
356 Human– Computer etiquette
reacts to us is an index of our own perceived value by the greater com-
munity. In case you think I am mistaken, be assured that the very rich
and powerful never wait. Particularly, they never wait for a machine.
Whenever he phones someone, you don’t nd that the President is
put on hold and you don’t see a four-star Army general navigating
a complicated and poorly designed menu sequence of a commercial
voice recognition system.
14.3 A Machine Culture
Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what
vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or
rene us, by a constant, steady, uniform, ...