6 ms·
No Screens Cafe
- neomech 3y agoWhere is this cafe? It doesn't say, so it's not a very good advert for their service. Anyway, I'd like to check out the Co-work cafe next door.
- oktwtf 3y agoMy favourite way to spend a day or two is to turn off my iPhone, toss it in the glovebox and hit the highway to the Rockies. If more life was “disconnected” at least my inner peace would be bolstered.
- mrleinad 3y agoNo customers-and-soon-to-be-out-of-business cafe is more like it.
- blowski 3y agoI wonder if there were "no paper cafes" in the past, where books and newspapers were banned.
- archarios 3y ago[flagged]
- chickenpotpie 3y agoI found their comment actually insightful and I don't think they deserve that sarcasm.
- yaya69 3y agono people cafe
- ignormies 3y agoI disagree. While I personally probably wouldn't patronize a cafe like this, there's definitely a niche target market that would love it. Even if the business isn't appealing to 95% of the public, as long as you find a passionate 5% you can make a business model out of it.
- mvdtnz 3y agoNot in the low-margin coffee and scone business you can't.
- elbigbad 3y agoBoomers love this sort of thing. Or at least talking about loving this sort of thing. Maybe they’re too addicted to Candy Crush style games though where they won’t actually patronize these sorts of places though.
- jmclnx 3y agoDoes this place exist ? Would be nice if it existed, but not sure how it would last these days. Reminds of the old Greek Cafes that I heard about where I grew up. An old timer told me during the 1920/30s, the city police force, mostly Irish, would raid these Greek Cafes all the time, unable to get their head around people only wanted to drink coffee and I guess tea :) This was during prohibition and they thought these cafes were bootlegging. They never found anything illegal.
- sanman811 3y agoA very relevant podcast I was listening to this morning about screens and gaming. Always enjoy the times I hear from Dr. Kanojia https://youtu.be/HYiG2m8fSiE https://youtu.be/HYiG2m8fSiE
- mvdtnz 3y ago> The No Screens Cafe accepts cash only. This is very strange. Maybe this would work in USA(?) but in many countries you're basically telling an overwhelming majority of your potential customers "you can't pay for things here". No one carries cash - it's all EFTPOS or CC. I don't see how cash-only supports the no screens policy. It feels entirely orthogonal. Same goes for the weird anti-car crusade. If you don't have parking, that's fine. No need to make it a thing.
- belter 3y ago> - The No Screens Cafe accepts cash only. Welcome to Germany ...
- smaudet 3y agoPretty much all card readers use a screen, even if it is just a cheap green one. You could design one without, which would be interesting, but good luck integrating with the major cc companies.
- Edd314159 3y agoI wonder if there are some issuers out there who still have some active legacy backoffice process for processing transactions with carbon copies from imprinter machines
- hanoz 3y agoWouldn't it do just to hook it up to an online processor, as if a web page?
- smaudet 3y agoHmm, possibly but I am thinking there are some certification requirements e.g. and you have to be able to use some API whether that is hypermedia or otherwise, which again credit card companies must agree to let you use. You could maybe bypass them with a third party API, I'd have to do my research to see what the gotchas might be though.
- 3y ago
- paulcole 3y agoA business everyone says is a great idea and that they wish existed but if it was around the corner from their house they’d never ever go. The Germans probably have a word for this.
- jfhr 3y agoLuftschloss? <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Luftschloss https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Luftschloss>
- gkoberger 3y agoI don't hate the idea in general (a lot of cafes near me are laptop-free!), but the framing in this post is so judge-y and negative. There was a few sentences in the beginning were positive, but it quickly devolved into ranting about things that have changed and improved the lives for millions. Are iPhones overbearing? Sure. But they enable people to stay connected with family, meet new people, work remotely, and more. I'm not against a place that prefers phones stay in your pocket, but why frame it via moral outrage rather than being welcoming? Can you imagine the conversations you'd find yourself in at this place, given this is how the "owner" sees the world? And maybe what bothers me the most is that it's a blog post. Written on a screen and read via a screen. Blog posts are cheap to write; building a true Third Place is really really hard.
- CydeWeys 3y agoIt's light-hearted/snarky/humorous/satirical. You're reading it completely straight-laced which is not the authorial intent. Surely the joke about buses and "we killed God" was a hint?
- cf100clunk 3y agoAgeed, it is a though experiment with a sardonic bent, nothing else.
- magic_hamster 3y agoThis really escalated quickly. From a cozy, stress free environment to "we killed God" and "cars kill people and cities". Quite the roller coaster. Too bad. If it were a laid back place to meet people and have interesting discussions, it might have been worth checking out.
- haswell 3y agoThose sound like good objections to discuss at the No Screens Cafe.
- 3y ago
- jonathantf2 3y agoSounds like a good idea, but no cards is a dealbreaker for me.
- mysecretaccount 3y agoDoesn't Exist Wish Fulfillment Rant That You Posted Online Cafe
- satvikpendem 3y agoThis actually exists in many cities already, nothing new. I know at least a few places in NYC like this that I've been to, as well as in other cities. Sadly, I didn't mark them down on the map but you can find them easily on Google I'm sure. Overall, the experience is pretty nice, you can chat with friends and sip some good coffee. These places usually have much higher quality coffee than other shops, since they're often specialty cafes.
- martopix 3y agoI'd love to know about them because I've never heard of a place where you're told off if you use your phone.
- satvikpendem 3y agoYeah most places aren't that strict, it's usually laptops that are banned and wifi isn't available. A quick search brought up a few: https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/04/10/300518819/no-laptops-no-wi-fi-how-one-cafe-fired-up-sales https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/04/10/30... https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/12/no-laptops-allowed-the-cafes-bringing-back-the-art-of-conviviality https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/12/no-laptops-a...
- martopix 3y agoBanning laptops is very common due to space constraints, when you're the kind of café that doesn't want people to stay forever. Even my university canteen bans laptops at lunch times. But the purpose isn't the same, here the idea is to create an environment for people to actively seek focus and peace.
- Animats 3y agoStarbucks is like that now. They removed all the tables and chairs from some locations, for homeless-proofing. Didn't lower the prices, though.
- paxys 3y agoThere are plenty of cafes and bars all over the world where people hang out, chat, socialize. They all operate just fine without any of these written rules or the judgmental and pretentious attitude of the author. I find more and more that people who write these daily "technology is killing the world", "people don't talk to each other these days" posts are the ones who are most addicted to their screens and looking for a way out. I can sympathize, but online rants aren't going to fix your problems. Shut your computer and phone, step out of your house and go start a conversation with someone. You can do it at your neighborhood coffee shop right now, and I can guarantee you will make new friends in minutes.
- 93po 3y agoit's not that screens literally kill us and this hypothetical cafe is saving your life, it's just that they wanted a unique experience and this rule provides it. if you don't want a unique cafe experience then a different location is probably the best option
- chickenpotpie 3y ago> Sorry, the No Screens Cafe doesn’t have wi-fi. Maybe try the Cowork Cafe next door. It's interesting that sometime in the 2000s, there became an expectation that coffee shops became a workplace. I can't think of another food service business where the expectation is that anyone can come in, buy a single item, demand the wifi password, and work from that space for multiple hours.
- kortilla 3y agoMany people solely pay the ridiculous prices specifically because it offers a place to hang out. coffee shops expanded because they offered this. Nobody is forcing them.
- shortcake27 3y agoCafes are under no obligation to provide wifi and many don’t. Well before the 2000s people spent extended periods of time at cafes chatting, people watching, or reading. Why is the line drawn at working?
- hitchstory 3y agoI'm a bit weirded out by how judgmental people get about this. Cafes that wanted to ban laptops are free to do so and always have been. Generally people who work on laptops come in during periods when the cafe would otherwise be fairly empty (10-5 weekdays). This is an additional source of revenue to the cafe that doesn't interfere with their core revenue streams - the morning takeaway coffee rush + weekend brunchers. A local cafe near me bans laptops on weekends. Another one bans laptops on weekends unless you sit in a particular area. Another one has a special laptop area. These are all successful cafes. I have a feeling that the cafes who prohibit laptops outright are mostly just canceling a stream of revenue. That's certainly their right, but it's probably not what is best for them.
- 1123581321 3y agoIt comes from the Internet cafes that would sell drinks and have PCs available in the 90s. Then Starbucks popularized wifi access and independent cafes were forced to figure out how to offer it to compete. No one cares about being polite at Starbucks, but I would say the expectation at independent shops is still to purchase something periodically. Not everyone follows it. I don't see many independents limiting access with expiring authentication or codes given at purchase anymore. In the US, many attempting to do that don't seem to even know they're also running a free xfinity hotspot...
- yieldcrv 3y agothere are a variety of clubhouses with rules like this. they can be quite byzantine like "laptops only usable in this section, until 4pm" or something like that but I appreciate it a lot!
- paradite 3y ago> The No Screens Cafe accepts cash only. You can get this from your bank! It’s not illegal yet. In Singapore shops can legally do not accept cash as payment as long as they provide written notice: https://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/circulation-currency/accepting-legal-tender https://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/circulation-currency/accepti.... I've seen a few of them personally.
- shortcake27 3y agoIn NZ there are plenty of places that don’t accept cash. Kinda the same deal - they just have to inform you first.
- moffkalast 3y agoI assume the punishment for violation is 3 years in prison? It is Singapore after all.
- neomech 3y ago[flagged]
- gnfargbl 3y agoCash only, no phones? This is what we in the UK call a "Sam Smith's pub". It's not typically that fun a time, though the beer is cheap.
- mvdtnz 3y agoI googled this - it looks like something I'd love to visit in a trip to London. But not somewhere I could see myself as a repeat customer if I lived nearby. Still, good for them for making it work. I hope the beer is good.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- colesantiago 3y agoMore like "How not to run a cafe" cafe.
- moffkalast 3y ago> But we can’t say “God is watching”. Because we killed him. God was using a screen I see.
- divan 3y ago> E-book readers are screens, sorry. You’re welcome to read a regular book. We have whole shelves of them. I switched to e-books 12+ years ago, and I can't read regular books anymore. First, I need to find really good light (like direct sun light on a sunny day). Otherwise my eyes become tired quickly. Second, the book has to have a good paper quality (cheap greyish paper diminishes contrast). Third, the font should be large enough again not to strain the eyes. Fourth, regular book is heavier, I can't hold it with one hand, so end up sitting in uncomfortable positions (hello lumbar back pain, fellow readers). Fifth, I have utmost respect to paper books (parents had a library, so I grew up between books), and I have to wash my hands and dry them perfectly before I touch a paper book. I don't feel comfortable eating a croissant and read a paper book. Not to mention that it's just not always possible to find or buy book you want, especially in a reasonable time. Paper books are also screens in a way. Just with a user-controlled refresh rate (turn the page), and predefined images.
- chrismartin 3y agoI understand and empathize. At the same time, we had to draw the line somewhere clear and simple. Maybe when No Screens Cafe goes out of business (as other commenters are predicting), we will open "No Screens Except E-Book Readers (And No, Your Phone is Not an E-Book Reader) Cafe".
- brianwawok 3y agoJust go the no non-e-ink-screens cafe.
- divan 3y agoSorry if my comment did sound dismissive of the idea of No Screens Cafe. It's kinda opposite. I'm doing my own "no screens cafe" regularly. Just today, I left my phone and iPad at home, grabbed some snacks and water, an e-reader, and went to the forest nearby on a bike just to sit and read the book for a few hours. The reason for me is simple – gadgets and online presence wreak havoc on an ability to focus and concentrate. I miss childhood days when I could get lost in a book for a good half a day. So this "no e-books" policy kinda ruined the analogy for me (I would love to have such a cafe nearby, but where I can read). But I get that it's not that easy to tell if it's a tablet or an e-book, and many e-books have browsers and the internet and a full-fledged Linux box inside, so there is no easy way to draw a line. What's the broader idea behind No Screens Cafe? The article does a good job of describing the rules but not explaining the reasoning behind them.
- smaudet 3y agoI am not sure this place exists - if they do there is no website. I like the concept, practically banning phones would be hard. Other commenters are saying there would be no traffic, but actually when this sort of thing has been tried in past businesses have experienced boosts in sales. No parking would be a bit difficult, but I guess you could put it in a highrise or off of a bike trail, which would be fantastic. Lack of cars isn't really judgey, they do both pollute and make noise, plus you do end up with safety issues and ugly tar roads. They don't say never drive them, just they aren't going to make it easy for you. Which in the USA would make things difficult as nearly everything requires a car and so nobody is used to walking so few people do even if they might otherwise do so. I like the concept - I do agree the no credit card thing is a bit much - if you could design a screen less card reader (led status lights and rotary number displays), that would make I perfect IMO.
- nayuki 3y agoI've seen screenless "tap to pay" thingies before, so it is possible. https://www.rogers.com/business/blog/en/tapping-into-the-demand-for-contactless-payment https://www.rogers.com/business/blog/en/tapping-into-the-dem...
- nayuki 3y ago> We don’t have any parking for cars. Cars kill innocent pedestrians and emit toxic gas. Cars ruin cities. I see they resonate with Reddit/FuckCars.
- groby_b 3y agoI mean, I get that HN covers a wide range of interests, and I love that. But, let's be clear: this is a juvenile rant, at best. It's not an actual cafe. It doesn't propose anything actually workable. It shows no curiosity around the change of culture that occured, or what a change back would look like, just judgment. There's no commitment to building anything real. The writing is subpar. Is that really "gratifying intellectual curiosity" in any way?
- bastawhiz 3y agoExcept everyone has a phone and carries it with them all the time. Someone gets a text or call from their kid during school hours, but has to leave to check it. Your spouse texts, but you're halfway through a scone, so you need to take your food on the road to find out whether they need something. It's just oppressive absolutism; eliminating a critical part of people's everyday lives (even for folks who would find respite in a break from screens) to the point of banning digital payments is not doing anything to create a safe space. It's creating an ideal, not a friendly place.
- apricot 3y agoWhat's to stop someone who carries a phone from turning it off before entering the cafe? You can read those texts later.
- ghaff 3y agoBecause people wouldn't. A lot of people will argue that they need to be reachable at all times if it's at all possible. And of course the general expectation is that I can go out and about even though I know someone may need to reach me.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- bastawhiz 3y agoNothing. You could leave it at home, too. But that's not the point. We live in an age where, arguably, we all feel safer because we're able to contact loved ones immediately. Visiting this hypothetical cafe implies that we also eliminate our ability to receive and respond to time-sensitive messages. That's perhaps a luxury, but it's a luxury that we rely on. If my home security system tells me that it heard broken glass, I want to know now, not in thirty minutes. If my kid needs to be picked up from school, I want to know now. If my spouse's employer calls to tell me they've been sent to the hospital, I want to know now. Anyone with a job that requires them to be reachable for emergencies (like an emergency responder on their lunch break) cannot attend this cafe. In today's society, it's a luxury to have no responsibilities to anyone such that you aren't reachable for hours at a time. It's wild to think of a place that would be exclusionary of parents, caregivers, partners, and more simply because of an absolutist policy. And you've got to be carrying cash. And of course, there's no ATM because that would have a screen. For a huge swath of the population, this is simply a non-starter.
- martopix 3y agoI like the idea a lot and would genuinely go to such a place. And I guess the judgemental tone is there because the idea is to specifically cater to the kind of people who feel sick of screens. But I don't understand the position against accepting cards. And I guess I also kinda disagree on e-readers, although modern ones can be used to connect to the internet and stuff, I suppose.
- alphabet9000 3y agohey so we don't allow screens here, and we're going to ask you to leave. hmm no thanks, im not going anywhere county sheriffs office. yea hi, um, we have this guy, he wont leave our store, and um, yeah, he refuses to leave, and, we just need somebody to get him to leave. ok, what is your location? were at no screens cafe. ok we have someone on the way. okay, thank you
- chrismartin 3y ago"One more question, do your officers carry a smartphone or anything like that? Anything with a screen? Okay, any chance they could turn that off before they come inside? Yeah, I'm sorry. It's the No Screens Cafe. We also don't allow firearms or weapons. Your body cameras don't have screens, right? Okay, good, you can leave that on."
- 93po 3y agoif they ask you to leave and you don't, it's trespassing. they have a legal right to ask you to leave for any non-protected reason or no reason at all
- caconym_ 3y agoNot sure if this is a real thing or a provocation piece but the concept would be much more interesting to me if it was a "no connectivity cafe", perhaps implemented with some sort of Faraday cage setup. My primary creative output is written fiction, and short of writing longhand (no thanks) or toting around some kind of vintage typewriter, which I would consider a waste of money and generally an insufferable affectation, it looks like this isn't a place for me to go and spend money and be creative. Sorry!
- chrismartin 3y agoI struggled with this one, caconym_. A few minutes before I had this idea, I wrote down "Faraday Cafe. No wifi. No cell signal." But then I thought about how hard it might be to build one that blocked modern 5G/wifi networks. (Can any RF/electrical engineers weigh in?) I scribbled these ideas with pen and paper while getting breakfast this morning (phone and laptop put away). Then I went to a park to write the post on my laptop (without a network connection). Then I turned on my phone and hotspot in order to post it. (An hour later, I'm still gazing at the internet.) I'm super open to other ideas.
- caconym_ 3y ago> But then I thought about how hard it might be to build one that blocked modern 5G/wifi networks. (Can any RF/electrical engineers weigh in?) It's a good question. I would love it if a place like that existed near me, but I have no idea how possible/practical it is. I _think_ a fine enough mesh will block pretty much everything, but it might be expensive to set up in a real business space.
- drewcoo 3y agoMeh. I'd rather see some kind if anti-literate cafe (called X maybe) that banned reading, ban on Braille, too, to be inclusive. The point is toe be defiantly cutesy/cringey, right?
- sircastor 3y agoOkay so this is not a real Cafe, right? I think in the US this sort of business might fly if you’re in a very large city that is easily commutable. Otherwise I can’t see how there’s enough patronage to maintain a space, and pay people. It’s a nice idea, but I don’t think it’d mesh with reality (again, in the US)
- lbrito 3y agoThe concept is cool, but man, have they missed the edginess mark. >Yes, there’s a bathroom. Inside it, a sign says “Big Brother is Watching”. We don’t have cameras or anything creepy like that. But we can’t say “God is watching”. Because we killed him. I feel like there is a long-forgotten proto-Indo-European symbol that conveys the amount of cringiness this paragraph exudes.
- sverona 3y agoIf you're going to run a shop like this, it had better have a newsstand, a library, a collection of board games, and the best coffee in town.
- jemmyw 3y agoNo cafe near me caters to laptop users. It's a bit more of a rural/farming/touristy area. I'd love a cafe that included a place to work and/or read.
- darepublic 3y agoIf you blog it, they will come