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Wikipedia list of international faux pas

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Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
Saw this on Boingboing, wikipedia list of faux pas

A friend of mine's brother teaches English in Japan and he visited once with his Japanese wife, afterwords he told his brother he had never been so insulted in his life and stopped talking to his brother or us ever since! We have no freaking idea what insulted them and they never told us, you'd figure the guy would fill his wife in on weird American culture before hand.

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  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    under 'United States'
    "Filking in public is considered extremely rude."
    .. huh?
  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    "In Kazakhstan, it is considered an insult for a man to not offer a guest the opportunity to sleep with his sister. It is also considered impolite to turn down such an offer. "
    I find it funny that that doesn't have "citation needed" yet "Asking a woman her age is impolite in European tradition. [citation needed] " has it.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    Unfortunately it's been linked by a high traffic site so there's probably going to be alot of weird defacing going on, although it seems to be faring better than wikipedia articles linked by Slashdot.
  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    ahh. makes sence. That kazakhstan one sounded like something out of Borat.
  • Paul Jaquays
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    Paul Jaquays polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    under 'United States'
    "Filking in public is considered extremely rude."
    .. huh?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    "Filking" or "Filk-singing" is essentially "extreme nerd music." Usually it's popular tunes with the words changed to a science fiction or fantasy theme. Fairly popular at science fiction conventions ... which really aren't for the public at large.
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    spain : "At Spanish restaurants it is considered rude for the staff to bring a customer the check without the customer first requesting it." ... is this not the case everywhere? Bloody should be if not ...
  • Mongrelman
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    Mongrelman polycounter lvl 18
    I heard in Iceland it's rude to leave a tip.
  • thnom
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    thnom polycounter lvl 18
    I find it extremely offensive for a tip to be mandatory and be part of the bill..
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    [ QUOTE ]
    I find it extremely offensive for a tip to be mandatory and be part of the bill..

    [/ QUOTE ]

    god yes

    I might edit wikipedia with this one :

    "UK. Cutting up a hamburger with a knife and fork."

    hope it's the same for the rest of the world too. They should be *shot
  • Mongrelman
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    Mongrelman polycounter lvl 18
    Yeah that was something that got on my nerves when I was in the US over the summer; how often they jammed the tip on the bill, then like 19% tax on top.

    Something I didn't understand (which I saw in several restaurants) was that they had a tendency to add some tax to parties of 6 or more. I would have thought it's better for business to encourage more people to come (per group anyway) instead of penalising them.
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Arbitrary tipping? Doesn't that make it not a tip?

    EDIT: The whole tipping thing in the US is interesting. In Australia it's generally a mark of respect or a particularly friendly gesture rather than something that is expected.
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    I added the last five to Japan (and corrected some other points)
  • sonic
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    sonic polycounter lvl 18
    As far as tipping goes in America it is completely optional unless you have a large group of people or you eat at some asshole restaurant. I often don't give tips if the service sucks. I don't mind the large party automatic tip thing too much. I worked at a restaurant when I first turned 16 and we had people come in in groups of 10-15 people sometimes and each person assumes the next person is going to leave a decent tip (it's a basic rule of psychology) and they end up leaving 3 bucks for a 150 dollar tab.
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    spain : "At Spanish restaurants it is considered rude for the staff to bring a customer the check without the customer first requesting it." ... is this not the case everywhere? Bloody should be if not ...

    [/ QUOTE ]

    In the US it is the norm to bring the check without the customer requesting it.
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    I always tip. Waiters/waitress make less than the minimum wage due to the fact that they make tip money. Even if its $1 I still leave something on the table unless they absolutely sucked.

    Also, its a mix for me for the waiter/waitress bringing the bill/check before it was requested. You need to remove your head from your ass if you honestly find it RUDE to have it brought before hand. Sure if you've still got a full plate of food that might be weird but if you're obviously winding down then whats the problem?

    Seriously? Rude?

  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    being accused of having your "head up your ass" for stating a matter of personal opinion. Those that do need to pull their scabby fists out of their vaginas before they drop off
  • PfhorRunner
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    PfhorRunner polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    - Avoid creating new threads to point out the fact that you think everyone on the forums hates you, mainly because this won't help the already obvious situation...

    - Avoid NOT posting images of kittens in above situation.

    - Don't get "huffy" over criticism

    - If you have a vastly differing opinion, keep it to yourself, or scream it out at the top of your lungs (No in-betweeners) but be very very prepared to back yourself up.

    Edit:

    - Don't make your own birthday thread. (You self-gratifying loner)

    - "It's no Gears of War, but" should be the start of every criticism and/or compliment for the next month or so.
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    being accused of having your "head up your ass" for stating a matter of personal opinion. Those that do need to pull their scabby fists out of their vaginas before they drop off

    [/ QUOTE ]

    You could, you know, state why you find it rude when the bill is brought early. Might help rather than getting offensive.**

    Just an idea thumbup.gif

    **Scabby fists? Vagina? How old are you?
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    NAZIS!
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    [ QUOTE ]


    **Scabby fists? Vagina? How old are you?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    that sounds like the first line of a poem
  • sledgy
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    sledgy polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    being accused of having your "head up your ass" for stating a matter of personal opinion. Those that do need to pull their scabby fists out of their vaginas before they drop off

    [/ QUOTE ]

    RODL
  • sledgy
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    sledgy polycounter lvl 18
    Tipping is pretty standard operating procedure over here but if the service is shitty I'll make it a point to leave only a couple coins - enough to say "No, I didn't just forget."
  • snemmy
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    snemmy polycounter lvl 18
    for tipping in America and having the check brought before requested.. my Art History professor was talking of this a week ago during a discussion for our study abroad program this summer. it came up that in restaurants/cafes in parts of Europe that a glass of Coke costs upwards of $7US and the reason is that you are paying not for the coke entirely but for the right to sit in that cafe until you are done. here in America you are paying for the food and they want your ass out of there as soon as possible so they can fill your seat with someone else.

    to see it in effect. buy a small coke at McD's and sit there for 2hrs and see what kinds of looks you get. tongue.gif
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    you'd get some pretty strange looks over here too if you sat in mcdonalds for two hours
  • Neo_God
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    Neo_God polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    Start naming the polycount faux pas!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    - Avoid creating new threads to point out the fact that you think everyone on the forums hates you, mainly because this won't help the already obvious situation...

    - Avoid NOT posting images of kittens in above situation.

    - Don't get "huffy" over criticism

    - If you have a vastly differing opinion, keep it to yourself, or scream it out at the top of your lungs (No in-betweeners) but be very very prepared to back yourself up.

    Edit:

    - Don't make your own birthday thread. (You self-gratifying loner)

    - "It's no Gears of War, but" should be the start of every criticism and/or compliment for the next month or so.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    you forgot:
    -When posting a "next gen" model, it is only courteous to include a render with an extremely hard bright blue rim light.
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    I always tip. Waiters/waitress make less than the minimum wage due to the fact that they make tip money.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    In Oregon restaurant owners are required by law to pay their wait staff minimum wage.

    Is anyone else sick of seeing tip jars on the counters at coffee shops and pizza by the slice places? Like I should tip you for handing me a frickin' cup of coffee or a slice of pizza?
  • thnom
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    thnom polycounter lvl 18
    I never see tip jars at coffee shops and pizza places. Only things like that are charity things.

    "Like I should tip you for handing me a frickin' cup of coffee or a slice of pizza? "

    Like I should tip you for doing your job and bringing me my plate.. isn't it the same reasoning behind a tip in general? In all honestly, I'd rather get up myself and bring the plate myself than tip someone to get it for me.

    "Tipping is pretty standard operating procedure over here but if the service is shitty I'll make it a point to leave only a couple coins"

    In what other situation do you do this? You don't! The fact that you still leaves coins is still a tip, leave them nothing if you aren't happy!

    I prefer the "european style" of brining the cheque when you're done - its tell them you're not, done just presumption.

    not so much a faux pas, but it really irritates me when people don't spell shit correctly, check for instance. I know its the american spelling, but the american spelling is still wrong, to me.
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    Actually, the point behind leaving a couple of coins, thnom, is to show the wait person that you didn't just forget to tip them; You tipped them poorly for a job done poorly. It's more a "making a point" kind of thing than a generosity thing.
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Is anyone else sick of seeing tip jars on the counters at coffee shops and pizza by the slice places? Like I should tip you for handing me a frickin' cup of coffee or a slice of pizza?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I wouldn't say that it makes me sick, because I just ignore them. I see them all the time, though. Just about every Subway restaurant I've been to seems to have a tip jar.
  • KeyserSoze
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    KeyserSoze polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    "Like I should tip you for handing me a frickin' cup of coffee or a slice of pizza? "

    Like I should tip you for doing your job and bringing me my plate.. isn't it the same reasoning behind a tip in general?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    A server at a restaurant does a lot more than just hand you your food. They greet your table, they take your order, they bring you drinks, they bring you your food (rather than just handing it to you in a bag at the register), and they generally keep an eye on you and stop by to refill drinks and make sure you're satisfied... it's a lot more than just handing you a paper cup filled with overpriced coffee.
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    Kids should give us tip money for making their games.

    Based on that logic, its true.
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    [ QUOTE ]
    you'd get some pretty strange looks over here too if you sat in mcdonalds for two hours

    [/ QUOTE ]

    two hours is the minimum time people spend in cafes or fast food joints here in Tokyo. Some girls spend all day in mc dees.

    You can often see students sleeping in Denny's or other family restaurants.
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