4 ms·

I agree completely, people do this all the time, waving pens at my screen, etc. I think the easiest way to do it was the way you suggested, most people will get

I agree completely, people do this all the time, waving pens at my screen, etc. I think the easiest way to do it was the way you suggested, most people will get the hint if you just polish the smudge they left in front of them. You don't have to be rude or anything. You can even be discreet about it. People will still get the point.

joe_the_user 17y ago
A "space violation" which doesn't involve actual damage to something might be a matter of social/cultural etiquette. Different cultures have different distances that people stand apart from each other or different amounts of touching between friends and acquaintances. But I think its always over-the-line when a touch can actual do some small amount of damage to the item - any touch to laptop screen is going to be reducing its lifetime at least a bit.
- ewjordan 17y ago
  But I think its always over-the-line when a touch can actual do some small amount of damage to the item - any touch to laptop screen is going to be reducing its lifetime at least a bit. Bah. Well, in theory, maybe. But can anyone here honestly say that they've ever had to get rid of a laptop even one day earlier than they would have anyways because of the damaging effects of finger oils on the screen? There are so many things in a laptop that degrade more quickly than the screen surface, I just don't think it's a very legitimate worry. What's the worst case scenario from touching a laptop screen a lot, other than the minor annoyance of having to wipe the crap off from time to time?
- __david__ 17y ago
  Reducing its lifetime? How on earth can a touch reduce the lifetime of your laptop lcd? The insides that actually create the pictures are separated by layers of plastic you know...
Tangurena 17y ago
I had a co-worker who used to stop what she was doing, and blurt some variation of "here, let me help you clean that fingerprint off my monitor" and then proceed to engage in her ritual of cleaning the CRT (this predated LCD monitors). Several other coworkers intentionally would poke the monitor with their fingers (the grease from the side of your nose is great for this), just to get a rise out of her. The day she pulled her little routine on one of the vice presidents was her last day at the office. She was out of the building before lunch.
- olliesaunders 17y ago
  This is almost making me angry. Someone would fire someone else for that? Please tell me you're not saying that.
  - codyrobbins 17y ago
    The company shouldn't fire someone for not knowing their place in front of a vice president and making a snide remark? I think that's absolutely acceptable. If the vice president wants to touch your screen, you're not really in a place to chew him out about it. I would venture to guess that doing so was most likely indicative of broader issues with the employee in this case, i.e., if she doesn't know her place in front of upper-level executives, how is she interacting with important customers, contractors, vendors, government officials, etc.?
    - olliesaunders 17y ago
      This is hacker news dude! We hate authoritarians throwing their weight around.
      - codyrobbins 17y ago
        I stand by what I said. Just because I'm a hacker I don't have to have a misplaced sense of my own self-importance in front of someone like a vice president.
alking 17y ago
That might come across as a little passive-aggressive, I think bringing it up and asking either they they not do it or they they use the back of their finger as others have suggested is a better idea.
DrJokepu 17y ago
Pen is something different though as it doesn't live a fingerprint or any trace. People touching my display with their fingers really pisses me off but a pen (or a ruler or anything) okay for me. Or even if they must, then at least touch it with the tip of their nails and not with the skin.
jvdh 17y ago
If someone would do this to me, it would make me feel very awkward. I know, it is awkward that someone has touched your screen, but that is no reason to make them feel bad about it too. I think it is so much more polite to just ask people not to do it again. Just asking them will get the point across and will not make them feel awkward.

joe_the_user 17y ago

A "space violation" which doesn't involve actual damage to something might be a matter of social/cultural etiquette. Different cultures have different distances that people stand apart from each other or different amounts of touching between friends and acquaintances. But I think its always over-the-line when a touch can actual do some small amount of damage to the item - any touch to laptop screen is going to be reducing its lifetime at least a bit.

ewjordan 17y ago
But I think its always over-the-line when a touch can actual do some small amount of damage to the item - any touch to laptop screen is going to be reducing its lifetime at least a bit. Bah. Well, in theory, maybe. But can anyone here honestly say that they've ever had to get rid of a laptop even one day earlier than they would have anyways because of the damaging effects of finger oils on the screen? There are so many things in a laptop that degrade more quickly than the screen surface, I just don't think it's a very legitimate worry. What's the worst case scenario from touching a laptop screen a lot, other than the minor annoyance of having to wipe the crap off from time to time?
__david__ 17y ago
Reducing its lifetime? How on earth can a touch reduce the lifetime of your laptop lcd? The insides that actually create the pictures are separated by layers of plastic you know...

Tangurena 17y ago

I had a co-worker who used to stop what she was doing, and blurt some variation of "here, let me help you clean that fingerprint off my monitor" and then proceed to engage in her ritual of cleaning the CRT (this predated LCD monitors). Several other coworkers intentionally would poke the monitor with their fingers (the grease from the side of your nose is great for this), just to get a rise out of her. The day she pulled her little routine on one of the vice presidents was her last day at the office. She was out of the building before lunch.

olliesaunders 17y ago
This is almost making me angry. Someone would fire someone else for that? Please tell me you're not saying that.
- codyrobbins 17y ago
  The company shouldn't fire someone for not knowing their place in front of a vice president and making a snide remark? I think that's absolutely acceptable. If the vice president wants to touch your screen, you're not really in a place to chew him out about it. I would venture to guess that doing so was most likely indicative of broader issues with the employee in this case, i.e., if she doesn't know her place in front of upper-level executives, how is she interacting with important customers, contractors, vendors, government officials, etc.?
  - olliesaunders 17y ago
    This is hacker news dude! We hate authoritarians throwing their weight around.
    - codyrobbins 17y ago
      I stand by what I said. Just because I'm a hacker I don't have to have a misplaced sense of my own self-importance in front of someone like a vice president.

alking 17y ago

That might come across as a little passive-aggressive, I think bringing it up and asking either they they not do it or they they use the back of their finger as others have suggested is a better idea.

DrJokepu 17y ago

Pen is something different though as it doesn't live a fingerprint or any trace. People touching my display with their fingers really pisses me off but a pen (or a ruler or anything) okay for me. Or even if they must, then at least touch it with the tip of their nails and not with the skin.

jvdh 17y ago

If someone would do this to me, it would make me feel very awkward. I know, it is awkward that someone has touched your screen, but that is no reason to make them feel bad about it too. I think it is so much more polite to just ask people not to do it again. Just asking them will get the point across and will not make them feel awkward.