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Am I the only person that really dislikes Skype?


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Dh uses Skype frequently for business calls and I would always be shocked when I'd walk into his office to get a file or book or whatever, thinking he was on the phone, only to walk in on a Skype conversation. The angle of his desk is such that when you walk in the room, you're automatically on screen. Now that we're in a new house and his office is next to dd's bedroom, he frequently ends up in the lounge at night on his Skype calls so he doesn't keep dd awake. It completely freaks me out when I walk into the lounge in my bathrobe only to see an unexpected friend on his screen. Fortunately, I'm friends with everyone that he Skype's with. I'd hate for it to happen with someone I don't know. The worst was when he carried the laptop into our bedroom while I was IN BED so that he could get the cord as he was running low on battery. I made it clear to him that that was NEVER to happen again... bringing another man into our bedroom while I'm in bed... grrrrr.

 

So what crazy Skype experience have you had? Or am I the only one?

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My dad forgets I can see him when we're talking to my mom and he prances around the house in his tighty-whities. {{{shudder}}}

 

Maybe some Skype rules are in order around your house? Some sort of warning signal outside the room? It sounds more like a communication problem than a Skype problem.

 

Barb

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I suggested last night that when dh is talking to my MIL on skype that I would prefer to be doing something in another room. She has been getting on my nerves pretty bad over the last several months.

 

It does take a little getting used too. DH can't roll his eyes at his dm because she might be able to see him even if he can't see her on the screen.

 

I really do like it though because the grandparents can see their new grandbaby more often.

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I can see how you'd not like it if those things happen all the time! Maybe it's just how your husband is using Skype and not Skype itself?

 

I love love love Skype! I'm super close to one of my sisters, who happens to live on the other side of the country. We often say that we wish we lived closer so we could share a glass of wine and each other's company at the end of a day. Now, with Skype, we can. :001_smile:

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We don't use Skype or anything similar but if we did I would definitely sit with a wall as my background! I think that would be a less distracting background for the viewer and I wouldn't need to worry about people walking by or whether or not the house was presentable!

 

So, maybe your dh could sit so that there is a wall behind him.

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I agree with some of the other posters that some "Skype rules" might be a good thing to establish with your DH... ;)

 

We used Skype extensively when my DH was deployed to the Middle East for a year. It was wonderful for the kids to be able to see daddy on a regular basis (and for me too!). Since he's been home, we haven't used it at all though...

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My in-laws live in California, we are in New Jersey. They want us to get Skype so they can see their grandchildren. So far, though, my husband has been great at putting them off. ;)

 

You'd have to understand the whole dynamic, here. When they came to visit us the first time, they told us they hate our house. :001_huh: They felt like it was "beneath" their son's dignity to live in such a small, old house at a dead-end street in a not-so-nice neighborhood and what WERE we thinking when we bought this house?

 

Um, we were in a one-bedroom apartment with a toddler, pregnant with twins, had morons for neighbors who played BASKETBALL upstairs at 2 o'clock in the morning, bought at the peak of housing prices, and had NO money.

 

I felt like saying: Send me some, I'd be happy to "move up." :tongue_smilie:

 

The second time they came to visit, they didn't even want to come to our house until my husband's brother asked them straight out, in front of us, "Why won't you go to _________'s house?" Dear BIL has no problem with us, or our house (which is clean and warm and dry, BTW).

 

When they did come over, they sat like statues on the sofa and would not eat or drink anything the entire TWO HOURS they were here. The girls and I had made up a Fruit & Goodies Basket, which we put in their hotel room. They returned EVERY SINGLE ITEM, one tea bag at a time. The lemons came back. The bananas came back. The apples came back. The "teddy bear" of honey came back. The girls were in tears, and so was I. :crying:

 

That was the last thing I ever did for my in-laws. Skype? You've got to be kidding me. You would not WALK into my living room, but you want us to SKYPE you? :svengo:

 

I could understand this behavior, sort of, if I thought they had never seen a dumpy neighborhood. I admit, we do live in one, but that doesn't make OUR house dumpy. Besides, my in-laws are from Cairo, Egypt, which, according to my husband is the Intergalactic Epicenter of Dumpiness. :ack2:

 

Oh, and giving back gifts -- in Middle Eastern culture -- is like spitting in someone's face. We understood it that way, and my husband refuses to get Skype for that reason.

 

Have a great day! :lol: (Can you tell this little issue gets my blood boiling?) :lol:

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There is no Skyping allowed in my house. As a matter of fact, I have taped over all web cams on all computers. We basically live in an all female house here and there are always girls walking around in various stages of undress so I don't want to take any chances with anything unintentionally ending up somewhere it shouldn't. I also ban speaker phone as I think it is really rude to extend your conversation to people who aren't choosing to participate in it. I don't even like to be in the same room with someone who is having a phone conversation and I don't like others in the room when I am trying to have one.

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There is no Skyping allowed in my house. As a matter of fact, I have taped over all web cams on all computers. We basically live in an all female house here and there are always girls walking around in various stages of undress so I don't want to take any chances with anything unintentionally ending up somewhere it shouldn't. I also ban speaker phone as I think it is really rude to extend your conversation to people who aren't choosing to participate in it. I don't even like to be in the same room with someone who is having a phone conversation and I don't like others in the room when I am trying to have one.

 

 

Yes. You get it. This is what bugs me, the idea of being overheard or caught on camera at any moment. And I don't even walk around in any stage of undress.

 

I think I do need to establish some Skype rules beyond, 'no carrying the Skype computer into the bedroom when I'm in bed.'

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I LOVE Skype!! My kids were able to meet their baby cousin (who lives on the other side of the country) last week via Skype, and I get to see him and talk to him--if it wasn't for Skype I probably wouldn't be able to see him for another year, other than in pictures.

 

I think I do need to establish some Skype rules beyond, 'no carrying the Skype computer into the bedroom when I'm in bed.'

 

Yeah, sounds like that would be good! Maybe a Skype corner in the office that points toward the wall? :)

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I have no problem with cameras or speaker phones.

I dislike Skype because I dont like to be disturbed while I am on the computer. I found certain friends kept wanting to talk- and they had nothing much to say!

I can see it's use but really I find the phone hard enough. I like email, and ocasional phone calls and a bit of real life too :) . Anti social I know...but I deleted Skype from my computer.

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This is an interesting conversation--I appreciate hearing what adults think of their parents who want to Skype. In my life stage, I am the parent, and I love Skype! This is the first year my two youngest have gone to school out of state, and it's great to be able to see them to interpret what they're telling me.

 

That having been said, I don't initiate Skype calls with my college daughter. She prefers to talk by phone (when she wants to talk at all), she calls me when she's accumulated enough interesting things to tell me (about once/week), and I want to give her space and privacy.

 

My 15 yo dd is going to an arts academy boarding school. She has a much greater need to connect with her mom, so she Skypes me every couple of days. She only does it when her roommate is out of the room, although sometimes her roommate comes home while we're talking. We usually end our convo soon after that happens. I also text both girls pretty regularly just to say hi.

 

Skype really does allow you to feel like you're in a room with the person you're talking to. My young adult children are the only people that I really care about "seeing" while I talk.

 

Beth

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I have never Skyped with family. My father doesn't have a computer, my mom did, but she died years ago. My sister and I email and talk on the phone occasionally but I never even thought of skyping with her. Neither of us has young kids or any reason to want to "see" each other instead of just talking.

 

On the other hand, we love to Skype with friends who live overseas. It has helped my dd in particular keep up friendships with a couple of missionary's kids. Dh uses it for work along with various other conference calling and screen sharing. I always have to be careful when I walk in his office or even sending him an IM.

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I LOVE Skype!!! I don't use it often, but when I do, I love it!

 

1. My BIL/SIL had a baby a couple weeks ago in India. I got to "meet" my newest nephew a couple hours after he was born. I got to talk with the new parents and see the babe latch on and help her with that.

 

2. We call my other BIL so my dd can talk with her cousins. They get their dolls, stuffed animals, other toys, etc and play with each other. They wouldn't have this interaction if we didn't have Skype! (We see them about 2x/year.) I am in the background, usually cooking dinner and talking with BIL.

 

3. This week my MIL/FIL were visiting. We were able to Skype all the other siblings and have a conversation.

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I'm not fond of it. I'm one of the writers for an online curriculum project, and I'm convinced that we'd be MUCH better off if we didn't have meetings-but since EVERYONE can Skype in, the feeling is that we need to do so. Just e-mail me what you need, already, and let me do it. At least when we were doing it via phone/teleconference it cost the company, so there was a financial incentive to not have unnecessary meetings.

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