This is a really weird thing to come away with. Hell, I remember as mobile phones were starting to become popular, there were more than a few comedians that had "how irritating it is to hear one half of a conversation" as part of their acts. It's not about eavesdropping, it's about a broken cadence.
There are some coffee shops in Oakland that have explicit no laptop policies. I used to live near a coffee in shop in Portland where the owner would randomly unplug the wifi if he didn't like the people sitting in his shop and working.
I actually wish they'd work out what a fair market rate is for someone occupying that desk, throw in unlimited coffee and just charge me by the hour.
If it gets really busy I clear out since they can make more turning over tables than with me sat there, I've noticed by doing that and not pretending to own the table I'm sat at the coffee shop owners are friendlier.
Seems straightforward to me.
There is a coffee shop next door to my apartment. It has random rules posted on all surfaces to which signs can be affixed. Feel like I'm going to go to prison if I walk in there and do something wrong inadvertently, so I just go to Starbucks to avoid causing any problems. I like that these people are running a coffee shop, and I'd like to support them. But it's just too scary for me. Better to stick with something inviting, or at least known.
My favorite part of this article is how the owner doesn't say he runs the bookstore solely to overhear people's conversations, but it seems clear to me that that's his main reason. Rules about what you cannot say, "I don't like cell phones because you can only hear one side of the conversation", etc. I'll pass.
Maybe this is all an east coast thing, though. In Chicago I never noticed local businesses being quirky (and I'll go out of my way to get coffee at Intelligentsia). Same with Mountain View. But everyone in New York has quite the desire to become king or queen of their own empire, and are sure to let you know it.