> I can't tell you how many times someone has walked up next to me > almost fall out of my chair > a few scares a day Preach, my easily startled brother, pre

> I can't tell you how many times someone has walked up next to me > almost fall out of my chair > a few scares a day Preach, my easily startled brother, preach. But yet your co-workers don't catch on that you jump-scare so easily? We should make little signs or banners for people's desks. "Deeply Absorbed Programmer: Do Not Sneak Up On." Issue little handbooks on how to safely interrupt a programmer, as we do currently with sleepwalkers. If I have to interrupt someone in an open-plan office and can't just message them to get their attention (seriously, what's wrong with just messaging people for non-urgent issues?), I am careful to approach them from the front or peripherally-viewable side and try visual cues first (hand-waving, etc.). I would NEVER use a physical alert method (touching them, knocking on their desk, dropping papers in on their keyboard, etc.). This is one of my several guarantees to the nation.