Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Theater Gives Texters the Boot 370
Hugh Pickens writes "Ever been annoyed during that nail-biting darkened hallway scene by someone turning on their phone to send a text? Well, don't mess with Texas or you may end up on the screen in a public service announcement. Alamo Drafthouse, a local chain of dine-and-screen movie theaters in Austin, Texas, has long waged a war against impolite moviegoers booting out customers who talk or text during performances. Phoebe Connelly writes that according to Tim League, the Drafthouse's founder, a woman was recently warned twice about texting during a screening, and then, in accordance with company policy, was escorted out without a refund. 'I don't think people realize that it is distracting,' says League. 'It seems like nothing, but if you spend as much time as I do at the movies, you realize the entire theater sees it and it pulls you out of the movie experience. It's every bit as intrusive as talking.' The irate customer called up the Alamo Drafthouse and left a profanity-laced (and perhaps slightly inebriated) message decrying the theater's policies, but the theater got the last laugh as they took the audio of the woman's voicemail, transcribed it, and turned it into an in-house preview [tl: Note, YouTube video contains some profanity] that warns theatergoers against cell phone use during movies. 'Part of what we're trying to do is have a comedic message about what to us is a very serious issue,' says League, declining to give any more details about the woman at the center of the recent PSA."
Re:Why is this on Slashdot? And a week late? (Score:4, Funny)
1 week sounds about right:
Original ->
(2 hours later) reddit
(3 days) Digg RSS
(2 days) Slashdot submission queue
(12 hours) Typo insertion script
(6 horsu) Front page
(10 seconds) Posts pointing out why the article is wrong
Re:Bad for someone else, but OK for me to do it! (Score:5, Funny)
When driving, for example, it is next to impossible to resist answering the phone when it rings.
Very not-true, unless you were raised by B.F. Skinner in a Nokia lab.
Magnited States of America... (Score:2, Funny)
... bwahahah
Re:Why is this on Slashdot? And a week late? (Score:4, Funny)
(1 horsu) Post pointing out the typo "horsu"
Re:Bad for someone else, but OK for me to do it! (Score:5, Funny)
I have a proven, reliable algorithm for not answering the phone when it rings, either while driving, or in a movie theater, or even while coding. Here it is, in all its unpatented glory:
Works every time!
Re:horseshit (Score:4, Funny)
A friend of mine used to be an Assistant Manager for a company. Let's call it "Madio Shack". His District Manager insisted that he listen in on a teleconference involving the DM and server local managers - maybe the DM was trying to groom him to be a Manager? (This, by the way, was something he clearly did not want.)
The major problem about this teleconference was that it was taking place at around 21:00 on a Friday night. During a Dragonforce concert. I popped outside every five minutes or so and checked up on him, and he basically had this look on his face of "They're still going!". After about 20 minutes of this shit, I tapped him on the shoulder and he muted the phone.
"How's your battery doing?" I said.
"Fine," he replied.
"No it's not, it's dead."
"No, I have plent-"
That's where he got a smile on his face and disconnected the battery from the back of his phone. "Oops".
Friends help friends have a social life.
Re:Bad for someone else, but OK for me to do it! (Score:5, Funny)
>Very not-true, unless you were raised by B.F. Skinner in a Nokia lab.
Yeah, and what about it? Next you're going to insult my dogs because they drool every time a bell rings?