I can't imagine such a work situation appealing to anybody other than extreme penny-pinchers, or maybe fresh grads, straight out of colleges. This sounds exactly like trying to get work done in a university library or study hall. If you've never known anything better, or you're the kind of person that needs that social stimuli, I can imagine you might think it was normal enough; I couldn't do it then; I'd work alone in my room or buried in the stacks. And now? Forget about it.