siegman <siegman@sierra.stanford.edu> (06/25/90)
In article <9223@accuvax.nwu.edu> news@accuvax.nwu.edu (USENET News System) writes: >In my view, unsolicited business ("junk") phone calls are a lot more >serious a nuisance than junk mail. When you get junk mail, you can >just throw it out ... so very little time is wasted... >... Junk phone calls, on the >other hand, can interrupt you at any time, even when you are asleep, >and you have no legal recourse. Hear, hear!! Postal junk mail performs a potential service; let it bloom (so long as it pays its fair share of postal costs). Junk phone calls are an unmitigated annoyance, and should be banned. My solution (when the answering machine doesn't solve it first) is to say, "Wait a minute, I've got to turn off a stove burner"; spend as long away from the phone as I think the caller will tolerate; then _politely_ tell them we absolutely boycott any busines, or charity, that uses telephone solicitation.
David Tamkin <dattier@chinet.chi.il.us> (06/26/90)
Someone who signed himself John David Galt (I see "John Galt" as a CB handle quite a bit, so it must be the name of some fictional character, and thus might not be the submitter's actual name) wrote in volume 10, issue 452, completely misunderstanding my position: | David Tamkin's piece of 6/18 really bugged me. Here is a guy who | objects to the use of a service (the 900 number to defeat call ID) to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ?? | keep your name off the lists merchants use to make junk phone calls; | and yet he gets upset at the person who sent him an ad for the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ?? | service, because it is junk mail! Slow down, Galt (whether that's your real name or not). You've made some very wrong guesses not only about my stand, but also about my emotions. You're the only one who is, per your own word, bugged. I didn't object to the use of 900-STOPPER; I objected that Private Lines, Inc.'s, took my address from my .signature here in Telecom Digest and sent me advertising. I did say that 900-RUNWELL was unneeded at present because there is as yet no Caller-ID on international calls anyway. But if you think I was knocking 900- STOPPER for domestic calls, you were reading with closed eyes. No, I was not upset. I was amused: amused that Private Lines, Inc., who are out to stop telemarketing calls, themselves send out unsolicited mailings. A service and the manner in which it is promoted are not the same thing. In this case, they are not only distinct, they are incompatible! And the emotion was not directed at a "person who sent [me] an ad." The cover letter and the envelope were Private Lines, Inc.'s, own stationery. The amusement was directed at Private Lines itself. Anyone who wishes to use the service is welcome to it, and despite the words that Mr. Galt is struggling with all his might to cram into my mouth, I have no complaints about its existence nor about anyone's use of it. I think you're wasting money if you use the international service right now, since it doesn't do you any good yet, but that's purely a financial consideration, not the moral or religious one Mr. Galt is trying to accuse of me of holding. Note, readers, that Mr. Galt didn't include any of the original text from my submission as it appeared in volume 10, issue 444. He couldn't bear the risk of your seeing that I had in fact said nothing of the kind. Yes, he posted from Portal, and yes, Portal's news software is very restricted, but I'm a Portal customer myself, and it is not at all difficult to include and cite the text to which one is responding. I used to do it all the time when I read news there. Galt went on to detail some differences between junk phone calls and junk mail. Yes, junk mail is much less intrusive and much more easily dismissed and discarded. Galt, this will disappoint you, but I agree fully with the rest of your submission ... starting with the SECOND paragraph. 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@chinet.chi.il.us
peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) (06/26/90)
I notice the author of this article has an unlisted email address. So, who is John Galt? Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. <peter@ficc.ferranti.com> PS: Yes, I get the reference.
Tom Perrine <tep@tots.logicon.com> (06/28/90)
In article <9298@accuvax.nwu.edu> dattier@chinet.chi.il.us (David Tamkin) writes: >Someone who signed himself John David Galt (I see "John Galt" as a CB >handle quite a bit, so it must be the name of some fictional >character, and thus might not be the submitter's actual name) wrote in >volume 10, issue 452, completely misunderstanding my position: John Galt is the name of a primary character in Ann Rand's novel _Atlas Shrugged_. **SPOILER WARNING** Not to provide any killer spoilers: (some of which may even be remotely telecom related, in light of the recent discussions of LoD, search and seizure, etc.) This novel is centrally concerned with issues of freedom, personal choice and personal responsibility. As the society becomes increasingly coercive, and those who can't increasingly *demand* services from those who can, those who can "drop-out" and refuse to be slaves to the society. John Galt is the "leader" of those Atlases who refuse to be slaves of the society in which they have no say, and "shrug" the burdens that are imposed on them. All in all, an excellent book. Tom Perrine (tep) |Internet: tep@tots.Logicon.COM Logicon |UUCP: nosc!hamachi!tots!tep Tactical and Training Systems Division |-or- sun!suntan!tots!tep San Diego CA |GENIE: T.PERRINE "Harried: with preschoolers" |+1 619 455 1330 Home of the _Tower Operator Training System_ as seen in the SunTech Journal.
mcmahan@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Dave Mc Mahan) (06/28/90)
In a previous article, dattier@chinet.chi.il.us (David Tamkin) writes: >Someone who signed himself John David Galt (I see "John Galt" as a CB >handle quite a bit, so it must be the name of some fictional >character, and thus might not be the submitter's actual name) wrote in >volume 10, issue 452, completely misunderstanding my position: [Stuff deleted here] Yes, John Galt is a fictional character from the novel, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rynd. (I'm not sure of spelling of the author's name. It's been about fifteen years since I read the book). The plot was kind of thick, but basically the guy was thought (until the end of the novel) to be a fictitious person. In the book, it was very common to see the phrase, "Who is John Galt?" scrawled as graffiti in a decaying world. As I recall, he turned out to be a brilliant engineer who had dedicated himself to saving the world and was using a very non-conventional approach. -dave