The Official "rant/bitch/moan" Thread

The Black Oil

'Do you know what happened to the ethics form you filled in as I’ve no record of having received it?'

Great...

Groinshot

People in 24 hour room leaving, with all their stuff left behind them.. Can we jsut move it or are we to wait for library staff? I tried today, after 20 minutes of me there(person was probably gone longer) but the guy beside me said"There's someone sitting there already, they;ll be back soon"
urgh.

Lawliet

Groinshot wrote: »

People in 24 hour room leaving, with all their stuff left behind them.. Can we jsut move it or are we to wait for library staff? I tried today, after 20 minutes of me there(person was probably gone longer) but the guy beside me said"There's someone sitting there already, they;ll be back soon"
urgh.

The SU email said the library could move stuff left unoccupied for more than fifteen minutes on request.
I suppose at least people can't give out to someone for taking their place when its the staff that's doing it

Unshelved

From the Library website -
Readers are not permitted to reserve seats by leaving their belongings or books on seats and desks. The Library staff may move any property left at unoccupied desks or seats for more than 15 minutes except for officially reserved seats and carrels.

Groinshot

Unshelved wrote: »

From the Library website -
Readers are not permitted to reserve seats by leaving their belongings or books on seats and desks. The Library staff may move any property left at unoccupied desks or seats for more than 15 minutes except for officially reserved seats and carrels.

Yeah, that's great during normal hours, but what about sundays in the 24 hour room when there's no staff?
(Sorry for being bitchy by the way, don't mean it like that)

Jammyc

Do staff go around and check seats during opening hours? I've never seen a member of staff move someone's belongings.

Unshelved

You could ask a Staff Member or move the stuff yourself. You're perfectly entitled to.

Jammyc

Sorry, that was a genuine question by the way, wasn't trying to be snotty!:)

PeterTwo

Unshelved wrote: »

From the Library website -
Readers are not permitted to reserve seats by leaving their belongings or books on seats and desks. The Library staff may move any property left at unoccupied desks or seats for more than 15 minutes except for officially reserved seats and carrels.

I think 15 mins is too short, everyone needs a break for food. It should be at least 30 mins.

blubloblu

PeterTwo wrote: »

I think 15 mins is too short, everyone needs a break for food. It should be at least 30 mins.

This. I've never seen someone have the gall to move someone's stuff after fifteen minutes (apart from maybe the 24hr). If the rule was half an hour, that's reasonable enough to feel justified in clearing a space.

Lawliet

Extraordinary post splnaiven, I look forward to your future publications.

languagenerd

Well, they do say your first post should make an impression...

Jonathan

languagenerd wrote: »

Well, they do say your first post should make an impression...

Well now that I've deleted splnaiven's post, I guess he gets a second go. :cool:

Larianne

Awh, I hate missing out on things. :mad::mad::mad:

PeterTwo

PeterTwo wrote: »

I think 15 mins is too short, everyone needs a break for food. It should be at least 30 mins.

I'd have to disagree. Everyone needs to eat, that's true, but I think that if you're leaving the library you should take your stuff with you.

splnaiven

Jonathan wrote: »

Well now that I've deleted splnaiven's post, I guess he gets a second go. :cool:

I defy you and your "authority", Romish antichrist

Hande hoche!

Romish?

FloatingVoter

Is splnaiven an anagram for Plain Sven ?

Its just I'm stuck on 4 down.

Groinshot

PeterTwo wrote: »

I think 15 mins is too short, everyone needs a break for food. It should be at least 30 mins.

But the point is that you take a break for food. let someone else use the space when you're off stuffing your face!

bscm

PeterTwo wrote: »

I think 15 mins is too short, everyone needs a break for food. It should be at least 30 mins.

1 or 2 half an hour break(s) if you're there for the entire day is fair enough. Not several 10-30 minutes chat/cig/food breaks every hour or two, which people will do if there is a 30 minute rule to take advantage of.

Library staff could assign each desk a number, and when you leave you give your desk number and student number/name. Then if someone notices that the desk has been vacated for while/several times, it's easy enough to check if that person should give up the desk. If you don't give your details when you leave, then you have no way of proving you've only been gone for x minutes to use the toilet/make a call/grab a drink etc. All it'll take is stickers/plates on the desks and a log book/file. It would also stop people saving desks for their friends, when said friends don't show up for several hours.

Groinshot

bscm wrote: »

1 or 2 half an hour break(s) if you're there for the entire day is fair enough. Not several 10-30 minutes chat/cig/food breaks every hour or two, which people will do if there is a 30 minute rule to take advantage of.

Library staff could assign each desk a number, and when you leave you give your desk number and student number/name. Then if someone notices that the desk has been vacated for while/several times, it's easy enough to check if that person should give up the desk. If you don't give your details when you leave, then you have no way of proving you've only been gone for x minutes to use the toilet/make a call/grab a drink etc. All it'll take is stickers/plates on the desks and a log book/file. It would also stop people saving desks for their friends, when said friends don't show up for several hours.

They could also go have a look around every now and again and see if the desks are empty which by the sound of things seems to be what they should do, but don't (for whatever reason, my guess is there's too much space to actually cover)
That system is open for abuse really, as if you don't sign your self out, come back, someone is there, you argue you went to take a phone call. There's no record of when you got up to leave, so none of how long you were gone for.
The system in place at the minute is fine, if it was adhered to, as would what you suggest if it were adhered to. Looking around me I count 14 desks(at a glance) that are empty with books on them, and I'd bet the rest of my days study that at least 10 of them have been gone for more than fifteen minutes(considering I've been here an hour at this stage,) and have seen three or four people come in looking for seats but walk away again.
If people felt comfortable about moving other peoples stuff then there wouldn't be a problem...

Kwekubo

There are stickers available in Iveagh Hall and at the desk in the Hamilton that you are meant to use when you are leaving your desk for a while - you write the time that you left onto the sticker. Can't say that I've ever seen anyone use them, though.

languagenerd

On the third floor of the Ussher today there were FORTY-TWO empty desks with books, notes, pens and laptop chargers strewn on them. (This was around 1:30pm so obviously everyone was gone for lunch)

But it's ridiculous, a few people who came in had to go back downstairs (presumeably to the Lecky where there are no sockets and noisy people walking through), I even saw a man with a chair pulled up to a bookshelf in the Ussher because there were no desks.

Unshelved, I know you say we're within our rights to move stuff - and that's ok when it's just a pile of library books - but I don't want to touch other people's laptop chargers, glasses, pens, notes, rucksacks, etc. Where would I put them, for one thing? And then they come back, you're in their chair and they think you've stolen their stuff. Is there any way a member of library staff could have a wander around the study areas once every hour or two?

Everyone needs a break, but 42 desks being hogged on one floor alone is ridiculous...

Lawliet

bscm wrote: »

1 or 2 half an hour break(s) if you're there for the entire day is fair enough. Not several 10-30 minutes chat/cig/food breaks every hour or two, which people will do if there is a 30 minute rule to take advantage of.

The problem is that's there's not enough places for people to be using a desk all day. People feel entitled to a desk because they came in early and got one, so they don't see a problem with going off for an hour and holding it. But it's not their desk, and other other students need places to study. If the fifteen minute rule was enforced, then there would be less empty seats and more people would get a chance to use a desk, which is fairest for everyone.

I don't particularly like giving up my seat because I need lunch, but it's the rules and anyway there are places outside the library which are fairly quiet these days

The Black Oil

I've not seen people move stuff, though I did move things when I was able to use the 1937 PG room. Also logged people one or two people off college PCs as they were away for ages and a few of us were queuing.

Did see one chap today briefly sit down at someone else's desk. It was pretty empty, just a charger and a back or two. He didn't stay all that long, mind.

bscm

Lawliet wrote: »

The problem is that's there's not enough places for people to be using a desk all day. People feel entitled to a desk because they came in early and got one, so they don't see a problem with going off for an hour and holding it. But it's not their desk, and other other students need places to study.

I understand what you're saying, but for someone like me (who doesn't live in Dublin and doesn't have a decent library nearby), I get into the library at opening time, stay until about 5pm but only leave twice (max 3 times) during the day for bathroom breaks and to grab something from the Hammo shop. I haven't been in often since lectures finished, but the times I have gone in, I have seen people use desks for anything but study, and also saw plenty of "reserved" desks which were unoccupied for close to three hours.

I do justify my library usage because I can't take out many books. If they are recalled, it costs me 7-12 euro to get into town to return them. I also use the desk to study for most of the eight hours that I am there, which is more than I can say for the guy I spotted reading the Times and the Metro for an hour and then playing Angry Birds until his friend finished reading a journal.

bscm

bscm wrote: »

I understand what you're saying, but for someone like me (who doesn't live in Dublin and doesn't have a decent library nearby), I get into the library at opening time, stay until about 5pm but only leave twice (max 3 times) during the day for bathroom breaks and to grab something from the Hammo shop. I haven't been in often since lectures finished, but the times I have gone in, I have seen people use desks for anything but study, and also saw plenty of "reserved" desks which were unoccupied for close to three hours.

I do justify my library usage because I can't take out many books. If they are recalled, it costs me 7-12 euro to get into town to return them. I also use the desk to study for most of the eight hours that I am there, which is more than I can say for the guy I spotted reading the Times and the Metro for an hour and then playing Angry Birds until his friend finished reading a journal.

All you've established is that there are people who are less considerate than you. That doesn't negate the fact that even if you're only gone for half an hour three times a day, that's an hour and a half your desk went unused.

Raedwald

Folks as the says you can rant, bitch and moan all you like.

It ain't gonna change the fact that it ain't gonna ever change. People having been reserving/holding/hogging seats in the libraries around college since they opened.

Me, I'm perfectly happy with system, the rules arn't enforced but by and large it works. I for one leave my stuff lying there all day and come as go as i please.

You come, get set up and study to your natural rhythm for some people that is hours on end for others it in short burst.

Complaining about people leaving their stuff at a desk all day? Get over yourself and get in early and then it wont be a problem.

Lisandro

It's not something that affects me because my daily work consists of one book, which is normally small enough to fit in my pocket. It means I don't use the library very often, but when I do and I want to go off to lunch, I just return whichever book I'm reading to the shelf or take it out on loan. Even if I were someone whose reading materials were enough to pack out a mountain hiker's bag, I wouldn't just leave stuff at a desk and feck off for an hour; it's radically unfair to expect someone to leave a perfectly usable study space reserved specially for you for an hour or however long it is.

A short break every now and again I can understand, anything beyond that and you're expecting people to think that your right to study is more important than theirs. As has already been said, if people just got on with it and cleared away a space, this wouldn't be an issue. I think the lack of the rule being enforced is what makes people think they have an entitlement to a spot, even when they're not using it for ages. Use it or lose it is what I say.

I stopped using the library (as a regular place) long ago; it just gets really tedious around exam time, with the competition for places and the constant noisy grunting every fifteen seconds. I don't mind the library that much during the year, though.

Lawliet

Raedwald wrote: »

Complaining about people leaving their stuff at a desk all day? Get over yourself and get in early and then it wont be a problem.

Actually it would be even more of a problem if everyone came in early - there's more students than there are places!