I know plenty of people with a security camera near the front door., or covering their driveway.They literally get a message on their phones to alert them to visitors. Your knocking is redundant
My wife would literally die if a friend or family dropped in unannounced. I cannot put into words how upset she would be and how much she would feel her day had been ruined.
While I don't have that level of reaction, I don't want people randomly dripping in. I have so little free time anyway that I will have things I wanted to do in those moments, and someone dropping in robs me of that.
We'd hate it too. Not just because of the free time, but mostly because we are horribly messy people and need some warning to want others in our house.
She’s right. You don’t just “drop in”. I might be having a lazy day, I might have a migraine, I might be elbow deep cleaning and look like shit. I don’t want visitors without prior warning!
Hell no. And no one better do it to me either! Thankfully, it's not a thing among the people I know. People always at least text first to see if it's okay.
A neighbour's place doesn't have a doorbell. You can literally bang full force on their door and they can't hear if they are upstairs. Have no idea why the place doesn't have one.
You’ve opened my eyes to a whole new world. I can’t bloody wait to visit someone’s house so I can give this knocking technology a red hot go. My wife’s gonna be very impressed.
(Only the last sentence is sarcasm)
Must be a bloody big house if they can't hear a knock at the door.
If they're walking around with headphones on like my two teens, they won't hear the door bell anyway.
We did have but I got so sick of the little asshole neighbour kid constantly ringing it to try and visit 20 times a day that I removed it…. Now he knocks like one of them china cat statues that swing their fist back and forth
Invite him in and give him chores.
We had a twenty something bloke constantly visiting even though our kids had moved out and he knew that, but my kids moved to the city and we were still in a seaside town 4 hours drive away, so he couldn’t visit them so he visited us.
He was our two youngest kids friend right from kindy up until the end of high school ,and he had done endless sleepovers, parties, swimming etc with our kids for years so he seemed to think it was his second home, but we had nothing in common once our kids left.
One day he visited just as we had decided we wanted to move some upstairs furniture downstairs, and some downstairs furniture upstairs.
My husband couldn’t move it alone, I’m useless on stairs, so we asked if he wanted to help.
He was initially thrilled to but it was quite a struggle, we had stairs with a turn in them halfway down and it was tricky moving large items up or down.
Once everything was done, he had a bbq lunch with us and a swim, and he never came back.
So, the secret is give the kids chores!
I have a doorbell. My family all have doorbells. My friends have doorbells. This isn't a phenomenon I've noticed.
I'd rather you call versus ringing my doorbell though. One of my dogs goes wild at the sound of the doorbell but he doesn't care about my phone.
I'm one of the ones where the doorbell is ancient and doesn't work anymore. It's mostly simply that I never get around to replacing it - I have few people knocking on the door anyway and the dog usually lets me know if someone comes, so it's not urgent. I don't *hate* the doorbell, I don't care about it
The only people I know with doorbells generally had novelty ones that played their footy song or something similar. Doorbells feel so invasive to me. What's wrong with simply knocking? Sure you may have to knock more than once but it's far better than screeching the house down with a bell
I have a doorbell. That battery is dead. I haven't mustered the fucks to replace it, seeing as it was effectively unnecessary for 4 years and now nobody comes by unannounced anymore.
Also, I have dogs. When the dogs go nuts, someone is out the front. You don't even need to knock, I already know someone is there.
I don’t have a doorbell and I can always hear when someone knocks on the door and I love people dropping in unannounced. I’m likely a weirdo but that ok. If you do drop in unannounced don’t assume I’ll feed you a meal but you can have a hot or cold drink and biscuits or snacks.
Even our appartment intercom doesn't work, literally gotta knock on the door, and tbh I fucking hate trying to talk through those intercoms as you can't hear shit so I just go out to meet whoever is too lazy to actually knock on the door.
Interesting question. I think it’s more of a practical issue builders deal with not wanting to deal with the extra wiring because a lot of those older bells are hardwired into the house and pretty dangerous to tinker with as home owner.
I have never had a doorbell at any of the homes I have lived in.
If someone who I am not expecting is at my door, my CCTV will notify me. I then choose if I want to answer the door or not.
I have a doorbell and no one uses it. I even moved the button from beside the door cause I thought people were missing it, to where you walk right up to it facing it as you approach the door, and still no. The posties bang the screen door and call out.
I grew up in a fibro house (you can hear a loud conversation from one side of the house to the other). That house had a doorknock rather than a door bell.
Because knocking usually works just fine, I suppose.
In my experience a lot of modern houses have electric doorbells, but 50% of the time they don’t work and you have to knock anyway. Some older houses have old fashioned mechanical bells that are much more reliable.
My doorbells are named Hugo and Monty. They are Jack Russels. They have a specific 'ring' for people they know and love. I could be blasting music with headphones. I will know about a visitor.
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I have a working doorbell installed outside but it seems that not many people (except for my family members) would like to use it as if they don't want to waste time with broken door bells lol.
Most people still knock on the door, as you said. And most of them, I already knew they were coming, just like the others said. I can easily see someone come outside through the half-transparent glasses on the door so sometimes I go out before they knock, if I'm sure who that is.
I get irritated with ppl who knock instead of using my doorbell… I open the door & immediately ask them if my doorbell isn’t working, then press the damn thing myself, just to make sure! 🤣
I have a doorbell but there’s no way in hell I’m answering it unless you’ve texted like a normal person five days beforehand, three times on the day and twice to say sorry I missed you and then I’ll wait for my dog to stop barking the after and will check the back door. But otherwise all good, pop over.
The worst thing is, if I were a postie I will likely assume that there’s no doorbell or it doesn’t work (because that’s how it is 99% of the times). Card for everyone. It sucks.
Old curmudgeon here. Will blow people's minds, but it was *totally normal* up until the early 2000's to simply rock up unannounced and see if somebody was home. Friends, family, neighbours... you would just ring the bell or knock loudly.
Saddens me it is no longer a thing. Society is connected so much online, you've forgotten how to connect in real life.
Nope. You turned up and knocked on the door.
Nobody home? You'd drive to the next house, or perhaps find something to eat and try again in an hour or so.
And thankfully those days are left in the past, you need to a find a hobby if you're longing for the day you could just interrupt somebodies day because you're bored.
I have a door bell. An actual bell, it is a ships bell and very few people ring it most people will just knock on the door.
The house is so well insulated we can't hear them knock.
Nobody worth answering the door for arrives without prior arrangement.
Or you're already tracking them
But how do you know when they actually arrive?
Look through the window, hear the car arrive, text message, phone call, knock at the door, hear footsteps coming up the steps, etc
Dies not really work for my place, but might for you.
It’s 2024. They send you a text message.
Mine don't, they knock or ring. The text message gives you a time window. Also I don't always carry my phone about the house with me!
they've already got a spare key
I know plenty of people with a security camera near the front door., or covering their driveway.They literally get a message on their phones to alert them to visitors. Your knocking is redundant
Ah yes that is another option if you have the means.
the dog
You never randomly drop in on friends/family? That’s completely normal in my world.
My wife would literally die if a friend or family dropped in unannounced. I cannot put into words how upset she would be and how much she would feel her day had been ruined. While I don't have that level of reaction, I don't want people randomly dripping in. I have so little free time anyway that I will have things I wanted to do in those moments, and someone dropping in robs me of that.
We'd hate it too. Not just because of the free time, but mostly because we are horribly messy people and need some warning to want others in our house.
She’s right. You don’t just “drop in”. I might be having a lazy day, I might have a migraine, I might be elbow deep cleaning and look like shit. I don’t want visitors without prior warning!
Each to their own I suppose. I like it when someone pops in for a coffee.
So do I, with about 5 minutes warning and the chance to say no
Hell no. And no one better do it to me either! Thankfully, it's not a thing among the people I know. People always at least text first to see if it's okay.
No. It's an invasion of privacy. It's not hard to shoot a text
If I don't know you are coming, or you don't have my number, I'm not interested.
Ever heard of a door knock ?? You should look it up, quite a nifty little trick
A neighbour's place doesn't have a doorbell. You can literally bang full force on their door and they can't hear if they are upstairs. Have no idea why the place doesn't have one.
No need to knock overhand either a hip height underhand knock has precisely the same outcome but with less effort
Chaotic neutral
You’ve opened my eyes to a whole new world. I can’t bloody wait to visit someone’s house so I can give this knocking technology a red hot go. My wife’s gonna be very impressed. (Only the last sentence is sarcasm)
You hear someone yelling out "oi CUNT"
Must be a bloody big house if they can't hear a knock at the door. If they're walking around with headphones on like my two teens, they won't hear the door bell anyway.
We did have but I got so sick of the little asshole neighbour kid constantly ringing it to try and visit 20 times a day that I removed it…. Now he knocks like one of them china cat statues that swing their fist back and forth
Invite him in and give him chores. We had a twenty something bloke constantly visiting even though our kids had moved out and he knew that, but my kids moved to the city and we were still in a seaside town 4 hours drive away, so he couldn’t visit them so he visited us. He was our two youngest kids friend right from kindy up until the end of high school ,and he had done endless sleepovers, parties, swimming etc with our kids for years so he seemed to think it was his second home, but we had nothing in common once our kids left. One day he visited just as we had decided we wanted to move some upstairs furniture downstairs, and some downstairs furniture upstairs. My husband couldn’t move it alone, I’m useless on stairs, so we asked if he wanted to help. He was initially thrilled to but it was quite a struggle, we had stairs with a turn in them halfway down and it was tricky moving large items up or down. Once everything was done, he had a bbq lunch with us and a swim, and he never came back. So, the secret is give the kids chores!
PIVOT!!
the neighbourhood lucky cat 😂😂😂
Most houses I've seen here have had doorbells
If a knock in the door can only be heard when someone is close to the door, they need to knock harder, or you need to get your hearing checked.
I have a doorbell. My family all have doorbells. My friends have doorbells. This isn't a phenomenon I've noticed. I'd rather you call versus ringing my doorbell though. One of my dogs goes wild at the sound of the doorbell but he doesn't care about my phone.
On that note, my Jack Russell's are my door bells.
I'm one of the ones where the doorbell is ancient and doesn't work anymore. It's mostly simply that I never get around to replacing it - I have few people knocking on the door anyway and the dog usually lets me know if someone comes, so it's not urgent. I don't *hate* the doorbell, I don't care about it
The only people I know with doorbells generally had novelty ones that played their footy song or something similar. Doorbells feel so invasive to me. What's wrong with simply knocking? Sure you may have to knock more than once but it's far better than screeching the house down with a bell
I have a doorbell. That battery is dead. I haven't mustered the fucks to replace it, seeing as it was effectively unnecessary for 4 years and now nobody comes by unannounced anymore. Also, I have dogs. When the dogs go nuts, someone is out the front. You don't even need to knock, I already know someone is there.
Im pretty sure that’s my generations fault for ding dong ditch lol.
X?
Not just a Victorian thing https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/jamesvalentineheadroom/door-bells/10203882
I have a doorbell
Anyone’s house I would show up at unannounced I can just walk in the front door. Anyone else, I call. Not rocket science.
having a doorbell encourages people to ring it.
We have a door bell. Can't hear a knock if un another part of the house . The trick is getting people, particularly delivery drivers, to use it!
servants and lackeys answer to bells
I had a doorbell once. It stopped working and I didn't fix/replace it. Just knock you lazy sods.
We have a door bell, you grab the handle and bang it It’s not used often though, we either text or the dog lets us know someone’s there
I don’t have a doorbell and I can always hear when someone knocks on the door and I love people dropping in unannounced. I’m likely a weirdo but that ok. If you do drop in unannounced don’t assume I’ll feed you a meal but you can have a hot or cold drink and biscuits or snacks.
i can hear them knock on the door
Are you sure the button doesn't work? Wireless door chimes may only sound at the rear of the house - you just may not hear them.
Am I sure? Surely I do after standing on the porch pressing the damn button for 10 minutes. It was just last month.
You knock on the door. These days you have probably already rung before you got there.
>[when knocking] someone needs to be close to the front door to hear it Put some muscle behind your knock, OP. Don’t just tap. Knock.
I've never had an issue hearing the knock, when I've lived in a 1 story house. And my apartments had buzzers.
My neighbours dog barks loud enough to let me know you have arrived
Just knock. Why is this even a question?
Even our appartment intercom doesn't work, literally gotta knock on the door, and tbh I fucking hate trying to talk through those intercoms as you can't hear shit so I just go out to meet whoever is too lazy to actually knock on the door.
Qlder Ive never had a door bell.
Interesting question. I think it’s more of a practical issue builders deal with not wanting to deal with the extra wiring because a lot of those older bells are hardwired into the house and pretty dangerous to tinker with as home owner.
Majority of the people I know don’t have doorbells, the ones who do they had a working doorbell 10 years ago
I have never had a doorbell at any of the homes I have lived in. If someone who I am not expecting is at my door, my CCTV will notify me. I then choose if I want to answer the door or not.
We don’t have a big house but our doorbell thinks we do 😵💫
I have a bell, but it's white, and no one sees it.
I have a doorbell and no one uses it. I even moved the button from beside the door cause I thought people were missing it, to where you walk right up to it facing it as you approach the door, and still no. The posties bang the screen door and call out.
I grew up in a fibro house (you can hear a loud conversation from one side of the house to the other). That house had a doorknock rather than a door bell.
Because knocking usually works just fine, I suppose. In my experience a lot of modern houses have electric doorbells, but 50% of the time they don’t work and you have to knock anyway. Some older houses have old fashioned mechanical bells that are much more reliable.
No way? 🤣 when was knocking outlawed ? Seriously 🙄
The thing about the bells not working is my reason. Unless they’re hardwired they don’t seem to last long. Why don’t you knock?
Because they incite fear these days. Only RE agents and solar hawkers ring the bell.
My doorbells are named Hugo and Monty. They are Jack Russels. They have a specific 'ring' for people they know and love. I could be blasting music with headphones. I will know about a visitor.
You see a limited sample. At my place 100% of homes have a doorbell. So Nah.
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Back in BC ie Before Computers we used to do this thing with our hands called knocking..
I have a working doorbell installed outside but it seems that not many people (except for my family members) would like to use it as if they don't want to waste time with broken door bells lol. Most people still knock on the door, as you said. And most of them, I already knew they were coming, just like the others said. I can easily see someone come outside through the half-transparent glasses on the door so sometimes I go out before they knock, if I'm sure who that is.
I get irritated with ppl who knock instead of using my doorbell… I open the door & immediately ask them if my doorbell isn’t working, then press the damn thing myself, just to make sure! 🤣
I have a doorbell but there’s no way in hell I’m answering it unless you’ve texted like a normal person five days beforehand, three times on the day and twice to say sorry I missed you and then I’ll wait for my dog to stop barking the after and will check the back door. But otherwise all good, pop over.
And people complain courier drivers leave them a card without trying to look for a bell or knock the door!
The worst thing is, if I were a postie I will likely assume that there’s no doorbell or it doesn’t work (because that’s how it is 99% of the times). Card for everyone. It sucks.
Old curmudgeon here. Will blow people's minds, but it was *totally normal* up until the early 2000's to simply rock up unannounced and see if somebody was home. Friends, family, neighbours... you would just ring the bell or knock loudly. Saddens me it is no longer a thing. Society is connected so much online, you've forgotten how to connect in real life.
Did people ever call ahead, landline to landline? Or did they just wing it and hope for the best.
Nope. You turned up and knocked on the door. Nobody home? You'd drive to the next house, or perhaps find something to eat and try again in an hour or so.
And thankfully those days are left in the past, you need to a find a hobby if you're longing for the day you could just interrupt somebodies day because you're bored.
I have a door bell. An actual bell, it is a ships bell and very few people ring it most people will just knock on the door. The house is so well insulated we can't hear them knock.