gillett@ceomax.enet.dec.com (Christopher Gillett) (10/29/90)
At present, I have your "standard" two phone lines (one voice, one
data). The voice line is xxx-9020, while the data line is xxx-3691
(and is configured with "RingMate", NET's name for distinctive ring
service, so that that line can double as incoming modem, incoming FAX,
or outgoing anything). The 3691 number is rarely hooked up to a
telephone since it's supposedly only used for data and FAX traffic.
So, if you call expecting voice, you won't get it.
I prefer to be listed in the phone book as "Christopher Gillett",
since that is my legal name, even though I "go by" Chris. So, when
people called directory assistance looking for me, the operator said
xxx-3691, and folks could never "find me home", or thought that there
was something wrong with my service.
When I got wind of this, I called NET and asked to have things
structured such that people would get 9020 when they called directory
assistance. The bottom line is that I cannot be listed at 9020 as
"Christopher Gillett", I had to be listed as "Chris Gillett", and have
the 3691 line changed to unlisted. Their reasoning was that since
"Chris" comes before "Christopher", and 9020 comes after 3691, it was
necessary to have "Chris" at the 9020 number to avoid the directory
assistance operator telling people I was unlisted.
And when I asked if they could list me as...
Gillett, Christopher
voice xxx-9020
data xxx-3691
... they got all huffy and inquired as to whether or not I was
running a business, and no, sorry, they couldn't do that unless I
wanted business service.
All this seems incredibly stupid to me. It seems to me that you
should able to be listed in the phone book in the manner of your
choosing, using your name or legal, proper derivation thereof, without
a lot of hassling. If someone is looking for the "official me",
they'll look for Christopher. A directory assistance operator might
say "well, I have a 'Chris', do you want that?", but then again the
operator might not. So, it's not only a nuisance and a nit, it could
cause problems.
Further, I don't see why "data line in your home" means "commercial
rates". What is the story here? Have other people encountered
similar listing difficulties with NET or other telcos?
One last thing, it is SOP amongst all the different telcos to charge
*more* every month for touchtone service than for rotary dial? I
thought it worked the other way around.
Christopher Gillett gillett@ceomax.enet.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation
Hudson, Taxachusetts (508) 568-7172
Semiconductor Engineering Group/Logic Simulation Group
Disclaimer: Ken Olsen speaks for Digital...I speak for me!zippy@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Patrick Tufts) (10/30/90)
In article <14116@accuvax.nwu.edu> gillett@ceomax.enet.dec.com (Christopher Gillett) writes: >One last thing, it is SOP amongst all the different telcos to charge >*more* every month for touchtone service than for rotary dial? I >thought it worked the other way around. Why, Touchtone is a _feature_! :-) That's why the TelCos I've dealt with - SNET and NYNEX - charge for it. Seriously, you'd think they'd charge more for the pulse system, if only because it ties the line up longer. Pat
john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) (10/30/90)
Christopher Gillett <gillett@ceomax.enet.dec.com> writes: > Further, I don't see why "data line in your home" means "commercial > rates". What is the story here? Have other people encountered > similar listing difficulties with NET or other telcos? How do they know its a "data" line? What communication you put over that line is absolutely and positively none of telco's business. Given that more and more homes are equipped with computers with modems, this attitude would seem a little outdated. I had a little talk with a knowledgeable rep about the attitude concerning modem lines. In my case, with 10 lines, telco had just assumed that it was mostly for data, probably hobby related, rather than assuming that I was running a bookie joint out of my home. No one at Pac*Bell has ever given the impression that the company cared one hoot about whether a line was being used for a modem or not. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: John, I would say 'the way they know it is a data line' is because that is the way he asked them to identify it in their directory. PAT]
BRUCE@ccavax.camb.com (Barton F. Bruce) (10/30/90)
In article <14116@accuvax.nwu.edu>, Christopher Gillett <gillett@ ceomax.enet.dec.com> writes: > Gillett, Christopher > voice xxx-9020 > data xxx-3691 > ... they got all huffy and inquired as to whether or not I was > running a business, and no, sorry, they couldn't do that unless I > wanted business service. The BILLING name better be yours, but the listing name can be your 'cousin' that lives with you. What is your goldfish's name? We are related to fish somehow, right? ... Use your cat, if you prefer. That will leave you with ONLY your voice line with your name on it, and NO non-listed charges.
faunt@cisco.com (Doug Faunt N6TQS 415-688-8269) (10/30/90)
If you want to check out the Oakland CA 'phone book, you can see how I did it. Three lines, listed as Faunt Doug (that I answer), Faunt D (has never gotten any calls, but there's an answering machine on it), and Faunt Computer (my "middle name" :-)).
covert@covert.enet.dec.com (John R. Covert 30-Oct-1990 1229) (10/31/90)
I've been through this with NET and the Massachusetts DPU. Residence listings must be simply "the name you go by" and optionally your spouses name in addition. So there should be no problem being listed as either Christopher or Chris; your choice. You can optionally be listed as "Christopher & nn". You can't do anything else in a residence listing, and the DPU will back NET up on this. Unless you have a reason for wanting the data line to be listed, you can solve the problem of people getting the wrong number by requesting that it be non-pub. (Not unlisted -- the rep will hear non-listed, which means D.A. has it but the printed directory doesn't.) There is no charge for non-pub numbers which are additional lines at the same address as your main number. john [Moderator's Note: John, isn't there an exception made by the DPU, (as in most states) for the phrase 'TTY' in front of a phone number? TTY of course implies a form of data service, but it is there not so much to identify a line as handling data as it is to clue in callers that the recipient is deaf. PAT]
jxh@attain.uucp (Jim Hickstein) (10/31/90)
When I recently added another line to my business for the express
purpose of putting a modem on it, Pac*Bell asked me whether this, too,
would be a "modem line." I was nonplussed. How did they know that my
other lines were "modem lines" and why did they care? The answer to
the first question is that my predecessor evidently told them this
much about the existing lines. Their response to the second was that
they flag these somehow in their computer so that a line that has no
signal on it will not be reassigned accidentally.
What? You mean if I'm not on the blower 24 hours a day they might
just yank me out of the wall whenever they feel like it? Doesn't the
mere fact that the number is assigned show up on their "computer"?
What would make them think to check the computer more often when they
don't even know before doing so that it will give them interesting
results? Or do they check it when there is trouble and they can't
raise a human by ringing the line? Again, the computer should tell
them where to call with no special knowledge of the use of that
secondary line.
Sounds like a commie plot to start charging for erlangs. I went along
with it, but I'm starting to feel nervous about it.
"Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."
Jim Hickstein, Teradyne/Attain, San Jose CA, (408) 434-0822 FAX -0252
jxh%attain.teradyne.com@apple.com ...!{amdcad!teda,sun!teda,apple}!attain!jxhdattier@ddsw1.mcs.com (David Tamkin) (11/05/90)
Christopher Gillett wrote in volume 10, issue 772: [Christopher wants DA to give out his numerically higher telephone number rather than the numerically lower one.] | The bottom line is that I cannot be listed at 9020 as | "Christopher Gillett", I had to be listed as "Chris Gillett", and have | the 3691 line changed to unlisted. Their reasoning was that since | "Chris" comes before "Christopher", and 9020 comes after 3691, it was | necessary to have "Chris" at the 9020 number to avoid the directory | assistance operator telling people I was unlisted. | All this seems incredibly stupid to me. It seems to me that you | should able to be listed in the phone book in the manner of your | choosing, using your name or legal, proper derivation thereof, without | a lot of hassling. If someone is looking for the "official me", | they'll look for Christopher. A directory assistance operator might | say "well, I have a 'Chris', do you want that?", but then again the | operator might not. So, it's not only a nuisance and a nit, it could | cause problems. Christopher, do you have a middle initial? Can you pretend to have one? Consider retitling your service on 3691 as "Christopher Z. Gillett" [or use your real middle initial if you like]. That way only 9020 will be listed for "Christopher Gillett," 9020 will appear first in the DA operators' displays, and you won't have to pay for an unlisted number nor hope that people will ask for "Chris". It worked for me when I was in the same situation; I had my middle initial stripped from the registration for my higher-numbered phone line so that it would be the one that showed up when people asked DA for my number. David Tamkin Box 7002 Des Plaines IL 60018-7002 708 518 6769 312 693 0591 MCI Mail: 426-1818 GEnie: D.W.TAMKIN CIS: 73720,1570 dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com
Richard.Lerner@lerner.avalon.cs.cmu.edu (11/06/90)
In PA I had two consecutive numbers listed the same. I always assumed that they would give out the first one. However, at some point I noticed a lot of calls coming on my other line. It turns out that they give out the most recently modified number. So when I changed the level of service on my second number, they started giving out that number. I had to unlist the second number to assure that only the first was given out. Rick Lerner ral+@cs.cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA