MIME-Version: 1.0 Server: CERN/3.0 Date: Sunday, 01-Dec-96 18:46:58 GMT Content-Type: text/html Content-Length: 2903 Last-Modified: Tuesday, 07-Mar-95 00:42:08 GMT Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Etiquette

Real Pittsburghers are conscious of two sets of conduct, Correct and Reasonable. Newcomers to Pittsburgh are probably accustomed to the first set. Examples include:

When Pittsburghers go abroad (that is, out of Southwestern Pennsylvania), they follow the Correct rules of conduct. However, no matter how sizable the Pittsburgh population, it is still a ``small town.'' As a result, native residents will almost always choose to follow the Reasonable set when they are at home. Reasonable rules are similar to those in the Correct set, but modified as necessary by taking into account the following Fundamental Axiom:

Do what others would do if they had a close personal relationship with you.

In the presence of this Axiom, the examples above change slightly, and could be read:

The Reasonable set of conduct does have some results which can be viewed as positive: Pittsburghers thank the bus driver when disembarking, neighborhoods have festivals every summer, and the checkout person is often quite friendly to you.


Excerpted from:
Reid & Rich; Guide to Living in Pittsburgh, 7th ed.; CMU CS; July 1991; p. 4.
pierce@cs.cornell.edu