Northern ask travellers not to view adult content on trains

[43066]

I sometimes watch Netflix etc if I'm on a long journey (the SWML is a good distance for watching a film) - I do sometimes wonder if someone catches a glance of my screen at an inopportune moment they might see something which looks inappropriate.

I'm not even thinking about 18 films, I recently binge watched Breaking Bad whilst travelling and there were plenty of scenes which were unsuitable for children. I can't That said, a lot of context comes from the audio which obviously can't be heard and I only watch things when I don't have people around me so I think this would be OK. Definitely wouldn't be "safe for work" though.

I’m sure that would be absolutely fine. Playing it over your speakers where people can hear the dialogue might not be. The same would probably also apply in your average workplace canteen during a break.

It’s really just aimed at common sense.

This is an interesting point. Do people just sit and watch porn as a form of entertainment without engaging in any related activities that are definitely not suitable (and very illegal) on board a train?

I suspect some get their kicks specifically from watching it in public. Otherwise why not simply go to the loos and view it in private!?

 

[185143]

This is an interesting point. Do people just sit and watch porn as a form of entertainment without engaging in any related activities that are definitely not suitable (and very illegal) on board a train?

Perfectly acceptable to get up to that sort of thing in a Sleeper berth in my opinion.

But yes, in a regular open carriage, definitely not.

 

[Starmill]

I'm not even thinking about 18 films, I recently binge watched Breaking Bad whilst travelling and there were plenty of scenes which were unsuitable for children. I can't That said, a lot of context comes from the audio which obviously can't be heard and I only watch things when I don't have people around me so I think this would be OK. Definitely wouldn't be "safe for work" though.

Northern are pretty clearly telling you not to do this.

 

[Nym]

Does beg the privacy question of, "Well, don't look at my device then!"

On a more serious note, what is Northern trying to distract from this time?

 

[Starmill]

This is an interesting point. Do people just sit and watch porn as a form of entertainment without engaging in any related activities that are definitely not suitable (and very illegal) on board a train?

Well they must be, because there's not really anything in the article or press that hints at direct sexual contact, of a kind which is obviously criminal in public.

 

[northernchris]

Or just dealing with something that, with fast modern data connections and large screen devices, is more of a problem than it used to be. Much like nobody had heard of revenge porn or up-skirting fifteen years ago, bad behaviour changes with technology.

This is very true. I took Northern's press release to cover all inappropriate content, and I've been on a few services recently (not Northern) where fellow passengers have been playing content out loud which has included misogynistic and homophobic language so there clearly is a problem. I do think the press release is poorly worded though, asking people not to play any content out loud would have been useful.

 

[Starmill]

. I do think the press release is poorly worded though, asking people not to play any content out loud would have been useful.

CrossCountry have a sticker on the top of the windows on their trains that says something similar to "please consider others on this train when using your devices". Would seem to cover all of these bases.

 

[Nym]

Windows stickers and press releases are all well and good, but where would the enforcement of this actually come in?

 

[driverd]

To be honest (and without making assumptions about age) there might be a bit of a generation gap here. For the vast majority of dating app users, the sad reality is that, in 2023, an unexpected NSFW picture is far from abnormal. Its happened to me too many times to count - innocently enough you open a message to a picture that leaves you in an embarrassing situation. It's so much the norm you'd be considered a prude for saying something about it (FYI, I'm referencing some of the mainstream apps here, nothing, shall we say "niche interest").

In terms of viewing porn, speaking as a member of staff and from stories I've heard from colleagues (with the advent of m-tickets and checks involving looking at phones), it's super common (as in, daily occurance), to get a glance at something going on.

It's generally pretty passive (for those wondering about "active" viewing). I've never witnessed anyone actively enjoying content, although I'm sure it does occur.

 

[Jimini]

CrossCountry have a sticker on the top of the windows on their trains that says something similar to "please consider others on this train when using your devices". Would seem to cover all of these bases.

They also have stickers that say "do try this at home"

 

[northernchris]

CrossCountry have a sticker on the top of the windows on their trains that says something similar to "please consider others on this train when using your devices". Would seem to cover all of these bases.

Indeed. It seems Northern have opted to save the money on the stickers and do a poorly worded press release instead.

 

[matt_world2004]

Adult content like porn or adult content like a drama series both of those are hugely different things.

I am not at work when I am on a train and sitting for an hour travelling to and from work is one of the only times I get to play the witcher 3 or skyrim

Watching the super Mario movie would be unacceptable in my workplace, because its wasting company time

 

[Watershed]

Or just dealing with something that, with fast modern data connections and large screen devices, is more of a problem than it used to be. Much like nobody had heard of revenge porn or up-skirting fifteen years ago, bad behaviour changes with technology.

It says something deeply worrying about the travelling public that people will openly view pornography on the train but, frankly, I’m not remotely surprised given how behaviour has declined post Covid.

I don't doubt that there are some people who engage in this sort of inappropriate behaviour, but it speaks volumes that Northern are the only TOC who have engaged in this sort of PR campaign; they have also been outliers on other similar issues. You just get the impression that someone in their PR department feels the need to make a name for themselves and hasn't a clue how to do professional press releases.

What would be the point? This is hardly good publicity, likely to encourage more people to travel. Could it be that it’s a genuine problem they’re trying to address? If this kind of thing is in the public arena, it will make it easier for people to call it out when they see it - much like the (admittedly clumsy and heavy handed) posters TfL have put up regarding unacceptable behaviour.

If it's a genuine problem they're trying to address, they would be better off having posters at stations and on trains, and encouraging guards to make relevant on-train announcements. You don't get press releases touting "see it, say it, sorted" or 61016, do you? It's that sort of issue.

But putting this press release out has no bearing on whether those other issues are fixed, or not!

It doesn't, but it has a bearing on whether the public see Northern (and the wider railway) as professional, and whether they see them as owning their failures and committing to fix them. The public impression of the railways is that nobody cares - a proper apology and some humility, rather than lecturing the 99% who wouldn't dream of doing this sort of stuff, would go a long way.

Northern's PR department just don't have a clue.

 

[Tallguy]

So Northern block all porn sites on their wifi. I can just use cellular data via my phone, pre download material to my iPad or whatever or do it the old fashioned way and take a copy of Hustler or Readers Wives with me. Either that or play the uncut DVD of ‘9 Songs’ or ‘Blackeyes’ starring Gina Bellman on my laptop.

 

[185]

Last year's Northern Trains Ltd performance figures were more explicit than Razzle.

 

[bicbasher]

Considering train WiFi is usually awful for streaming in the first place, why would they use it to stream hardcore rail enthusiast action on YouTube?

 

[syorksdeano]

Wonder what Northern would have said all those years ago when seeing the knicker section of a catalogue got people excited

 

[AM9]

Should Northern warn people who wish to join the elusive 'meter high club' also?

ITYM the metre high club.

 

[BluePenguin]

This is an interesting point. Do people just sit and watch porn as a form of entertainment without engaging in any related activities that are definitely not suitable (and very illegal) on board a train?

Yes they do, many people find it relaxing to watch after a stressful day at work. Always on mute or wearing headphones mind, although plenty do simply rather watch porn than catch up on YouTube or a film on Netflix etc

 

[BeijingDave]

Could also extend to extremely violent video games, which I have seen people playing on their laptops with children within viewing range.

Zero consideration or common sense.

 

[JustPassingBy]

I witnessed this a few days ago on a Chiltern peak evening service from Marylebone. Immediately behind the cab on the 168s there is a single seat that faces sideways (i.e. not front or back). At Marylebone, when the doors were unlocked for boarding, a smartly dressed young guy charges straight for this seat. Ten minutes later as the train was underway (full and standing, but little chatter/noise), at full volume from his mobile phone, we were subjected to the audio from what was clearly porn (grunting, screaming, obscenities, etc). For a good 20 minutes. The guy was clearly oblivious - at no point did he look up...
It wasn't pleasant... but I doubt PR from the TOC would have had any effect.

 

[Flying Snail]

I witnessed this a few days ago on a Chiltern peak evening service from Marylebone. Immediately behind the cab on the 168s there is a single seat that faces sideways (i.e. not front or back). At Marylebone, when the doors were unlocked for boarding, a smartly dressed young guy charges straight for this seat. Ten minutes later as the train was underway (full and standing, but little chatter/noise), at full volume from his mobile phone, we were subjected to the audio from what was clearly porn (grunting, screaming, obscenities, etc). For a good 20 minutes. The guy was clearly oblivious - at no point did he look up...
It wasn't pleasant... but I doubt PR from the TOC would have had any effect.

And this is why this sort of thing is becoming the normal. A full train and not one person tells them to stop, it's no wonder public spaces are getting so intolerable.

 

[Tallguy]

And this is why this sort of thing is becoming the normal. A full train and not one person tells them to stop, it's no wonder public spaces are getting so intolerable.

I know those seats as they are the best seats on the train. The guy should have used earphones. People won’t speak up due to the risk of things getting violent etc.

 

[BeijingDave]

People should speak up, and most importantly, when they do other people should back them.

 

[nw1]

What's "adult content"?

If it's porn, I agree. I've little time for that in any setting.

However some cases are much more contentious.

Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life?

Comedy with a few swear-words thrown in?

I can understand if children are around but that isn't always the case and people are likely to have headphones anyway.

 

[northwichcat]

You can't access adult content on train Wifi

Social media sites quite often have adult content on them. Their algorithms try to flag such content so you aren't exposed to sensitive media, unless you choose to view it but the algorithms aren't always right. I recall seeing a blogger complaining that her beach video was flagged as sensitive media because Twitter's algorithm detected women in bikinis and treated it as adult content.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I know those seats as they are the best seats on the train. The guy should have used earphones. People won’t speak up due to the risk of things getting violent etc.

Playing stuff out loud seems to have become accepted. I am not quite sure how, but it does - nobody seems to care about it!

 

[LOL The Irony]

I don't understand why Northern aren't just straight up saying "don't watch or consume pornography on board our trains". It removes any ambiguity. Things like John Wick aren't suitable for children (people's brains are visibly sprayed everywhere in all 4 films) but it'd be ridiculous to say that watching it on board a train isn't allowed. Some of Northern's routes are long enough to watch a film on them (York - Blackpool, Manchester Airport - Barrow/Windermere, Leeds - Carlisle), so banning films would be silly. Having said that, I wouldn't advise watching A Clockwork Orange in a public space.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't understand why Northern aren't just straight up saying "don't watch or consume pornography on board our trains". It removes any ambiguity. Things like John Wick aren't suitable for children (people's brains are visibly sprayed everywhere in all 4 films) but it'd be ridiculous to say that watching it on board a train isn't allowed. Some of Northern's routes are long enough to watch a film on them (York - Blackpool, Manchester Airport - Barrow/Windermere, Leeds - Carlisle), so banning films would be silly. Having said that, I wouldn't advise watching A Clockwork Orange in a public space.

I don't think people would describe a film with a 15 or 18 rating (unless the latter was due to copious explicit sex scenes) as "adult content". That term very much means porn.

On the other hand I wouldn't watch Poltergeist (random example) if a kid was sitting next to me. I remember coming downstairs as a kid when my parents were watching it, and 2 minutes of it* gave me nightmares for months (I still remember it now, the scene where a portal opened up on the kid's bedroom window and tried to suck him in). And I'd probably shy away from watching Air Crash Investigation on a plane** even though it wouldn't bother me (it's actually partly watching that, and seeing just how much needs to go wrong, that got rid of my fear of flying).

* This was pre-remote-control days, so it took a short while to connect "the kid has just walked in" with "I'd best get up and turn that off" and then do it.
** I have however watched one of the Superman films which has a plane crash scene on a plane, and Dante's Peak which does too, both on the in-flight entertainment. I've also watched Titanic in the cinema of a cross Channel ferry!

 

[northwichcat]

CrossCountry have a sticker on the top of the windows on their trains that says something similar to "please consider others on this train when using your devices". Would seem to cover all of these bases.

I was once on a coach where someone was watching Mrs Browns Boy's very loudly. I thought this might apply to them.

Yes they do, many people find it relaxing to watch after a stressful day at work. Always on mute or wearing headphones mind, although plenty do simply rather watch porn than catch up on YouTube or a film on Netflix etc

Trying to avoid writing anything inappropiate, some things that are classed as porn are simply a submissive and a dominant fully clothed but perhaps acting in a way that wouldn't be deemed appropriate in a workplace. Apparently, some stressed managers like that kind of thing, as imagining themselves in the role where they're being ordered around helps them to escape reality.