Internet Cafe protocol question

[Bucky]

Dear Ann Landers,

Now that I have a laptop, I have a question about people who go to the local coffee shop to surf. Is it appropriate for me to plug into the wall sockets at the local net cafe, as I see other people do sometimes? Or is that caddish and should I only run on battery power there? And if I do plug in there, should I tip a little better than normal for my coffee because of the electricity I'm using? Or is that too ancillary since the tip goes to the emo waitress showing off her belly button piercing while the cost of the electricity comes from the shopowner's pocket? I'm a pretty generous tipper already. But then maybe the cost of paying for electricity is already calculated into the price of this $2 cup of coffee, in which case I'm only getting my money's worth by jacking in.

So, should I?


--Caffeinated in America

[RB TexLa]

1. If they didn't want to let you use the outlets they would turn them off

If it's on and not factored into the cost of doing business you'll know soon enough when you have to find a new cafe.

[deadmessengers]

2. It's factored in.

I know one coffeeshop that has small postcard-sized signs above each outlet that read "please don't use this outlet for your laptop". (Of course, one time I saw an wanker with his cellphone charger plugged in.) I don't usually go to that shop very often, though.

On the other hand, the place I go to regularly has outlets at nearly every wall-side table.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Dear Caffeinated,

Nobody likes a leach except leaches of the opposite sex, and then only during the mating season.

Use common sense. If the cafe is busy and tables are in demand, stay long enough to finish your coffee and leave. If traffic is slow, feel free to take your time. The cost of the electricity you draw is a small fraction of the overhead for the building that they pay, whether or not you're there.

So, just use your head, but not your sucking mouth organ filled with anti-coagulants.

[Bucky]

4. Dear Buzz Click

Grrr, just don't come begging for my help next time your physick wants me to treat you for an imbalance in your humours!

[Buzz Clik]

8. Imbalanced humor is an acquired taste. Not unlike yogurt, tofu, or kissing leaches.

[itsrobert]

5. Dear Caffeinated

Use it while you can. 2 bucks for a cup of coffee and you are tipping? I guess P.T. Barnum was right. Also, buy a Chevy Volt and an extension cord and feel free to charge it up. At $2 a coffee, it's your right to use as much of the power as possible. That's the cost of doing business.

[Breeze54]

6. I can't even relate to this OP....

Seriously. I don't give a crap! :P

What a trip!

I've never done that and do not foresee it in my future! :P

[Buzz Clik]

7. I'll take it a step further:

When I'm waiting for the kid to get out of tennis, I cross the street to the coffee house. The local Starbucks subscribes to T-Mobile for their in-house wireless, but I'm not buying. So, I sit next to the wall closest to the Mexican restaurant that has an unsecured wireless system. And, I plug in.

So, I'm sucking down Starbuck's coffee, using their electricity, and pirating another business's wireless internet access.

I'm a bastard.

[Breeze54]

9. LOL... no, you are a 'Consumer'!!!

:P

Have at it. It's free!! :D