Reserving Spaces

[bigmonkey]

I was in the computer room t'other day, because the connection on my computer had temporarily packed up. So, there is one space free in the computer room. I go over there and the computer is logged out, but someone has left an A4 pad with notes all over it and some kind of pencil case on one side of the desk. They could easily belong to the guy on the computer next to me, but I rule that out as from where I am the writing looks fairly flowery and probably belongs to some girl, plus the guy is paying no attention to it anyway.

So I sit down, log in and start dossing around online, clearly doing no work. After about 20 minutes I hear, "Excuse me!" I turn around, and an early-thirties-looking, shott fat woman with short hair is standing over me. "Do you mind?"
"Do I mind what?" I reply.
"I was using that workspace. My stuff is clearly there. Can you log out and get out of my space?"
At this I'm a bit shocked. I'd expected someone to turn up and just ask if they could reach over and collect the property they'd left behind. All I say is, "You were logged out...", but my expression said "[censored] off", and off she [censored], to look for another computer to sit down at. Luckily for me she finds one, because had there not been one going I could have expected another torrent of abuse. After logging in she comes back to get her stuff, and she just says, "You wouldn't like it if it were your stuff!" so I reply, "Firstly, I haven't touched your stuff, and secondly I wouldn't leave my stuff lying around." Off she [censored] again with a snarl.

Anybody else have any experience of this before? Other times I've had to queue for the computer room when there have been people logged into the computers with stuff all over the desk, but they've been away for half an hour or more. I usually just save their documents and log them out after waiting 15 minutes or so. I'm glad none of them have ever come back to find me in their space because they would have slightly more reason to accuse me seeing as they were logged in. I've noticed it's almost always ugly women. My hypothesis is that they think the world has screwed them over so much that they have no choice but to screw over everybody they come across, showing absolutely no courtesy or respect. Anybody come across this sort of thing? Anybody think I am in the wrong here?

[ledders07]

need some cliff notes, ppl aint gonna be bothered to read it

[AbreuTime]

OP, I'm with you on this. If there's a limited number of computers, log 'em off.

[Quicksilvre]

[ QUOTE ]
need some cliff notes, ppl aint gonna be bothered to read it

[/ QUOTE ]

OP logs onto only available computer in computer lab, at a seat where the computer was logged off but with a notebook off to the side. Twenty minutes later the person who had been sitting there returns. Hilarity ensues.

Frankly, OP is right. If you're at a computer lab and you're not logged onto a computer, you are not at that computer. It is asinine to think that you can expect your seat back if you abandon it for 20 minutes anywhere on campus, much less in a busy lab.

[ship_it_trebek]

Especially to fat 30 year old women who are aggressive about their space.

[Solami17]

WTF...who leaves their crap layin around unattended for that long of a time? I would of done the same thing!

[bigmonkey]

I'm glad everyone agrees. The problem with these situations is that probably most of the people in the room agree with using the computer when nobody is sitting there (especially having logged out for 20 minutes plus), but nobody ever speaks up as they don't really care. Mouthy bitches then think that they are part of some moral majority. As I said, I practically told her to just [censored] off, which makes it look like I'm the aggresser, when really I just couldn't be bothered to deal with the situation. I'm glad this was off-peak time, because had there been anyone present at the computer help centre (just a desk( she probably would have waddled off to complain about me, thus escalating it further.