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Comment by chirau | Hacker News Reader

Where does it start, where does it end? Who defines it?

"Common courtesy" is a very vague term and changes from place to place

Sure, you can get pedantic about the cultural nuances of courtsey but I'd say that it generally boils down to don't be an inconsiderate a-hole. I live in a country where it's not illegal to take up-skirts I'd say it would be pretty universal to say it's common courtesy not to do that.

An example is not a definition. Like i said, what is common courtesy and where? What is an a-hole? You mention these terms as if they have a universal definition, they don't. Chewing gum in Singapore could be an a-hole move. Is it in the USA? So what gives?

And thanks to all my know-better self-righteous downvoters. I didn't know questions were inappropriate.

Yes, what is common courtesy varies by location. That's a given. And it's another example of why short term rentals can be problematic; the people staying there don't have time to learn the local customs.

Commenting about being downvoted is inappropriate.

I take it it's not common courtesy??

Human interaction isn't math. The law isn't even math. Neither ever will be.

Read up on law sometime. You'll see terms like "reasonable" everywhere, which merely offloads the critical components of the law to, well, people you'd hope are reasonable (capable of reason).

If you can't rigorously define something, you certainly still can work with it, pursue it, use it, regulate it, etc. Consider: art, love, health, happiness, pregnancy, ...

Not being a jerk includes having some measure of sensitivity regarding what is considered jerk-like behaviour in the situation you find yourself in, informing yourself, and erring on the side of caution in unknown situations. Of course, mistakes will be made, but that doesn't invalidate the principle.

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