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“What’s A Common Rule That You Break Regularly Because You Fundamentally Disagree With It?” (45 Answers)
Interview
Some say that rules are meant to be broken, and so broken they will be, be it traffic regulations or the dos and don'ts of playing Uno.
These are just a couple of examples of rules that some people break regularly. And while the reasons for doing that might differ with each person, some do it simply because they fundamentally disagree with them.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently shared what rules they refuse to follow, because of said reason, after redditor ‘RGDJR’ started a thread about it. Covering everything from orders and regulations to expectations and social norms, netizens assembled quite an extensive list of rules that, in their opinion, should be broken, so scroll down to find them, and see if you agree with any of them.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with the person who started the thread, user RGDJR, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
“Breakfast foods.” Ive had coworkers walk in on me eating steak and mashed potatoes with asparagus at 7 AM for breakfast. When questioned I always respond “I don’t subscribe to societal norms of proper meal time foods”
Edit: I woke up to a ton of people agreeing with me so it’s clear ive been chosen as the leader of the rebellion. We march on Kellog’s headquarters at dawn
#2
Automatic respect because someone is elderly.
They get common courtesy, but everyone has to earn respect/authority before they can start bossing people around.
#3
My state says I'm not allowed to provide alcohol to my own children until they are 21.
I will not let them be carted off to a bar on their 21st birthday unless they are already very familiar with alcohol and how different ABV% affects their bodies. I do not care what the law says, their first drink will come from me in the safety of their own home.
In a recent interview with Bored Panda, u/RGDJR shared that the thing that encouraged him to ask this particular question was a rule that he himself breaks on the regular. “I had just returned from some travel with a colleague and found that she and I differ on the need to put your phone into airplane mode before takeoff,” he said.
“She obeys this rule religiously. I, on the other hand, have never put my phone into airplane mode. My position is: if it's actually important, the airline wouldn't just ask people to do it, you'd need to show the flight attendant proof… or your phone would automatically switch to airplane mode when it sensed that you were moving at a certain speed. In any case, I don't buy that it's actually necessary. And it was this debate with my colleague that inspired the question. I was curious what other rules people break willingly.”
#4
Tipping everywhere. Not exactly a rule but I ain't gonna tip where I haven't received an actual service where someone has to go out of their way to do something for me. I don't care if I get mean looks for it.
BoredPossum 3 months ago
Not this again. US and Europe have very different tipping cultures and we will only get into a fight over this.
#5
Account sharing. I bought the game, service, movie, etc, I get to decide who uses it
Nitka Tsar 3 months ago
What family would not do that? I am not going to buy my son the exact same game I have, just so he can play! What?
The OP admitted that the volume of answers from the redditors caught him off guard; what surprised him even more was how many of them he agreed with.
“In fact, the top response is one that I'm aligned on wholeheartedly,” he said. “The idea that people shouldn't discuss their salary with each other is bulls**t. Talking salary helps to ensure pay equity. I have a team of people who work for me and I would never dissuade them from talking about what they make.”
#6
YouTube TOS says I can't block ads. The day they can stop me is the day I stop watching Youtube.
Edit: 8000 upvotes and yet there's a lot of copium in this thread over me still blocking ads.
#7
I *actually* use my turn signal/blinker.
I eat cookie dough and I eat Nutella with a spoon
#8
Jaywalking. If the street is obviously clear, I'm not going to wait for nothing.
Ace 3 months ago (edited)
Different rules and expectations in different countries. Germans in particular are very keen on everyone waiting for the man to turn green before crossing, even if they ca see hundreds of metres in each direction that there's no road traffic. I don't follow suit and get some funny looks whenever I'm there.
“Pirating content is also an answer that struck a chord with me,” the redditor continued. “I make every effort to buy media. But if the world won't sell it to me, I'll take to the seas. I also thought there was some great advice on getting scientific papers from the authors as opposed to paying for them.”
#9
Rules about pirating content that I am geographically restricted from streaming legally.
#10
If i find cash on the ground i'm not going to give it to the authorities
#11
Not expressing emotions to appear “strong/tough”. I had a hard year last year and I couldn’t hold it in and opened up with 3 coworkers I trusted. We have since then developed a very strong friendship and even since we all left out last company, we became really close friends.
If more people normalized mental illness the world would be a much better place.
Despite agreeing with fellow netizens that some rules are meant to be broken—in some cases, regularly—the OP told Bored Panda that he absolutely believes that rules are necessary for people.
“Rules often exist for a very good reason. They help ensure a (generally) peaceful society. They deter criminal behavior that might endanger us. They guarantee that my football team is going to move 15 yards up the field if the opposing team is rough on our quarterback. That said, I don't believe that all rules are entirely necessary. And as this post proved, a sizable population of redditors would agree.”
#12
Making the bed. Why would I make my bed all neat if I'm just going to mess it up again at the soonest opportunity? As long as nothing is sliding off the bed then it's fine.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
It's better to not immediately make your bed so your mattress and blankets can air out.
#13
My employees dont pay for food on my shifts. we dont pay them a living wage, i’m not about to make them pay for a meal for themselves after theyve given me 8-9 hours of their day.
#14
Separating laundry by colors, I just throw everything in together
#15
"Do not discuss salary with colleagues or people outside this company." - F**k that.
Edit: Phew!
To be clear, I am not part of the US and not really part of the EU. The act of discussing pay is not legally protected here. It may be in the future though...
Nimitz 3 months ago
I work in the video games industry and we're open about salaries, but people freak out if you start talking about unionization. Legally we're allowed to say anything except directly tell people they should sign up for a card. But people act like it's taboo cause they're afraid of consequences from leadership
#16
I refuse to use Starbucks sizes and say small, medium, or large.
#17
I'm so tired of the "subscription" world we live in now. I basically just pirate everything. I used to still buy the discs. But many movies don't get released in UHD, so what's the point of even looking.
I don't want to stream compressed 4k. And I certainly don't want to worry about whether or not the company pulls the movie from their service or just stops it altogether.
BoredPossum 3 months ago
Where I live, you can still buy blueray and not pay a monthly fee for c**p shows.
#18
There is an outlet mall near us that has designated spaces painted with pink ribbons that are for breast cancer survivors. The spaces are always empty. I am a 2x ovarian cancer survivor. I use the spaces as needed.
CanadianDimes 3 months ago
That seems really weird. If you survived any cancer and are healthy, why would you need a special parking space? This seems more like PR and lip service to breast cancer awareness than it does practical or meaningful
#19
Do socks really need to match, or is this just a bill of goods sold to us by Big Laundry?
Jeremy James 3 months ago
"I met a girl in a bar. She said, you know you're wearing two different colored socks. I said, yeah, but to me they're the same because I go by THICKNESS." --Steven Wright
#20
Dress codes. Dress codes tend to be more restrictive for females than males (don’t tempt him with your exposed clavicles, ladies). Many of them are also racist. And they have absolutely nothing to do with someone’s standards or ability to perform duties, whether it be a job, a school, or even a restaurant.
Jane Jayne Jain Jeign Jein 3 months ago
Like the two ladies beach volleyball teams that were fined for refusing to wear the ladies gear and instead wore what the men wear.
#21
The rule against ending a sentence with a preposition. That is one rule, up with which I will not put.
Verena 3 months ago
Grammar rules enables others to avoud misunderstandings AND learn a foreign language. You would not understand my English if I applied the grammar rules of my mothet tongue. That having said, it is very confusing that "they" is not solely plural anymore. I give up on quit ea lot of texts, because it is impossible to figure out how many people there are. You do you with your language, but for me "they" is more than 1.
#22
There is no difference between being at work at 8am and 8:10am. Especially when it’s not shift work and there’s no one waiting for you to arrive so they can leave. In every job I’ve had they always gripe about being right on time at 8am and then you have hovering managers looking at the door to see who’s late at 8:02am. I am always at work but I will not be there at 8am on the dot for the next 25+ years of my life. It makes no difference
Susie Elle 3 months ago
Agreed. Luckily, I have flexible hours, so I can basically start whenever I want to as long as I do 8 hours a day (which is also stupid because I don't need 8 hours nor am I able to focus for 8 hours, but as per contract)
#23
Ages on car seats. I think a kid’s age has zero relation and all car seat requirements should be based on weight alone.
Brenda 3 months ago
My grandson is not quite 3 & weighs close to 40 pounds. Granddaughter is 19 months and weighs 33 pounds. Neither are overweight, both in the 95th percentile. By age, granddaughter should be seated facing backwards, but she's too big. They're both very tall and big for their ages, and pediatrician says very healthy. You have to go by weight and height.
#24
I wear socks and sandals. The people complaining are annoyingly ridiculous. I’m not gonna show my hairy feet if I don’t want to and I can’t stand the feeling/sound of sweaty feet on sandals.
#25
Lying on your resume. I’m not talking about completely lying that you worked at Google for 2 years when you didn’t. That’s a little much.
But in reality i have gaps between many jobs, due to either unemployment or just needing a damn break between jobs. but on my resume i have consecutively been employed with no gaps my entire career. I feel like recruiters see gaps as a red flag, and sometimes your resume doesn’t make it far enough to even explain the gaps, even if they’re completely harmless gaps.
In regard to background checks for new jobs I’ve personally still passed all of mine with no issues. To my knowledge the agency conducting the background checks can only verify information you give them yourself (not the employer). So I simply don’t provide exact dates, just the year I worked at whatever place. Of course this could backfire, but so far so good over here
Edit: I fundamentally disagree with it because employers lie about the job description all the time. What you actually end up doing rarely matches what they pitch you.
BoredPossum 3 months ago
I don't put months either, especially if it was several years ago. It's old news.
#26
No putting your elbows on the table. It's a silly rule that was based on the idea of "if you have room to put your elbows on the table, it implies your host didn't provide enough food." We make bigger tables now. And most of the time I'm the one who is buying the food in question.
#27
I'm conscious of the speed limit, but typically follow the speed of traffic first. So if traffic is going faster than the speed limit, I'm going to go faster to keep pace with everyone else.
#28
The rule that you cannot place a +2 on a +2 in UNO I am always going to break that rule no matter what anyone says
#29
I refuse to spell out YMCA with my arms when that song comes on.
#30
Not a rule but i refuse to fill out opinion surveys for service or something i bought. If you want me to provide you with optimization information for your business, i need something in return.
#31
Speeding on the interstate. Get out of the left lane!
Joseph Dixon 3 months ago
This is common sense, which is why people don't obey this rule of the road.
#32
I tip the minimum amount at restaurants.
Places nowadays want a minimum 25% tip and I will do 15% every time. You don’t get to tell me how generous I have to be. And in case everyone forgot, tips are OPTIONAL.
Kathy Richardson 3 months ago
I don't tip by percentage, I tip by level of service. If service was poor, I tip less. If service was great, I tip more. I always take into account if the server is really busy, if they are new, etc.... I have never not tipped but it is MY choice how much to leave, not some random whoever that decided we should all tip this. I rarely eat out anymore because I am so disgusted that this is the 21st century and restaurants can still get by with paying their help less than $3.00 an hour.
#33
Don’t date where you work.
You spend nearly a third of your waking hours at work. You learn about the people you work with over weeks, months, years, and have a much better idea of compatibility than with a random club or dating app meetup.
#34
Taking slightly longer breaks at work. Two 10min breaks and a 20min lunch on a 10hr shift. Nah
Jeremy James 3 months ago
I used to work at a DG store so close to my house that you could holler and I'd hear you from my porch. They tried to tell me that, as the only key-holder, I wasn't allowed to leave the premises on my mandatory unpaid breaks. Nah, I'm going home to kick off my shoes and play with my dogs. Holler if you need me.
#35
I ignore margins in notebooks and write over them. Why waste space? I use the whole page.
#36
In 1950s New Zealand they used to have six o’clock closing for all the bars by law. My dad was barely of drinking age but he used to line up with everyone else and hand over his cash while the publican sold flagons of beer over the back fence.
He told me this story to teach me this axiom:
“You don’t obey the *stupid* laws.”
Pieter LeGrande 3 months ago
When I grew up Sunday's were a no-no for serving alcohol. EXCEPT if you were travelling. So everyone would drive 40+ miles to a distant pub. Essentially you were encouraged to drink and drive.
#37
Maybe not totally on point but if I have a device that breaks just out of warranty I will often buy a new one and just return the old one. I know two wrongs don’t make a right and it’s fraud but as far as I’m concerned selling me something that breaks within 1 year for the price of something that should last at least 5 years is legalized fraud so I’m just cheating them like they cheat me.
I do try and give the company a chance to honor their device regardless of the stated warranty but if not returned it goes.
D. Pitbull 3 months ago
How do you do this?? Oh... you... pretend the 'new device' you just bought broke? Wow... OP must be VERY careful with their stuff... doesn't show any signs of wear...?
#38
City animal limits. YES if you can't take care of them they need to be removed, but in my city the limit is 4 cats/dogs total. Down the road in the next city it's 10 cats/dogs.
I have 8. It's b******t. It's my space and I'm taking good care of them, they dont roam. The only interaction with neighbors is if they see them in my window.
It really doesn't affect me much as most people around here ignore the rule too
#39
5 second rule. If it falls on the floor I just throw it out. That’s gross.
Susie Elle 3 months ago
Depends on the floor and what it is. If I drop a piece of candy or whatever on my floor at home, I'm gonna pick it up and eat it. If it's outside on the sidewalk, the candy is for the streets
#40
Sharing meds. My oldest and I had several of the same prescriptions and would use them interchangeably as needed between refills. It’s the same prescription. But I imagine some medical professionals would lose their minds.
#41
Adding garlic and onion to the pan at the same time to soften. Do you want burnt garlic? Because that's how you get burnt garlic.
#42
I throw away the mail of the people who lived in my apartment before me rather than taking it to the post office every. Single. Day. If they wanted their mail, they would have filled out a change of address form.
#43
That you need to wait for other people to start eating, eat your food before it gets cold, I’ll just talk while I’m waiting
Ace 3 months ago
A good restaurant will bring all the food at one time, although it may take a waiter a couple of trips to serve everyone. In such a case it's still considered rude in most places to start eating before everyone else just because your plate came first. In less formal settings, especially at a larger table where it's clear that it may be more than a minute or two waiting it would be common courtesy for someone else to say "Oh don't wait for us, don't let it go cold" before starting to eat.
#44
Telling white lies to your SO is good.
No. I'm not carrying the baggage of lies. I'm always kind, and I'm always honest. Don't want to know thing? You better not ask me.
#45
Using knife and fork to cut your food. If the food it's soft enough, why I can't use my spoon?
What do you think ?
XenoMurph 3 months ago
Some rules are not for the individual, but for population level risks. Putting oil down your sink appears to do no harm, but then everyone does it, and there's a massive fatberg. You think going 10km per hour over the limit harms no one, but everyone sticking to the limit reduces deaths by hundreds over the entire nation. You think you're not at risk so you don't get a vaccine, but then everyone does that, and we get polio back. We live in complex societies with complex results from simple actions.
Deirdre Segraves 3 months ago
Bruh. Bored panda. I l9ve scrolling you page while I am at work but it's getting very difficult with the pop ups. You don't need my email, I already have hulu. Relax.
XenoMurph 3 months ago
Some rules are not for the individual, but for population level risks. Putting oil down your sink appears to do no harm, but then everyone does it, and there's a massive fatberg. You think going 10km per hour over the limit harms no one, but everyone sticking to the limit reduces deaths by hundreds over the entire nation. You think you're not at risk so you don't get a vaccine, but then everyone does that, and we get polio back. We live in complex societies with complex results from simple actions.
Deirdre Segraves 3 months ago
Bruh. Bored panda. I l9ve scrolling you page while I am at work but it's getting very difficult with the pop ups. You don't need my email, I already have hulu. Relax.
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