Don't talk around me

I know that a lot of people out there find using a cell phone like an old fashioned walkie talkie quite useful. As Dan points out in New Techniques in Airport Rudeness, many of us are not amused.

Maybe it's a cell phone thing, maybe not, but I continue to see people who completely disconnect from the people around them when their cell phones ring. That alone is bad enough. When those receiving calls don't excuse themselves and the conversation becomes participatory in nature (or high in volume), they should not be surprised if those around them become annoying in response. The abrupt nature of so called direct connection calls is even more difficult to deal with (How do you make them go away while being nice?)

If your phone rings and you are in the middle of something else, ignore it. Otherwise, I guess I should assume that this is more important and move onto other things myself.