T Etiquette: Refresher Course

I guess the heat has boiled everyone's brains, because it seems like people have forgotten the basics of deportment while riding our transit system. So it's time for some remedial instruction (appropriate since it's summer, when those who have failed typically have to attend make-up classes):

To the guy leaning against the pole, pretending to be oblivious while noodling away on your iPhone: thanks so much for preventing four or five other riders from having something within comfortable arm's reach to hang onto. It's not as big a deal for me, because I'm tall and have long arms, but some of the shorter folks can't reach the horizontal bars or even the hanging straps, and anyway, being such a dick so early in the morning is just uncalled for.

And to the guy yesterday afternoon who had your backpack parked on the seat next to you (who, interestingly, kind of looked like the other guy): yeah, that's right, I stood in front of you and said "Is this yours?" in a loud voice while pointing at the bag, thereby shaming you into picking it up so I could sit down. It didn't seem to make a difference, though, because at the next stop the person sitting on the other side of you got off and you just slid it onto that seat. But then a stop later another person did basically the same thing I did and you were forced to hold the bag on your lap, like the rest of us manage to do. Poor you.