I can't bring this up anywhere else without offending some friends so I'll ask you guys...

Is it just me or do any of you have friends who will call you out of the blue on Skype or the phone, and want to chat about nothing really important for an hour? They don't ask if I'm busy, or if I have time, they just start chatting away as if they sat next to me at the bar and caught me with a fresh beer in front of me.

I think it comes from friends who grew up with sisters and they think that is just normal. It reminds me of years ago I went to my girlfriend's flat and her friend/neighbor was using her phone. We sat in the living room and after maybe a half hour her neighbor was still talking on the phone. So I asked my girlfriend what the deal was and she said that her neighbor's father thinks that a telephone isn't for chatting, it is for exchanging information then hanging up. I told her, "Well, yeah? He's right.". So I always thought chatting for an hour on the phone was a girl thing, but now I have at least two older guy friends in the 50's who could go on forever.

Anyway, it felt good to vent, thanx.

Keep beer in the fridge for these occasions!

Keep beer in the fridge for these occasions!

With one friend the chat is so one-sided I just mute a video game and start playing. Everyone once in a while agree with whatever he is saying, or listen to a couple sentences then ask a question.

I have one male friend who just loves to talk on the phone....it hasn't changed in 25 years. The problem now is skype. Before I could ignore the phone, but now if skype is open, the call comes through!

I'm not a phone chatter , well, only with some GFs of the past, so luckily he can fill an hour with his own voice,

Many years ago, when I was working in Singapore, I had a call from one of the Indian banks. The gentleman was talking about my negotiation of a Letter of Credit, and he went on and on, in this wonderful Peter Sellers accent, so that eventually I had to laugh. I put the phone down on the desk.... and when I picked it up again several minutes later, Mr Muthusamy was still rattling on without having noticed for a moment that he'd lost his audience.

I'm afraid some people are just like that.... minds like recycling machines.

I leave mine with "off line" status showing. Only when I see who I want to call is on line will I change it. Skype is brilliant and I wish we had it when I was in the forces but it still does my head in.

I don't crank skype up unless I want to talk to someone.

If they want to talk they can send me an SMS or email to say so.

Normally, I put the toast in the oven, or something (not literally, and in retrospect) shortly before a person goes on too long...

SC

I hate Skype with a passion.

Hey Smokie I'd have though being from the NE you'd have loved Skype..................it's free

I have one friend who calls afters a few glasses of wine and will go on for 3 hours if I let her, so after I think we're all done I'll start to speak and in the middle of a word hang up LOL LOL and go invisible. I know it's cruel but she's in the bag.

Bless my Dad but he really could bore people to death, I know how every single plant is doing in the garden, then we meet face to face and I'll ask about the garden and I get "Fine"

One thing I now have to do with Skype is block people then unblock them, I'll be on an important business call and someone will call to find out what's the weather there..........drives me nuts.

Well, Skype is interruptive but so are phone calls. It does depend on what I'm doing, and my friends usually ask whether I'm free to talk. For example, when I'm driving and my Bluetooth ear thingy is charged, no problem. When I'm arriving at my destination, I will say so and hang up.

When I'm at home or in the office, I'm happy to talk as long as I have nothing else to do. When a customer calls, the private phone call is over.

I've never had a problem with this with any of my friends.