Just wondering... why not silent mode? I agree if they set it on a bench and it vibrates and makes noise, that's unacceptable. If it vibrates silently and they answer the phone, also unacceptable, IMO. Yeah, I guess its better to just say, turn the damn things off, no warnings, one strike and you have to get the **** out.
That's probably the only way some people will learn. Too bad you can't just let the player smash it, that would be so satisfying.
It feels like many people have no consideration for other people these days. Cell phones are just another tool to put in the a***ole tool chest. You should have to pass an etiquette exam before they give you a cell phone.
LOL!
Generally, I don't mind people answering them in most public places
IF they will talk in a normal tone as if they are having a normal conversation with someone standing right there. The problem is the persona and loud voice people automatically tend to use on the phone. Very annoying.
I agree about the ringers and flashes. Are they there to watch pool and appreciate the talent, or are they there to disrupt things and get free mementos at the expense of the players?
Even at weekly amateur tourneys, I like the no cell phone rule. They have that rule at Hard Times in Sacramento, and I wish that all other pool halls had it too. After one warning (which I think is generous) the offending phone-owner loses a game. Next time, they lose the match.
Sure, if its a banger tourney where the majority of players aren't very serious and there’s a bunch of other noise, who cares? But for any kind of tourney where the players are half-way serious about pool, its just a matter of respect for your fellow man (or woman).
At a USPPA tourney a couple of weeks ago someone's message alert thing kept beeping AND his low battery beep kept going off through the entire tournament.
I wanted to ask him to turn it off, but I was so pissed at that point that I didn't think I could say anything productive.
I guess, in reality, most people don't even realize how annoying they are being when they do these things, and a lot of people probably aren't even bothered by it. However, its a shame that a small percentage of people won't even cooperate at a huge tourney when asked nicely. -- JM"H"O
Are u just supposed to close your eyes and take a wild shot? 
Flash cameras are and must continue to b banned? We all come to watch the best shooters play at their very best, not to watch them shoot blinded from a camera's flash. 
