This is a very unimportant quibble, but this annoys me every time I see it.

A notice on one of the glass doors into the branch of WH Smith* near where I work reads as follows:

THIS DOOR IS OUT OF ORDER
We apologise for the inconvenience
Please use a different door.

1. Doors don't go "out of order". Mechanical things like lifts (American elevators) might go out of order, but not doors.
2. Things that are out of order are repaired. This door has been out of use for over two years to my certain knowledge.
3. Is the third line really necessary? Are possible customers really going to turn away if they cannot gain entrance through this one door?

* WH Smith is a large chain of newsagents/booksellers here in the UK.

I don't mind it, although I see your point. After all doors are arguably mechanical -- how much more complicated would the door have to be before you'd feel happy with the sign? Would a simple closer justify it? An automatic opener? A complex mechanism which caused the door to break into eight sections and slide into the floor?

quote:

---

Originally posted by arnie:
+ Is the third line really necessary? Are possible customers really going to turn away if they cannot gain entrance through this one door?

---

If it wasn't there, the purpose of the sign could be to warn us to open it carefully, or push it hard, or somesuch?

I agree with Arnie.

Doors don't go out of order, out words order of go.

I agree with arnie, as well. Doors don't go out of order. Furthermore, if they do go out of order, certainly the last sentence is redundant; to me out of order means it doesn't work.

What about self-opening doors, like in supermarkets? Surely if they stop auto-opening, they have become out of order? And what about revolving doors -- I'd certainly say that such a door which wasn't in fact able to revolve was out of order.

It's an idiom in the UK, of course -- someone can be "well out of order", in which case he's likely to "get 'is 'ead kicked in".

I agree that a self-opening door could go out of order, and even concede that a revolving door could be described as such. However, this was a bog-standard glass door.

quote:

---

Originally posted by arnie:
A notice on one of the glass doors into the branch of WH Smith* near where I work reads as follows:

THIS DOOR IS OUT OF ORDER
We apologise for the inconvenience
Please use a different door.

1. Doors don't go "out of order". Mechanical things like lifts (American elevators) might go out of order, but not doors.

---

Of course doors can be "out of order". They have mechanical parts, such as hinges, door closers, door knobs, locking mechanisms, that can all malfunction or break. A door could be "out of order" because of a broken window or even a broken door. Or the door could just be stuck. "Out of order", in this sense, just means inoperable or malfunctioning. If the door doesn't open and close properly, it's "out of order".

quote:

---

2. Things that are out of order are repaired. This door has been out of use for over two years to my certain knowledge.

---

Apparently not always.

quote:

---

3. Is the third line really necessary? Are possible customers really going to turn away if they cannot gain entrance through this one door?

---

Probably not necessary, but a nicety. "THIS DOOR IS OUT OF ORDER
We apologise for the inconvenience" is pretty abrupt. The last line lets people know another door is available for them to use. They could probably figure this out for themselves, but this third line adds a little civility.

Tinman

I agree with Arnie; there is evidently a level of mechanical simplicity below which it sounds odd to label something as "out of order".

If you object to the "out of order" sign on the door, what would you replace it with? A "Don't Work" sign?

Tinman

Why not replace it with:

"This door not in use. Please use other door. Thank you." Maybe with an arrow pointing to the direction of the opening door?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Morgan:
Why not replace it with:

"This door not in use. Please use other door. Thank you." Maybe with an arrow pointing to the direction of the opening door?

---

Because then someone would probably point out that any door which is currently closed is technically "not in use" until someone opens it and walks through.


Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.

Read all about my travels around the world here.
Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.

Why the complexity? What's wrong with "Please use the other door"? Why explain?

Richard English

As it happens, the door in question is of glass, and a display stand is set up against the inside. Anyone with half an eye could see they wouldn't be able to get in that way. I agree with Richard, A noice saying "Please use another door" would be quite sufficient. This particular branch has seven other functioning doors so the lack of this one is of no great import.