Of course, these are par for the modern apartment course. However, they do create an interesting dynamic between caller and occupant. Traditionally, a regular doorbell would play a generic sound and alert the host to the door. This preamble was always the same and had no connection to the specific person that pressed the bell. Effectively, you answered the door blindly.
This is obviously transformed by the intercom doorbell. Granted, the same alert brings the occupant to the phone yet at this point they are more in control of who will gain entry. This is not much different from the spy hole that you get in many doors. It is a slight improvement on this function as you can use more of your senses to assess the situation outside your door.
The main difference it seems to me, is the setting of the tone of the oncoming meeting. If I am in a poor mood my tone of voice can very easily affect the mood in the house before I even gain access to the apartment. The other day I rang the bell, was greeted by a joyous sound from the intercom that was completely at odds with my monotone greeting. The room seemed more tempered when I arrived up there, as if the atmosphere was completely changed after the intercom conversation.
Of course, this would occur were I to enter the room without a preamble. It is remarkable however, that the atmosphere of a visit can be changed before it has even begun.
-The English Student
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