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AITA for asking a woman to be quiet in the silent area of the library and ruining her presentation?

· 4 min read

The Silent Library Saga​

Picture this: a bright-eyed STEM student, half‑dead from a 5‑hour sleep stretch, decides to fight the sound of a woman’s presentation in the library’s hush‑hush zone. The library is the kind of place where the “No Talking” signs are hung with the same seriousness you’d give a life‑saving emergency. Our hero, armed with the power of a polite voice and a sense of personal sanity, approaches the loudmouth. The loudmouth says “I need to finish my presentation!” and then, in a moment of pure theatrical flair, declares, “I had two seconds left—I would have been done by now!” And then the entire scene turns into a dramatic, un‑necessary, slightly melodramatic catastrophe that leaves our hero wondering if they just ruined the woman’s presentation or their own sanity.

The Setup​

  • You: A diligent student who thrives in silence.
  • The Loudmouth: A woman presenting, probably a final project, in the middle of the “silent” zone.
  • The Environment: Library signs that read “No Talking” and “Silent Area.”
  • The Conflict: Noise levels so high that our hero’s focus on their lab is compromised.

The hero decides: “I’ll politely ask her to move.” They do so, and she packs up, furious, claiming the presentation is ruined. She later yells about “two seconds left,” a lie that’s as believable as a unicorn. The hero leaves feeling guilty, wondering if they were an ass or just a guardian of quiet.

Comments – The Reddit Review​

Comment 1
When you enforce boundaries, some people feel defensive. People who feel defensive react in different ways. One way is to show anger.

You did nothing wrong.

The other people were annoyed but did not say anything because they did not want to be subjected to her angry behaviour. They are glad that you stepped in.

NTA.

Comment 2
It's not a boundary, it's a rule.

Comment 3
NTA. If you are working on a silent area of the library that has posted signs stating this and she chose to sit in that area and talk doing a presentation, she is in the wrong. If you find yourself in a situation like that again and don't want to ask someone to move, you can inform a staff member and let them handle it. That way you can stay out of it and not feel stressed like you are.

She was being a shitty person and she ruined her own presentation by sitting in a place she wasn't supposed to be talking in. I wouldn't think about it again.

Comment 4
I've tried to inform library workers before but the only close ones are other students who are running tech‑desks, and they've said they cannot intervene/tell people to be quiet, and I was told to handle it myself. I don't want to unnecessarily ruin someones work, but it really gets under my skin when people do this.

Comment 5
That’s a bad policy by the library. Workers absolutely should be able to enforce the library rules on campus, they shouldn’t be posting rules and telling patrons they’re responsible for enforcing them.

TL;DR​

A student in a silent library politely asks a loud presenter to move. She gets mad, claims she was about to finish, then yells about two seconds left. The student feels guilty, the commenters say “NTA,” and the library’s policy is questioned. Bottom line: If you’re in a silent zone, don’t be the loudmouth. If you’re a silent‑zone‑guard, don’t be the asshole. The world’s most intense “library drama” solved with a polite voice and a few angry words.