[aephi alum]

I've just skimmed this thread, so I may repeat a few things...

One of my pet peeves is parents who let their kids run wild and just do whatever they want. It's called discipline. Kids want to run around and have fun, but there's a time and a place for that, and it's not when you're in a nice restaurant or in the corridors of a hotel when it's 11pm and people are trying to sleep - and parents should enforce that, or not place their children in the situation in the first place - not sit around and get drunk while their kids run crazy.

Performances... please please PLEASE turn off your cell phone. Don't applaud between movements; if you're not sure if it's the "right" time to applaud, refer to your program or listen to see if others applaud. And PLEASE dress appropriately for an opera, ballet, Broadway show, or classical concert. Jeans and t-shirts and sneakers and unkempt hair is not appropriate.

I second the people who have said to give up your seat on the subway/train/bus/restaurant waiting area/doctor's waiting room if (a) you are a child and an adult is looking for a seat, or (b) you are an able-bodied young adult and someone who is elderly, pregnant, etc is looking for a seat.