How To Cut In Line and Not Get Caught 256
ewenc writes "A psychology study of hundreds of people waiting for front-row access to U2 concerts points to the best ways to cut in line and not get caught. 'Super-fans' are most irked by queue-jumpers. People were equally peeved whether someone cut in front or behind, and cutters who jumped beside a friend were less likely to attract scorn."
What if a whole line tried cutting? (Score:5, Interesting)
Suppose you're standing in line, and suddenly a whole line of people just slides into place right next to your line - at least as long as your line, in parallel, and apparently planning to enter into the venue in parallel.
Do you object? Do you assume that a second line has been "officially" been opened and you just missed out?
What if the new line of people has a lot more people than your line, and they start looking over at your line and saying "Hey - get to the back of the line! No cutting!" Does a fight break out - even if your line is obviously going to lose?
Re:And the reward for most useless researcher goes (Score:5, Interesting)
Basic research doesn't always have immediate applications. Studying the psychology and sociology of lines is a hot topic among retailers though. How do you get people to line up like cattle and still have them feel like they're being treated reasonably well, and fairly? At least well enough that they come back. How does our society react to cheaters? The answer determines how many (and what kind) of cheaters will tend to exist. Are there differences between cultures or does our sense of fairness have some component that is innate to all humans?
Learning to wait (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Just what we needed.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The Implicit Line Code (Score:1, Interesting)
Same thing at my school, but we also had something called 'monkey switching'. One student would get in front of their friend in the normally allowed fashion, but then they would agree to trade spaces. This could lead to arguments.
First example in my life of a debate between the spirit of the law and its literal definition.
Queueing even to be shot (Score:2, Interesting)
Ten years or so ago I bought an advance-purchase ticket to attend the London Boat Show. I arrived early. Together with many other overly-keen boat geeks, I was marshalled by an official into an ever-growing queue of advance-purchase ticket holders awaiting the opening of the gates. The queue was kept 30 yards off to one side to allow access to the ticket booths for those buying their tickets on the day. The many gates duly opened but our queue was kept in line and stationary by the uniformed official. Others were arriving, buying their tickets, and gaining immediate admission. One or two from our queue tried to make a break for it but were bullied sternly back into line by the queue-fascist. I refused to be shuffled back into line and caused the official to run around barking as if he were a sheep dog trying to gather a stray as I marched purposefully towards the gate. Realising I was a lost cause he returned to marshalling the line. I turned before passing through the gates to offer encouragement to others to disobey authority. I was surprised to be met by the hostile stares of the still-imprisoned.
Re:And the reward for most useless researcher goes (Score:4, Interesting)
While it wasn't scientific research like this, your post reminds me of Velcro, which was invented after George de Mestral looked at burrs caught in his dog's hair.
Re:Learning to wait (Score:4, Interesting)
Damn, that's sad. Any bets that kid is going to grow up into a real mess?
I have my own Pirates line story, oddly enough - it was a several hour wait in the hot summer sun. I was a youngster with my family, and a young couple was slowly cutting their way past everyone in line. My dad was the only one who didn't let them pass. After a few minutes, they tried to slip past us *again*. This time, my dad verbally unloaded both barrels on them, and they backed down for good.
I was pretty impressed with my Dad for standing up for what he thought was the right thing, and not caring if it made a bit of a scene. A few people came up to him later and thanked him (while some others shied well away from him). Honestly, I'll bet most of the people who let them slip by wished they were able to do what my dad did - many likely figured like you did that they were meeting someone.
whats next? (Score:1, Interesting)
how to cut people off in traffic and not get shot at.
how to impregnate your friends wife and have them raise your kid.
Re:And the reward for most useless researcher goes (Score:5, Interesting)
Another way to look at this is as disturbing a stable system to learn about it. People line up in queues everywhere, and do it without even thinking. This generates several interesting questions: Why? (is it a learned action?) What causes people to dislike it when people cut?(from individual standpoints, someone cutting in line behind you doesn't affect you at all) Why do some people cut in line, and others wait in line? By watching what happens when these lines get undermined, you can learn a bit about why they're created, as well as the respective thought processes.
The point of the research is to try to understand the whole queueing process, not to learn how to be a dick.
think tactically (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What if a whole line tried cutting? (Score:3, Interesting)
Suppose you're standing in line, and suddenly a whole line of people just slides into place right next to your line -
I actually saw this happen at a sports fair. There was a really long line for an autograph tent that went about 30 yards away, ran into a fence and folded back on itself all the way to the front. At some point a couple of guys tried to jump the line and in the confusion that ensued the whole end half of the line just turned and made a new line. Those of us who waited for an hour to get near the front were fairly pissed. No fight though.
As to why in the world I was in line for an autograph - it wasn't my idea. It was for my sister-in-law. Worse, it was for the University of Miami. To say I'm not a fan would be an understatement. Just goes to show how far I'll go for love. It did confirm my opinion of fans of the "U" though.
Re:And the reward for most useless researcher goes (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Just what we needed.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe a little more that a tutting. My favorite queue jumping story is here:
http://ask.metafilter.com/104881/Standing-In-Line#1516290 [metafilter.com]
easier than you think (Score:3, Interesting)
Cutting in line is easier than most people think. As long as you act normal and confident, virtually no one in our docile society will want to start an almost assuredly unpleasant confrontation.
First, don't get the impression that I'm someone who normally cuts in line. I'm the kind of person who, unless instructed otherwise, would probably wait patiently in an emergency room holding my own freshly-severed leg until called upon by a nurse or doctor. Now with that pleasant qualification out of the way...
The only time in my life I've ever intentionally cut in line was when I went with a group of four people to a night club. It was the only time I've ever been to a night club, in fact, and it must have been a pretty popular one because there were people lined up for about two blocks waiting to get in. But the guy who brought us there took one look at the line and said, "follow me." I knew what he was about to do, but I didn't feel it was right and was skeptical we'd get away with it anyhow. With all the people and the bouncers and probably even video cameras, we'd not simply be able to cut in line and not have anyone notice.
But cut we did. And we didn't just skip half the line or 3/4 of it, we went all the way to the front. I was waiting for one of the bouncers to say, "hey, you guys weren't here a second ago," but they never said anything. Waved their metal detectors around, stamped us all on the hand and let us in. After we were apparently in, I started wondering how the @#$% we just pulled that off. I can only imagine that it's because we didn't draw attention to ourselves and we didn't look suspicious whilst executing the cut. Perhaps because we acted like we were supposed to be cutting in line, everyone else assumed that we were entitled to. Like VIPs or something. Who knows.
By the time we were ready to leave, the line had moved forward enough that we would have been about 10 feet from the entrance had we stayed in line.