Can't they knock?

[Mojochi]

That's a fair point!

But how many times have we seen people announcing themselves, or ringing the door, or otherwise making contact with people on the holodeck without barging in?

Off the top of my head, the only time I can think of is Data phoning Picard, the example @NewHeavensNewEarth gave earlier. There may be others, though!

True. We don't see that much either, but I seem to recall times people are contacted similarly to Picard, while in the holodeck, which to be fair isn't really the same as someone being cleared to enter or not, but because I'm bored, & intrigued, & this is the last month I can source through Netflix for such a thing, I'm gonna figure out all the times on TNG someone's entered someone else's program

Farpoint: Riker into Data's wilderness program
Haven: Troi & Wyatt into Riker's landscape program
The Big Goodbye: Beverly into Picard's Dixon Hill program, prearranged invite
1001001: Picard into Riker's Minuet program
Pen Pals: Data into Picard's horse-riding program
Manhunt: Data & Riker into Picard's Dixon Hill program
The Emissary: Worf into K'Ehleyr's Worf authored combat program
Booby Trap: Picard into Geordi's Leah program
Hollow Pursuits: Multiple people into Barclay's fantasy programs twice
Clues: Guinan into Picard's Dixon Hill program, prearranged invite
Galaxy's Child: Geordi into Leah running his own Leah program
The Nth Degree: Everyone into Barclay's interface program, likely invited
New Ground: Worf into Alexander's Worf authored combat program
The Cost of Living: Troi & Worf into Lwaxana & Alexander's party program
Relics: Picard into Scotty's NCC-1701 no bloody A,B,C, or D program
A Fistful of Datas: Troi into Alexander's "Ancient West" program, prearranged invite
Ship In A Bottle: Barclay into Moriarty's Countess program, on the holographic holodeck
Rightful Heir: People into Kahless' throne room program, seemingly open to the public
Descent, Geordi into Data's Borg killing program
Homeward: Worf into Nikolai's Boraalan migration program, invited
Thine Own Self, Riker into Troi's command sim program, not proctoring it this time apparently
Bloodlines: Picard into Jason Vigo's rock climbing program

So about 17 times someone goes in unannounced, some of which are arguable or explainable, but is still surprisingly more than I expected. Coupled with the fact that only a few times do people go in with consent, most of which are prearranged, I guess it does seem very much like it's just a natural social convention that people will walk in on people running programs unannounced

Although, in almost all cases, they are looking specifically for the person they've tracked there, & being officers, could've cleared themselves to go in, based on the fact that they needed to find them. Plus, it's always our main characters doing so, who are close with one another enough that they might have friendly enough relations, that they alone might consider it acceptable to do so to one another.

 

[Tosk]

Kudos for doing the homework!

 

[Ottens]

Doubleplus to that! Thank you for checking so thoroughly, @Mojochi.

I think we can now safely say, based on the on-screen evidence, that at least at the time of TNG it's apparently socially acceptable to enter other people's holo programs unannounced.

 

[Mojochi]

Doubleplus to that! Thank you for checking so thoroughly, @Mojochi.

I think we can now safely say, based on the on-screen evidence, that at least at the time of TNG it's apparently socially acceptable to enter other people's holo programs unannounced.

Well... largely speaking, I'd say it's acceptable for the people who did it, to do so, who are mostly the command crew & friends, or even family. There's hardly any time when just random people are walking in on others' programs. So I'd like to think the top people might have an understanding that if they need to track each other down & they're in there, there's no reason why they can't just pop in... & other cases, like Jason Vigo, the intruder might just look at the program running & see it's one of the generic ones, & figure it wouldn't be too intrusive for say the captain to pay a visit.

I don't think the 17 examples I posted necessarily have to imply an entire social dynamic for everyone under any circumstance.

 

[Ottens]

That's a good point! We never see strangers walking in on somebody's holo program.

Perhaps the social convention is that it's OK for friends to interrupt?

 

[Qonundrum]

Because "evolved sensibilities" prohibit embassament for getting caught with your pants down, or whatever....

In the future, it doesn't matter. Just walk on in and make a sandwich. Even one with two beef patties, 3 buns, and lots of special sauce... Roddenberry loved going to conventions and saying how, in his shows, he'd treat people like objects (with the audience responding with much loud enthused applause, too. And maybe in Star Trek, by the 2n'th century, people see sex as no big deal - not unlike some from the 1960s and 1970s... )

One example:

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"You cannot write in science fiction (...) without realizing that sexual equality is as basic as any other kind of equality. This does not mean that in future pictures I will ever stop using women as sex objects, as I will not, but to be fair we have always used and will be continuing to use males as sex objects, too. As a matter of fact, when I was younger and much more agile I've been used as a sex object myself; I think it's great fun."

(https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Inside_Star_Trek)

Whatever "object" means, of course. Just as a receptacle for sex, assuming everyone thinks the same way about the activity, or not, or anywhere inbetween...

 

[Qonundrum]

We've all seen that episode

If he wants to roll around in a thatch of poison ivy, at least he knows SickBay is nearby to get the antivesicant...

 

[Finn]

Why is it OK for people to walk in on the holo-programs of others?

I'm rewatching "11001001" and Picard just walks in while Riker is kissing Minuet.

In "Hollow Pursuits", Riker, Troi and LaForge walk in on Barclay's fantasies without announcing themselves.

In both cases it's embarrassing. It's also just rude. We always see people ringing the bell before they enter someone's quarters of the captain's ready room. Why do they treat the holodeck differently?

Really? You use those two as examples?

In 11001001, they were getting ready to leave the ship. And in Hollow Pursuits, Barclay didn't show up to a meeting on time.... It wasn't a casual walk-in on an ordinary afternoon.

 

[Ottens]

I got the idea after rewatching "11001001", and Picard does walk in casually. At the point where he enter Riker's program, the ship wasn't being evacuated yet.

In "Hollow Pursuits", yes, there were extenuating circumstances. Barclay didn't respond to comms and the second time they needed him to save the ship.

But in any event, @Mojochi did a more thorough job than I did and it turns out "11001001" and "Hollow Pursuits" are far from the only examples.

 

[Mojochi]

To be fair, a lot of those other examples can be explained away too, like in Cost of Living, Alexander wasn't supposed to be in there, & was retrieved by his father, the same as with New Ground. In Ship in a Bottle, Barclay is delivering something to Moriarty's program, & it isn't even a real holodeck anyhow lol

Sometimes the intruder is entering their own program, being run by someone else, like Geordi going in on Leah. Troi's command sim kind of needed Riker to enter it, in order to validate that she passed it hahaha

Point being, a lot of them are situational, & it's hard to draw a legit conclusion about social conventions from them

 

[Oddish]

Given the implications, you'd think that a holodeck savvy person could just add an instruction: "Computer, if anyone enters this program, cease running it immediately."

A sex program would still be a problem because you'd still be at least partly naked. But Barclay's "Three Musketeers" program would shut down without a hitch and his secret would be safe.

 

[Mojochi]

There does seem to be an amount of naiveté about the whole thing, from both the characters & the writers.... People not locking doors, not programming in security measures etc... You have to just accept that the writers were far less savvy than a modern computer user is about digital privacy. It likely hadn't even occurred to them.

As for in universe expanations, I guess we can attribute it mostly to being because it's a new addition into ship life, & Starfleet folks are a little on the goody-goody side of social behavior overall... Which is becoming more the general case, the more distant we get from the show, especially TNG.

 

[Ragitsu]

A sex program would still be a problem because you'd still be at least partly naked.

"Computer, if anyone attempts to enter the holodeck, cease program and project a staff/rank appropriate Starfleet uniform onto me."

 

[Ragitsu]

 

[Skipper]

Well, there are situations, apart from of course those of a sexual nature, in which the interruption would still be annoying. Imagine I'm having an incredible Indiana Jones-like adventure where I'm hanging from an airplane a thousand meters high. Suddenly someone walks in and says "Oh cool" (and it's like he's floating in midair cause security protocols). I would be very annoyed, because it ruined the pace of the action.

 

[Mojochi]

Just once, I'd like to see someone deep sea diving when somebody else thinks they're just going to wander in lol

 

[Ragitsu]

Just once, I'd like to see someone deep sea diving when somebody else thinks they're just going to wander in lol

"Computer, disengage safety protocols."

 

[Mojochi]

Here's an interesting thought. As much as people like disaster movies, & scary amusement park rides/adrenaline rush sports. You have to assume a holodeck would be used by people, for deliberately experiencing real life disaster scenarios, like the Titanic etc...

 

[Oddish]

Or other more domestic things. Do you think the holographic sawbones on Voyager was the first person to create a holo-family for himself?

 

[somebuddyX]

"In the future there will be no need for privacy on the holodeck because humans have evolved and blah blah blah,"
- Gene Roddenberry, probably.