[rumori]

Berghain puts stickers on your phone cameras, it’s pretty non intrusive while substantially improving the party experience. I didn’t see a single phone in the air on the dancefloor. It was quite refreshing, felt like partying in the 2000s.

[Wowfunhappy]

This is mentioned in the article:

> More clubs have also been instituting “no phones” policies to reclaim the dance floor’s social energy. Venues including Signal, a small club that opened last year in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg neighborhood, and recent addition Refuge, located just around the corner, cover all phone cameras with a sticker. Other larger, established venues like House of Yes and Elsewhere have also banned the use of phones inside.

[wolvoleo]

Yeah I've seen the same here in Europe. I think it's fantastic!

[jbaiter]

It's pretty much the norm in all "proper" German techno/electronic music clubs I've been to, Berlin and elsewhere.

[GuestFAUniverse]

Cool. Now do that at the entrance to swimming pools too.

Has become a pest. Even inside. Even directly at or in the water. No matter what the signs say.

At least regarding that I miss the last millennium: no omnipresence of cameras. Not a bunch of entitled pseudo-influencers filming everything and everyone.

[phrotoma]

I went to a show at Fabric in London during Kubecon last spring and they did the same thing. I still saw the odd person who peeled it off taking selfies or pics of friends inside but that was definitely the exception.

[retired]

Perhaps it can be enforced with a type of laser that doesn’t damage the human eye but completely obliterates a phone camera. As long as you keep the sticker on nothing happens to your phone.

[OneMorePerson]

I've seen this in Asia, there's an employee who basically is standing at a raised spot in the corner and if you take out your phone they shoot a small laser pointer right into the camera, it messes with the video. They can't get it on there all the time but a video where half of it (or more they are surprisingly accurate) is a strobing laser becomes pretty garbage anyways. While they are doing that another employee/bouncer comes over and warns them, have seen people get kicked out for pulling it out a second time.

[debo_]

This sounds like a job I would love.

[deaux]

> I've seen this in Asia

"I've seen this on planet earth"

Afghanistan? China? Tonga?

[blacksmith_tb]

True, it wasn't very specific, but I think we can rule out Afghanistan where music and dancing are illegal.. I haven't been to Tonga, seems possible that there might a little nightlife in Nukuʻalofa but probably not laser-wielding security, so that narrows it down a little.

[OneMorePerson]

Do you actually think Tonga is in Asia?

[microtonal]

I think Lidar on cars can damage cameras: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Autonomous-driving-Lidar-can-se...

But it's probably a nightmare from the liability perspective.

[krisoft]

> a type of laser that doesn’t damage the human eye but completely obliterates a phone camera

If we are asking for impossible things why make it so scifi coded? I would much prefer cute bunny unicorns who suddenly grow fangs and bite people who are taking pictures. They are both equaly realistic but the bunny unicorns are nicer to think of.

[collinmcnulty]

Certain kinds of lidar do damage phone cameras https://www.jalopnik.com/1866994/lidar-permanently-damage-ph...

[krisoft]

Of course. There is no doubt that you can shoot cameras out. That's not the problem. The problem is if you try to scale that effect up to the size of a club what you have won't be eye safe. There is not enough margin between "safe for human eyes" and "destroys cameras" to construct a practical system. Especially not to the safety requirements of an entertainment venue.

[raffael_de]

In Berghain this is also done for tangential, yet, rather specific reasons that do not apply to most clubs and discos.

[wolvoleo]

Absolutely. But the reasoning is the same. A nightclub is where you go to let go. And being confronted with that later is inhibitive.

That applies whether you're taking your clothes off or just dance.

[raffael_de]

as far as I am concerned there should be a strict no-smartphone policy in every café, restaurant, bar, club, cinema, theater, concert etc. that would be amazing. or at least some should do it and i'd only go there.

[wolvoleo]

Well you still need to write down people's contacts etc. A complete ban is impractical and that is even the case for the parties I visit where they are banned. The camera's are taped off but you're free to exchange instagram details etc.

The next morning no way I would remember rollergirl236_berlin lol

[raffael_de]

of course, we'd provide a pen and a paper in such a case!

[zo7]

It's becoming more common in SF and LA too, although it's usually done by the promoter and not the venue.