While there may not be a "common sense" way for the card to go in the reader (actually, there is: all the numbering and lettering is on the top, with the magnetic stripe on the back. The lettering should face you -- why should you have to put it in upside down?), there is common sense about using technology that you aren't familiar with.If you get something that you're familiar with, then by all means -- bypass the instructions! But if you're not sure, or if you want to avoid breaking something and voiding the warranty, it's COMMON SENSE to take at least a glance at the instructions.
For example, gaming consoles are easy. I never use the instructions because they're all the same -- AC to wall, video to TV, control pads to console, game into tray, hit the power, and you're off in gameland.
But other (more expensive) items like printers and meat slicers and the like should be treated more carefully. Often times there are special instructions on unpacking and assembling a printer. If you just go at it blindly without reading the instructions, you could break it, void the warranty, and be out a few hundred bucks. And with dangerous stuff like meat slicers, there are idiots out there who would not understand how to use the safety guard and cut their fingers off. I've seen it happen. It's common sense.
Personally, I tend to flip through the intruction booklet to see if there are any features I don't know about, like on a Cell phone... some things just aren't obvious, or if they are, there may be an easier way!
Which brings me to my final point. Credit card machines. They're simple machines. They have the instructions PRINTED ON THEM WITH A STEP-BY-STEP WALK-THROUGH!!! I've known 80-year-olds and 8-year-olds alike who could operate a credit card machine. Why would you ask someone for help without at least looking at the onboard instructions? It's COMMON SENSE!
Remember here -- these are the same people that drove to this supermarket in a car. If they have the knowledge to operate a car, they obviously know how to read (traffic signs and the like), so why can't they read instructions? And if they didn't drive, they walked, so they probably operated a crosswalk signal, another piece of technology.
Get with it people. We live in the 21st century. Obviously the other 95\% of us can use all this technology. If you don't know how, then read the instructions. Then ask politely for help. Yelling never got you anywhere.
Sorry for the length of this rant, I just agree with many people on this thread that people are just too stuck up to think that they should actually take some initiative and figure things out rather than wait to be babied.
-Gabe
[This message has been edited by Gabe (edited August 10, 2000).]
