Adjustment

Whenever somebody sits in an empty seat next to someone on the train, the person that was already sitting will do an adjustment of their position. I've categorized these adjustments into three categorific categories of categorification:

1. The long coat/dress adjustment - If you have a long coat, dress, or other garment that spills onto the next seat and somebody sits on top of it, you become restricted in movement. Some people will pull their clothing out from under the other person that sat on it. Others will think ahead of time and pull it out of the way as the new person is sitting down.

2. The dumbass adjustment - A lot of people don't sit properly to allow the maximum number of people in the sits. Part of their body will spill onto the next designated seat. When a new person sits, it'll feel particularly crowded on the side which the first person took up too much space. The original sitter will readjust to get a little farther away from the new sitter. Sometimes the dumbass adjustment has to be done because some dumbass sat in the wrong place, but the people that sat next to the dumbass tried to position themselves as best as they could given the situation. You'll see a row of people adjusting themselves as a new person sits down to make up for the one person that screwed things up.

3. The fake adjustment - Some people do a little wiggle or move forward or backward on their seat as or after a new person sits down next to them. The original sitter was already relatively positioned correctly and the adjustment doesn't change their position at all. This adjustment is the most puzzling. Why fake an adjustment when you don't have to? Is this some form of BS courtesy?