Doorway pause

A custom that became commonplace in shelters.during the years of darkness and was maintained afterwards to comemorate those times.

History

The only way to survive the years of darkness was in one of the shelters which hid occupants from the demons. These shelters varied widely in terms of size and level of comfort, but people in almost all of them struggled to find any privacy. Variations on this tradition developed in most shelters as a way of giving others a bit of space.
Though there was little need for it after people emerged from the shelters the practice remained common for about 50 years. It has remained common in some gnomish communities as well as being expected from the servants of the wealthy.
The children of the wealthy are still taught to follow this tradition, and nobles will sometimes follow it when they are guesting or entertaining as an (excessive) display of good manners. For most others though it is viewed as something their grandparents did rather than something for the modern world.

Execution

When about to enter a communal area.

1. Knock on the door or the frame if no door is present.
2. Annouce who you are and that you are about to enter the room. If possible name the room.
3. Wait for a few moments for a response.
4. Be kind and wait a bit longer if asked to do so.

If with a group of people the first person to arrive should annouce the group.
Beyond simple courtesy there was also a practical aspect to this. Corridors were narrow and rooms small in most shelters so there was a reasonable chance of hitting someone with the door if you opened it without warning.

This practice started to fall out of favour several (human) generations after people emerged from the shelters. There was more than enough space outside for people to be able to get away from each other and while it didn't take much time to annouce oneself it was still counted too much amongst an impatient youth.