4 ms·

Creeping around and posting paranoid messages is silly but I wouldn't blame anyone for ignoring an unexpected knock. The ratio between people I want to engage w

Creeping around and posting paranoid messages is silly but I wouldn't blame anyone for ignoring an unexpected knock. The ratio between people I want to engage with and people I don't is just too low. For every teenage girl needing help there are a hundred proselytizers, salespeople, and scam artists.

southerntofu 4y ago
Not all social interactions we have is desired to start with. It's possible to shut off and close the door on people you don't desire, but you never know unless you open the door in the first place. On a personal level, an unexpected interaction can lead to meeting friendly people. You may even get some unexpected "reward" out of it: say maybe a neighbor was knocking to see if they could borrow your car, maybe the same neighbor has some plumbing skills and notices the leak in your kitchen, and proposes to fix it for you. On a societal level, unmediated interaction between strangers is very important for social life and a sense of community. Please note there is a huge difference between unsollicited contact and stalking behavior: a person knocking on your door to ask something is certainly not in the same mindset than someone following you home. So sure there's scams and salespeople. But if you don't open the door to those, you'll miss plenty of friendly interactions as well. At this point, better not check your email or phone because there might be spam there too?
- gyrogearloose 4y ago
  Lots of people's best defense against doorstep scams (and predatory salespeople) is not to open the door. I always open the door because I can easily fend off such people. As it happens my street has a confusing layout which means I get lost food drivers at least twice per month. It only takes a moment to direct them to the right house.
  - SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
    Heh, I'm in the opposite scenario - Uber's map's shitty routing directs delivery drivers to the block behind me, so often my food gets dropped off at the wrong house. Luckily, they are not the type to open their door to unexpected knocks, so the food is still there when I go to collect it.
- causality0 4y ago
  I block unsolicited contact over e-mail and telephone too.
lkbm 4y ago
Definitely a neighborhood-dependent thing. I get more drunk people in need of help than proselytizers, salespeople, or scam artists. By which I mean, I don't think I've ever gotten any of those latter three, and have dealt with a couple of the former. (Mostly drunk men in the middle of the night, so I totally understand why some people wouldn't want to answer the door in that situation.)
da39a3ee 4y ago
Ignoring an unexpected phone call is one thing, but you should never ignore a person knocking on your door. I’m afraid it sounds like you are exactly the sort of person that everyone else in this thread is complaining about and laughing about.
- greedo 4y ago
  Why? For women, it can be a dangerous situation. I'm pretty comfortable since I'm a mountain of a man compared to the women who live in my house, but it's pretty dumb to say that everyone should answer the door.
- causality0 4y ago
  Why? I'm not deluded into thinking they're some kind of threat but uninvited strangers aren't entitled to interrupt my day or waste my time.
_dark_matter_ 4y ago
I just don't get enough door knocks to care. Maybe once a week, at most? At that rate it doesn't bother me to simply answer and decline. Although I do ask door-to-door salespeople for their license.
greedo 4y ago
My teenage daughters just default to not answering the door, unless they've ordered doordash etc. Same with phone calls from unknown callers; straight to voicemail.

southerntofu 4y ago

Not all social interactions we have is desired to start with. It's possible to shut off and close the door on people you don't desire, but you never know unless you open the door in the first place. On a personal level, an unexpected interaction can lead to meeting friendly people. You may even get some unexpected "reward" out of it: say maybe a neighbor was knocking to see if they could borrow your car, maybe the same neighbor has some plumbing skills and notices the leak in your kitchen, and proposes to fix it for you. On a societal level, unmediated interaction between strangers is very important for social life and a sense of community. Please note there is a huge difference between unsollicited contact and stalking behavior: a person knocking on your door to ask something is certainly not in the same mindset than someone following you home. So sure there's scams and salespeople. But if you don't open the door to those, you'll miss plenty of friendly interactions as well. At this point, better not check your email or phone because there might be spam there too?

gyrogearloose 4y ago
Lots of people's best defense against doorstep scams (and predatory salespeople) is not to open the door. I always open the door because I can easily fend off such people. As it happens my street has a confusing layout which means I get lost food drivers at least twice per month. It only takes a moment to direct them to the right house.
- SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
  Heh, I'm in the opposite scenario - Uber's map's shitty routing directs delivery drivers to the block behind me, so often my food gets dropped off at the wrong house. Luckily, they are not the type to open their door to unexpected knocks, so the food is still there when I go to collect it.
causality0 4y ago
I block unsolicited contact over e-mail and telephone too.

lkbm 4y ago

Definitely a neighborhood-dependent thing. I get more drunk people in need of help than proselytizers, salespeople, or scam artists. By which I mean, I don't think I've ever gotten any of those latter three, and have dealt with a couple of the former. (Mostly drunk men in the middle of the night, so I totally understand why some people wouldn't want to answer the door in that situation.)

da39a3ee 4y ago

Ignoring an unexpected phone call is one thing, but you should never ignore a person knocking on your door. I’m afraid it sounds like you are exactly the sort of person that everyone else in this thread is complaining about and laughing about.

greedo 4y ago
Why? For women, it can be a dangerous situation. I'm pretty comfortable since I'm a mountain of a man compared to the women who live in my house, but it's pretty dumb to say that everyone should answer the door.
causality0 4y ago
Why? I'm not deluded into thinking they're some kind of threat but uninvited strangers aren't entitled to interrupt my day or waste my time.

_dark_matter_ 4y ago

I just don't get enough door knocks to care. Maybe once a week, at most? At that rate it doesn't bother me to simply answer and decline. Although I do ask door-to-door salespeople for their license.

greedo 4y ago

My teenage daughters just default to not answering the door, unless they've ordered doordash etc. Same with phone calls from unknown callers; straight to voicemail.