Socially Acceptable Door Holding Line

Holding a door open for someone is a nice thing to do. However, for the British, this apparently simple act is a nightmarish minefield of social awkwardness. In an attempt to appear nice, many will try to go above and beyond by holding a door open for anyone travelling toward a door within line of sight, theoretically several miles. Traditionally, British planners prevented this by ensuring no road, and therefore building, is straight for more than 150ft. This restricts corridor length and therefore imposes a maximum door-holding-open range.

Britain does have long corridors. One is in an old Insane Asylum <link>, and another within an example of brutalist architecture at Leeds University <link>. Subjecting the mentally unstable to long corridors and the inevitable door awkwardness is of course cruel, but this is just one of myriad arguments against the general concept of Leeds University. Other British establishments such as Blenheim palace and RAF Brize Norton, have long corridors, but are generally only accessible to those with extensive training in social and military order and the RAF.

The USA, in a fit of new-country puppy-like enthusiasm, has blundered into the long, straight road concept that precipitated the rise of Rome's decline and defines the metropolitan legacy of certain French and Austrian megalomaniacs. The columns, obelisks, statues and flags are all related symptoms. The road system breeds oversize straight buildings with long corridors. As such, you find yourself holding a door for someone only to find that walking is not among their finer qualities and you're there for 20 mins. Worse, someone holds a door for you, and you feel obligated to walk-jog a short distance. More malicious types might be tempted to hold a door for one of the lazier admin staff when there is significant distance to cover, perhaps enjoying a coffee while they shuffle-shamble their way along, or holding open the wrong door for one of the wide eyed undergrads out of understandable curiosity.

Anyway, to the point, the US door system is like the Wild West at the moment. No one knows what they're doing, leading to low level generalized anxiety and opportunities for the sort of social hooliganism detailed above. Let's solve it. The obvious solution is to demolish large buildings, carefully remodel the road system and introduce some kind of rudimentary social order. However, this could take weeks and in a nod to common sense, a pragmatic intermediate solution is required. I suggest a line. A visible and tasteful one, on the floor and perhaps a raised section on the skirting board to alert the blind*. This line should serve as a visual reference for whether or not you hold open the door. If the person is past the line, you hold it like a civilized person, if not, carry on sir your work is done. From the other person's perspective, if you're within the line you don't need to rush, the distance has been calibrated. Conversely, if the line is ahead of you, it provides an opportunity to slow down, perhaps because you intend to use a side door, or stop for a bit of a gormless stare**

Obviously this is a stopgap, but should alleviate 20-77% of America's stress.

*guide dog retraining should be relatively simple, they're certainly aware of such a glaring problem. **an undergraduate favorite.