Posted by dgates on 12/02/06 20:47

On Sat, 2 Dec 2006 07:50:04 -0500, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:18:37 -0800 from dgates
><dgates@spamlinkline.com>:
>> On Fri, 1 Dec 2006 03:53:35 -0500, Stan Brown
>> <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>>
>> >Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:17:01 -0800 from dgates
>> ><dgates@spamlinkline.com>:
>> >> At our house, we almost always have a few DVDs lying around on shelves
>> >> -- both commercial DVDs and home-burned DVD+RW's. How seriously
>> >> should we consider an emergency change in our DVD-handling policy?
>> >
>> >I don't get it. When the cases are possibly safer and certainly no
>> >less safe, and putting them in the cases reduces clutter, why would
>> >anyone ever *not* put them in the cases?
>>
>>
>> Well, there's no good answer to that. It's like asking "Why not
>> always wash dishes immediately after using them? Why ever leave them
>> in the sink for a while?"
>
>False analogy. A better analogy would be "why not leave them on the
>table?" But even that's not quite on point because of course the food
>on dishes gets more and more obnoxious with time.
>
>Taking a disk out of the player and putting it down anywhere but in
>the case is like picking up the supper dishes and taking them to the
>bedroom. It's silly -- it's extra effort not less effort.
>
>> The basic answer has to be: If it's harmless to leave the DVD out, why
>> not? Why not form a stack of 5 or 10, then put them all away at once
>> later?
>
>Because it's not just the discs, it's the cases as well.
>
>Anyway, when you take the disc out of the player it's in your hand
>and has to go *somewhere*. Why on earth *not* put it in the case?
>
>> The real question is: How do you convince people (who don't seem to be
>> noticing any problems from leaving DVDs out) to always put them away
>> immediately? (even if it means delaying their instant gratification
>> while they possibly, gasp, travel to another room to find the correct
>> case for it?
>
>I don't get this either. Why *would* the case be in another room from
>the player and the disc?
>
>Sometimes I just don't understand people.

If I reply any more to this thread, it will sound like I'm defending
the cause of leaving discs on wooden surfaces. Rather, I just wanted
to get some people's input on "how bad" it is to leave DVDs out.

I had always believed that DVD-R's and DVD+RW's had bottoms that could
scratch pretty easily, but that commercial discs could take a little
abuse.

I won't answer every question in your reply above, but for example...
Why *would* the case be in another room from the player and the disc?

Because the case is a leather case full of discs. And at least one of
its discs is in the living room while another disc is in the exercise
room.


Actually, an equally likely scenario is that my girlfriend has just
watched the second episode of disc 4 of season 3 of Sex and the City
in the exercise room.

Now, I want to exercise and watch one of my discs, while she wants to
remember where she left off. And, even if she didn't, I don't
especially feel like figuring out which case this goes into.


Again, they're silly little reasons. They only make sense IF leaving
a commercial disc on top of a magazine or on top of a wooden table is
basically harmless.

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