Gym etiquette regarding passing on the wall

I was at the gym on a crowded night and my climbing partner managed to find a free top rope to tie into. Being that the gym is packed, there are climbers on the adjacent topropes, and one of the routes has a few holds near the top that overlap with our route. My partner waits until the climber is a little over halfway up the wall before starting in order to give them plenty of space. The adjacent climber starts hanging on the toprope about 3/4 of the way to the top, and my partner starts closing the gap. Other climber keeps falling on the same move, and my partner waits at a stance about halfway up. Other climber starts hanging again, and my partner overtakes them. Once my partner reaches the sequence with overlapping holds, the other climber, who is still hanging, expresses some displeasure and lowers. On the ground the climber chastises me for letting my partner climb past them because now they can't continue climbing. I apologized and felt bad at first, but it kind of feels like in that situation my partner acted pretty reasonably; it's all toprope so there was no fall risk (and on these particular climb no pendulum risk), and it also seems reasonable for a climber projecting a route to let nearby climbers pass while they rest so as to not monopolize a section of wall in a crowded gym. But if I'm in the wrong please correct me so I don't make the same mistake again.

Don't worry, they'll get over it! LOL!
In general, Aask the belayer, they almost always say go ahead. If they don't, you probably don't want to climb next to them anyway.

I feel like the first person on the wall has right of way.... until they fall. Then they should really rest and let others climb through, especially if the newcomers are cruising. 

It's always poor form to TR or lead under another leader where you're in their fall zone or close enough that it could be distracting to the leader. But that doesn't sound like OP's situation; they said that the other climber was on TR.

ETA: i think someone deleted a post I was responding to.

It is generally good etiquete to not crowd other climbers who are already on the wall, especially when the routes share holds. It is not that much of a burden to wait your turn or to get on another route. Some people find this hard to comprehend. Now what I do if they do not heed a reasonable request to wait, and they crowd me, I just take the fall on top of them. 

Rain F wrote:

I was at the gym on a crowded night and my climbing partner managed to find a free top rope to tie into. Being that the gym is packed, there are climbers on the adjacent topropes, and one of the routes has a few holds near the top that overlap with our route. My partner waits until the climber is a little over halfway up the wall before starting in order to give them plenty of space. The adjacent climber starts hanging on the toprope about 3/4 of the way to the top, and my partner starts closing the gap. Other climber keeps falling on the same move, and my partner waits at a stance about halfway up. Other climber starts hanging again, and my partner overtakes them. Once my partner reaches the sequence with overlapping holds, the other climber, who is still hanging, expresses some displeasure and lowers. On the ground the climber chastises me for letting my partner climb past them because now they can't continue climbing. I apologized and felt bad at first, but it kind of feels like in that situation my partner acted pretty reasonably; it's all toprope so there was no fall risk (and on these particular climb no pendulum risk), and it also seems reasonable for a climber projecting a route to let nearby climbers pass while they rest so as to not monopolize a section of wall in a crowded gym. But if I'm in the wrong please correct me so I don't make the same mistake again.

Let common sense be your guide in all social interactions.

On TR it really isn’t a big deal. But still, If I’m going to climb right next to someone, and the routes meander close to each other, I ask which route they are planning on, and whether they are ok with me getting on (green) route while they climb their purple.

Most of the time they would say yes, and subsequently may clarify, or add something like “i would take a while, you’ll probably finish before I put my shoes on”, or “I’d appreciate if you wait until I’m past that sidepull, I don’t want to swing into you if I fall”, or whatever else.  

As a TR belayer it's not your responsibility to tell your climber where and when to go.  You can't really stop them from going up, so the concept of "letting" them go up doesn't make sense.  (On lead you could actually hold the rope tight to stop them.)  

In a crowded gym I think it's rude to occupy 2 top ropes while you're just hang-dogging on TR.  Once you fall, neighboring climbers should be allowed to pass by.

JFC. Just TALK to the other party first, before doing or committing to anything.

Marc801 C wrote:

JFC. Just TALK to the other party first, before doing or committing to anything.

But what if they get offended?

Remember, soloists always have the right of way. 

You aren’t in the wrong, but some communication could perhaps have smoothed things out. In a crowded gym (or crag for that matter) it’s all about considering your impact on others and communicating. Y’all were aware of how the routes interacted, and made an effort not to impact the other climber by giving them space. A quick “mind if I climb through?” From your climber would be best practice.

the other climber on the other hand should have been aware of their surroundings enough to see your climber coming up behind him and said something like “I’m gonna rest for a minute, you go ahead”

Congress needs to quit wasting time on the debt problem and deal with this burning issue.

WWHD

It depends if you’re in the big city or not.

Stop climbing on a rope and start bouldering.