Comments on: Middle Seats

By: Tin Man

Tin Man — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:44:18 +0000

They’re probably a little bit bigger than the subway seats. But anyway, the subway has different etiquette rules than commuter trains. I agree with you about the subway seats – I sometimes squeeze myself in as well, sometimes just to make the person suffer for trying to take up more than their share of space.

By: Bart

Bart — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:36:17 +0000

Are these seats smaller than the ones in the NYC subway? Like the orange seats that are sectioned off? Cause on the subway, I can’t stand it when people take up more than one seat’s worth of room. I’ll bunch myself up next to big guys that are sitting with their legs spread wide open to get a seat. Nobody is entitled to two seats on the subway (or even to have their legs spread up past their own seat).

I can’t stand it when people sit spread apart on the unsectioned off seats too, when I know there’d be an extra space if people just sat closer, like the old trains with dark gray seats that only have that divider every two seats (or even the new light blue seats that are supposed to fit three or four people in each section depending on which train you’re on).

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:34:13 +0000

In reference to ay’s comment, the concept amuses me. As an intensely closeted young man, my first sexual experiences were in public restrooms, so learned an entirely different men’s room etiquette…

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:28:52 +0000

Hmm. No one seems to obey this rule on Metro-North.

Or, rather, they violate this rule especially for me.

I always claim the window seat of a three-seater. Then someone will take the aisle. Fine.

However, whenever I have been forced to endure having someone in the middle seat, THEY ALWAYS PICK THE SEAT NEXT TO ME!!!

The middle seat in the row immediately before me and behind me will be empty, but they’ll sit next to me. One of these days, I’m finally going to ask someone why they picked the one next to me instead of the two adjacent ones.

On the other end of the situation, though, the only reason I generally get my seat of choice is that mine is the third stop on the line. On the return trip, I have absolutely no shame or compunction about forcing myself into the middle seat if the option is standing for 45 minutes. I dodn’t pay $220 a months to stand, thank you very much.

It’s not the claiming of the middle seat that bothers me — it’s the mystery of why they always choose the seat next to me.

And it’s always either a woman or a trollish old man. If it was someone young and cute, of course, I wouldn’t mind.

By: ay

ay — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:22:21 +0000

That's like the unwritten rules ofmen's room etiquette.