On 6/22/2013 12:07 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
....

... from my
bedroom there is a 3-way switch for an overhead light and a single
pole switch for the medicine cabinet.

At the other door coming ... there is only a
3-way switch for the overhead. With both lights off and both switches
in the down position on my side of the bathroom, the switch in my
sister's bedroom is off in the up position.

So for some 40 years now, the switch on my side of the door seems to
be in a constant state of one switch up and one switch down when both
lights in the bathroom are off. ...

I am going to flip the position of the switch on her side and see it
that changes how the order of switches ends up on my side of the
bathroom....

For the case of only two 3-ways, sure, because there are only the two
cases. It will, however, still be the case that the two can be in
opposite positions on your side 'cuz after the flip the light will be
off when both are up as well as both down.

But, when more than two locations are on a circuit it is simply not
possible to have fixed orientation and allow the other switches to be
used individually moving any will change the direction sense of the
subject one.

There's a similar situation in the house here but it's never bugged me
enough to do anything about it--the basement has one long room that's
half the width and full length of the house that has the lights in two
banks and there are two doors. Obviously there are two switches at each
door. So, one pair is always in synch and one pair is always out of
synch when lights are on/off. I like to keep the pair at the middle
door in synch 'cuz that's the way I go in/out when heading to/from the
change room to outside and I always turn both on/off every time. The
wife is oblivious and almost always will get those switched every time
she is in/out. (The _really_ annoying thing is she has a penchant for
leaving one in the in-between state where one then has to go to the
other wall plate and turn it either on/off to make the circuit function
at all ).

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