly being cased by a burglary crew.
    - codyb 7y ago
      I knocked on my neighbors door with some beers to say hello when I was hanging out with nothing to do just the other day. Nice to meet new people.
ascar 7y ago
I got a call from an unknown number. It was the hospital telling me my father had an accident. Do you want to miss such a call? I always answer the door and the phone.
- 2Ccltvcm 7y ago
  Let it go to voice mail. Most callers won't leave one.
EastSmith 7y ago
I almost always pick up, because FOMO, but I very often end the call in the middle of the sentence of the caller, once I know it is something I am not interested in.
- thrower123 7y ago
  Hi, we have a very important message about your vehicle's extended power-train warran----click
  - EastSmith 7y ago
    It might look rude, but the call spammers are counting on me being polite and listen to their offer.
apexalpha 7y ago
>What I find weird about all of this is that people actually answer their door to unexpected & unknown visitors?! Do you also answer your phone to unexpected & unknown callers?! Wtf? Yes of course I do. Do you not have a doorbell?
NeedMoreTea 7y ago
On the other hand I can't imagine not doing. 99% of the time it's a friend or neighbour, or the odd unexpected parcel. Someone selling is remarkably rare, JW show up trying to sell religion every couple of years - we try and scare them off claiming devout satanism or spaghetti based religion. :) That's about it. Maybe police if some had an accident, or something in the local area happened.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Random person knocking on my door during normal hours gets answered normally. Knocking on doors is high effort enough to filter out most of the spam and my door gets knocked on like twice a year so it's really not a huge loss if I get spammed. Random person knocking at the door at 1am results in me answering the door with one of the USSR's most prolific exports within arms reach in case anybody needs the ol' East Houston treatment. They might be having an emergency and need help but it's also wise to be conscious of who's knocking. If there's three dudes on my porch and a fourth sitting in a running car then I'll ask them what they heck they want without opening the door. I don't answer the door for anyone in a uniform unless I'm expecting them. If the government needs to tell me something or interact with me in any legitimate capacity they'll send a letter.
mcv 7y ago
I open the door. In my experience, 99% of the time it's either a delivery person with a package for my wife, or a neighbourhood kid who wants to play with my son. I also pick up the phone. 99% of the time it's a recruiter. Less enthusiastic about those odds, but it's occasionally useful.
jasonlotito 7y ago
Considering the number of times someone has knocked on my door with information I need (hey, noticed something of yours was on/open/etc.), something I want (this was delivered mistakenly to me, here you go), or offer for assistance (Hey, it's me, a kid from the neighborhood. I'll shovel your driveway for $$), sure. If you live in an area that regularly has people literally trying to con you door to door, that's an issue with where you live. It's not normal for many people.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

I once had someone knock on the door who was having a heart attack. At first sight he looked like he was drunk. I'm glad I didn't ignore him and was able to help.

Arnt 7y ago

A friend of mine once read the local newspaper while he was on vacation somewhere, and there was a half-page article along the lines of: "Among the fans expected to show up for tomorrow's big sporting event are a large contingent of the country's worst hooligans. The police plans to increase its presence massively to ensure peace, with no less than eight extra officers." My friend decided to move there. Maybe you should too. You do gain a certain peace of mind from being able to open your door without risk or trouble.

Joe-Z 7y ago
Maybe I should just forget about it, but I don't understand your point. Where did your friend move and why? Where you criticizing the police for increasing presence in case of a hooligan invasion? Or where you applauding them for doing so? And how is this connected to what GP posted? I'm genuinely confused. If you read this, maybe you'd like to elaborate. Cheers!
- netsharc 7y ago
  Not the poster, but maybe the fact that they only needed 8 officers means the hooliganism wouldn't even be that bad, meaning it's a very peaceful place.
  - ascar 7y ago
    And that 8 is a massive increase in presence.
- liability 7y ago
  In some places, 100 extra cops would be considered a modest increase. If 8 more cops is considered a large increase, and the region is nice enough to vacation at, chances are it's a low crime community.

etaioinshrdlu 7y ago

Yes, most people open their doors in that case for better or worse.

sonnyblarney 7y ago

When the police come to your door, you're going to answer. Agree with the program or not, this is not spam.

dao- 7y ago
If they say "can we come in?" it likely means they're legally not allowed to come in unless you invite them in. Which means they won't kick down your door either if you just don't answer.
- whenchamenia 7y ago
  But they can 'see something suspicious' inside, and then suddenly be duty bound to investigate. Do not open your door for cops, and if you feel you should, step outside swiftly and lock the door behind you. They will always find something if they want to, even it it was not there before they entered.
king_magic 7y ago
There’s a reaaaaaally thin line between (sincere) “We’re so worried about you, can we come in and chat?” and (menacing, oppressive) “We’re so worried about you, can we come in and chat?”. And there’s a really thin line between having the choice to answer your door, and being compelled to for no legitimate reason.
- liability 7y ago
  Less menacing than either would be "can you come out to chat", or better yet, "come to the door to chat". I'd let concerned EMTs into my house, but I'd rather keep concerned cops out.
Griffinsauce 7y ago
Nope, I'm not obliged to.
StanislavPetrov 7y ago
Sorry that's wrong. If someone knocks on my door unexpectedly I don't even bother to look outside to see who it is - I'm not answering.

Joe-Z 7y ago

I can't claim to have been harrassed by unexpected visitors, I also do find unannounced visits annyoing however. It's something that I also communicate to my friends (although I would never not open the door for them, for obvious reasons). My reasoning is kind of like "I've been fulfilling my societal duties all week goddammit, if I want to be alone in my cave for a few hours just leave me be!"

Waterluvian 7y ago

This fascinates me so much because the idea that there's anything at all risky about opening your door to a stranger is the thing that's completely alien to my world.

StanislavPetrov 7y ago
I never answer my door to unexpected visitors and it has nothing to do with risks.
whatshisface 7y ago
They might be trying to sell you something. How often would an unannounced visitor be unwanted vs. wanted?
- maccard 7y ago
  Or it might be someone from a few doors down with some badly delivered mail, a courier with a parcel your partner/roommate ordered or a new neighbour introducing themselves, someone felling you theyre having a party and would appreciate you not calling the cops at 10pm. I get maybe 4 sales knocks a year, I just say not interested and close the door!
  - turk73 7y ago
    We get tons of a-holes cruising our neighborhood trying to hawk home repairs, driveways, roofing. It's constant and annoying as hell. I have a "No Soliciting" sign up, but that doesn't deter the idiot political campaign people, for one. Also, if we're outdoors working in yard or the kids are playing, you get the walk-up treatment. It's so annoying--you work all day, you get home, you just want to do your thing and here's some idiot you don't want to talk to showing up trying to sell you something. Also, more than a few have been downright creepy encounters where I thought I was possibly being cased by a burglary crew.
  - codyb 7y ago
    I knocked on my neighbors door with some beers to say hello when I was hanging out with nothing to do just the other day. Nice to meet new people.

ascar 7y ago

I got a call from an unknown number. It was the hospital telling me my father had an accident. Do you want to miss such a call? I always answer the door and the phone.

2Ccltvcm 7y ago
Let it go to voice mail. Most callers won't leave one.

EastSmith 7y ago

I almost always pick up, because FOMO, but I very often end the call in the middle of the sentence of the caller, once I know it is something I am not interested in.

thrower123 7y ago
Hi, we have a very important message about your vehicle's extended power-train warran----click
- EastSmith 7y ago
  It might look rude, but the call spammers are counting on me being polite and listen to their offer.

apexalpha 7y ago

>What I find weird about all of this is that people actually answer their door to unexpected & unknown visitors?! Do you also answer your phone to unexpected & unknown callers?! Wtf? Yes of course I do. Do you not have a doorbell?

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

On the other hand I can't imagine not doing. 99% of the time it's a friend or neighbour, or the odd unexpected parcel. Someone selling is remarkably rare, JW show up trying to sell religion every couple of years - we try and scare them off claiming devout satanism or spaghetti based religion. :) That's about it. Maybe police if some had an accident, or something in the local area happened.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago

Random person knocking on my door during normal hours gets answered normally. Knocking on doors is high effort enough to filter out most of the spam and my door gets knocked on like twice a year so it's really not a huge loss if I get spammed. Random person knocking at the door at 1am results in me answering the door with one of the USSR's most prolific exports within arms reach in case anybody needs the ol' East Houston treatment. They might be having an emergency and need help but it's also wise to be conscious of who's knocking. If there's three dudes on my porch and a fourth sitting in a running car then I'll ask them what they heck they want without opening the door. I don't answer the door for anyone in a uniform unless I'm expecting them. If the government needs to tell me something or interact with me in any legitimate capacity they'll send a letter.

mcv 7y ago

I open the door. In my experience, 99% of the time it's either a delivery person with a package for my wife, or a neighbourhood kid who wants to play with my son. I also pick up the phone. 99% of the time it's a recruiter. Less enthusiastic about those odds, but it's occasionally useful.

jasonlotito 7y ago

Considering the number of times someone has knocked on my door with information I need (hey, noticed something of yours was on/open/etc.), something I want (this was delivered mistakenly to me, here you go), or offer for assistance (Hey, it's me, a kid from the neighborhood. I'll shovel your driveway for $$), sure. If you live in an area that regularly has people literally trying to con you door to door, that's an issue with where you live. It's not normal for many people.