Attack the person not the comments. A flame is attacking the person and I never did that. I attacked the comments. By flaming you're showing your own lack of maturity.

And I stand by my comment, if you're finding your friends THAT boring that you feel the urge to pull out your DS and withdraw into playing a game then really, what ARE you doing with those friends??? Perhaps if not a reassessment of your friends then at least a break from those particular ones is in order so you can figure out why you're spending time, and money in a restaurant, with them?

I read this blog, one of only a few blogs I read regularly, and I comment when I feel like it. I feel that my original post and this one have a very good place in this blog. Why? Because the topic was posted and I thus believed that it was done so in order to stimulate conversation about it. Not just agree with the original blogger.

I've been online since the days of a 300 baud modem and actually owned a Pong knock off, so yes, I'm OLD compared to most of you I guess. However, when I see adults pulling out their gadgets and toys, of which I admit I probably have too many cuz I love them, in a restaurant it is a sad thing. I also play a MMO and I see similarities there with too many of the players, no matter what their real life age, that rather play a game or chat on their phone while at a table in a restaurant with their supposed friends. They're showing extremely poor social skills, IMO, and if they wish to really connect with people they best learn that there's a time and place to put away their toys and actually, GASP!, chat with someone face to face!!!!

Yup email, voice mail, cell phones and text messages and so on are extremely wonderful and useful tools in the real world, especially in many jobs. You know, those things that many of us must have in order to pay for our games and gadgets. However, there's still going to be a time when at least SOME of you are going to have to actually CONVERSE with another human face to face and not in little sound bites for less than a minute, but instead during a one on one meeting or across a dinner table throughout a whole meal. If you can't do this and find no value in learning to do this then just remember, you'd best find a job where you live in your cube and never have to actually BE with other humans for more than playing a game.

Beyond the poor social skills, the rudeness and lack of respect for other diners at nearby tables ( I'm talking about phone calls with regard to other diners ) you're missing out on something extremely real and interesting; other people. Yup, we're all alone in this world, that's a fact and it's a toughie for many to face, but as we go through the world and our life in it getting to know and be with other humans, even for a short meal, will enrich your life more than the best damn video or computer game out there, as much as I love the games and gadgets I love people, life and the real world more.

Growing up isn't something that is always fun. In many ways I never have and never, ever will. And I'm told it's something that many people love in me. However, in other ways we MUST show some maturity and respect for others as well as ourselves. This is one of them.

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As a quick reply directly to 117, having discussions about video games is very cool and nothing wrong with that. However, that has nothing to do with the original topic. As for having conversations about video games, nothing anti-social about that IMO. At least you're interacting with another person and that's what it's all about. As for what happened on your school trip, well, given that it was a school trip I am assuming you're fairly young and I actually CAN remember that many school trips were boring as hell. As for you all playing until the food came, well, again, given your age and how you were most likely bored to tears, I can understand it happening. You'd most likely spent many hours together traveling there and you see each other every single day in school and so on and so forth. To be frank, and I'm not trying to be a smartass here, it's akin to the placemat and crayons for the little tikes. But if you were out for a purely social time with your friends, as the original blogger posted, and found yourself so bored you wanted to pull out the trusty DS, well, THAT I'd question, as I've already done.

If my comments come off as harsh I won't excuse it but will apologize as it was not my intention. My only other remark about that is this topic was/is fresh in my mind from a long lunch I had with my friends that day where this exact topic came up along with the fact that I feel strongly that a lack of simply courtesy, manners and above all else, a lack of human interaction is a huge negative in our society today.In other words, a button was pushed by the blogger's comment and I responded.

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SephFinale.... boy, I'm wondering why I'm bothering at this point but since you're only 17 perhaps I've some hope in me that I MIGHT just get through to you. 17 isn't a kid and you SHOULD be fairly mature by this point but your reply is showing otherwise.

NOWHERE did I say that when alone in a restaurant that you should go up to a stranger and just start up a conversation. Also, nowhere in the blogger's comment did they talk about being in the restaurant ALONE. In fact, the point was made that they were with friends but was getting bored enough to just want to whip out the DS and play to escape the boredom. I highly suggest that before you reply to a comment in any blog that you read the original blogger's post FIRST.

Kiddo, if you think it's perfectly fine to play with your games in a restaurant when you're dining out with other people then by all means, go ahead. However, don't be surprised if at some point people hand you the crayons and placemat to color...and I mean that metaphorically.

My ONLY intention when I posted about this obviously touchy topic for many is that there is a time and place for gaming and at the dinner table in a restaurant with friends just isn't it. If you're alone, then go for it. It's no different than pulling out a newspaper or book as many do, or if it's the proper type of establishment, a laptop. But only if you're alone, please.

I think I've about exhausted, most likely beyond exhausted, the original topic, at least as far as I'm concerned. I've said my piece and now I can only hope that at least one person has learned SOMETHING from all this. I know I have learned that some folks don't read the original blogger's post before they comment, that some folks don't know what the word flame means and that many people will miss out on something in their life that is very important and downright fun....face to face real human interaction. Life lessons learned even from my favorite gaming blog...WOW! No wonder I've loved the online world for over 25 years. Thanks for all who bothered to reply, even if you didn't read the original blogger's comments and thanks once again to DSFanboy for a blog I keep reading.

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I occasionally play my DS in restaurants and bars when it's not too socially awkward. When it would be, that's when I putt out the yarn bag and start crocheting another DS case. Nothing changes the conversation toward more fun topics like a spontaneous stitch'n'bitch.

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