How to Ride Me

[nwgirl]

Totally forgot about Craigslist Best of. Here's one from this month:

Hi, I’m your elevator. Before you ride me I'd like to give you a brief tutorial to ensure maximum enjoyment.

First, let’s talk about how to get on me.

Button Pressing:
When waiting for an elevator precisely none or all of the soon-to-be riders should press the button to call for the elevator. Any number in between is unacceptable.

Holding the Door:
Upon entering/exiting the elevator there shall be an understood, but unspoken, competition between male riders to see who can go to the greatest length to hold the door open. This will often result both doors being held open for an excessive period of time. The competition shall not end until a minimum of three “Go ahead”s, accompanied by head motions, have been exchanged.
Exceptions:
1. If an unsavory rider (Fat, homeless, from a rival firm etc.) is attempting to board the elevator all passengers may claim to have not seen them. In the event eye contact with the undesirable rider-to-be has been made, passengers should claim to have not been able to locate the ‘Open Door’ button in time.

Congratulations, you’ve made it on me! Now let's discuss the correct configuration for X number of riders.

There are two of you? Person A goes in the near corner, person B goes in the opposite corner, furthest from person A. This is similar to the distribution of men at public urinals.

If two people know each other and the third is a stranger, the former should stand next to each other at a spot of their choosing and the latter should stand at the spot furthest from the pairing. If all thee persons are unknown to each other then they shall form an equilateral triangle with all parties as far from each other as space permits. This shall also apply to groups of three where all parties are known to each other.

For groups of four each person shall stand in one corner of the elevator, regardless of relationship between the riders. In the event of a round or other oddly shaped elevator the geometric shape providing the most distance between riders shall be used. This may be a square, rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, or trapezoid. Consult the nerdiest looking person on the elevator for guidance.

For five or more people the rules are simple. The configuration of passengers is not important. All that matters is the number of people mentioning how crowded the elevator is. See Exception 4 of ‘Talking on the Elevator’

Now that we’ve got that squared away, let’s discuss situations that may arise while riding me.

Foul Odors:
In the event it becomes clear that someone has passed gas or any other undesirable human generated smell is present it shall not be mentioned until all parties have exited the elevator.
Exceptions:
1. In situations where the passengers are comprised of both parties known to each other and strangers, it shall be acceptable for discussion to commence once all strangers have exited the elevator. The discussion shall be limited to blaming the strangers.
2. In social situations where all parties are male and well known to each other it shall be acceptable to fart as loudly as possible. Silent but deadly farts are not permitted.

Disabled Riders:
In the event a handicapped (wheelchair bound, retarded, blind etc.) attempts to get on the elevator all parties, regardless of relationship, shall immediately cram as far back as possible. Immediate offers of assistance shall be made. After elevator riding is concluded one or more parties shall mention how noble it is of the disabled person to continue working despite their affliction. This will be done out of earshot of the person in question. (Note: One joke about the blind guy driving to work, the deaf guy answering the phone, the wheelchair guy getting the best parking spot etc. shall be permitted provided the person proffering the joke precedes it with a statement about how "he is going to hell for this")

Talking on the Elevator:
There will be no talking on the elevator, even amongst persons known to each other. Exceptions:
1. A head nod coupled with a short, but firm, "hi" is acceptable. Please note this also is similar to men’s bathroom etiquette.
2. If you are an asshole carrying a Blackberry please continue your conversation once boarding the elevator. You should be sure to double the volume of your voice. Also, sales figures should be needlessly mentioned and automatically rounded up to the nearest billion, regardless of accuracy.
3. Conversations about how there is never any conversation on elevators are permitted. Discussing the irony therein is not permitted.
4. When five or more riders are present it is mandatory to make mention of this. At least one reference to the weight/passenger limit of the elevator should be made.

Floor Requirements:
All elevator riders are required to travel a minimum of 2 floors. Ex. If you are on the first floor and you press the button for the second floor, all other passengers are entitled to give you the evil eye for the duration of the ride.
Exceptions:
1. If you are actually disabled. See section on ‘Disabled Riders’.

Eye Contact:
Making prolonged eye contact on the elevator is strictly forbidden. If a rider finds himself meeting eyes with another rider both shall immediately cast their gaze upon the floor. The rider who can correctly identify the shoes of all the other riders wins.
Exceptions:
1. When two or more male passengers are known to each other, brief eye contact and a knowing smile are acceptable after an attractive female, which they have both obviously eye-fucked, exits the elevator. One of the male parties is also allowed, but not required, to proclaim “Daaamn” after the doors have fully shut. The length of the ‘aaa’ shall correspond to the hotness of the female. A vulgar explanation of “what I’d do to that ass” is also acceptable.
2. Provided there are no other passengers on the elevator, a rider is allowed to stare down the blind guy, just for shits and grins. If, through some form of extrasensory perception, the blind guy notices, he is allowed to hit the other rider with his cane or allow his dog one free bite on a body part of his choosing.
3. See ‘Floor Requirements’

Getting off:
Once the rider has reached his chosen floor he should promptly exit the elevator before allowing other passengers on. It may be necessary to use elbows and/or briefcases to fend off overanxious riders-to-be. Use force liberally.
Exceptions:
1. If the hot girl from marketing is getting on the elevator it is permissible to delay exiting long enough to ‘accidentally’ brush up against her.

I hope you enjoyed riding me as much as I enjoyed being taken for a ride!

Signed,

Your Elevator

[o0Amber0o]

Floor Requirements:
All elevator riders are required to travel a minimum of 2 floors. Ex. If you are on the first floor and you press the button for the second floor, all other passengers are entitled to give you the evil eye for the duration of the ride.

I know this all too well living on the third floor of a dorm building that only had three floors, that had an elevator. Nothing peeved me more than having to stop two times because some lazy bastards couldn't take the effing stairs. I stopped using the elevator there because of this.

[Beeyotch]

In Barcelona I noticed weird elevator etiquette: When getting off the elevator, people say "goodbye" to whoever's left on the elevator, even if it's to perfect strangers. Like saying "bless you" after sneezing I guess.

Also, most building elevators are so small they only fit 2 people. Three if they're slim. Only the huge department store El Corte Ingles has larger elevators that can fit 5-8 people.

[bella]

I hate going in lifts for all the reasons above!

[Mel1973]

Based on the title, elevator talk is not what I was expecting...