wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (David Lesher) (03/03/90)
I caught the NPR Morning Edition report on CID on the 19th, I think.
All was normal, until I heard the C+P mouthpiece. She quoted the usual
'miss of mass information' including the emergency services one. (It
*would* be interesting to get a list of these 'emergency services'
that have CID, not 911 service)
Then she stated statistics on annoying calls in the prior quarter and
it hit me.
Folks, Ma's kids don't just want Caller-ID for the revenue it
generates directly. THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF HELPING YOU ON
ANNOYING CALLS. Look, as it stands now, if Mary Sue (or for that
matter Joe Bob) calls up and says "this creep calls me at all hours
and swears at me," Ma's kids try to get you to ignore it, but if it
continues, they put {whatever today's CO version of} CallTrace {is} on
your pair, and then call the Phone_police etc.
When they have CID, they can say:
"Don't call us; call your rep, pay for CID, and THEN
give the cops the number."
Bang. Instant out for the LEC. Now, it's YOUR problem. Anyone want to
wager a 400H adapter, or a directory sheet (;-}) against me on this
one???
A host is a host & from coast to coast...wb8foz@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
no one will talk to a host that's close..............(305) 255-RTFM
Unless the host (that isn't close)......................pob 570-335
is busy, hung or dead....................................33257-0335msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu (Mark Robert Smith) (03/04/90)
A quick reminder: The areas that support Caller*ID also support Call*Trace, which doesn't require Caller*ID. Here's how it works. In NJ, Call*Trace is enabled on every line where CLASS services are enabled. To trace a call, you type *57 (or 1157 from a dial phone) immediately after hanging up from the annoying/threatening call. It costs you $1/trace. NJ Bell won't give the results to you - they need to be given to a "proper authority". In most cases, this means you need to call your local police, press charges, and give them your number, the time and date of the trace. Then, they call the "Harassment Department" or whatever it's called of NJ Bell, and NJ Bell gives them the number. They can then press a criminal charge on the owner of that line if you and they desire. Note that it's probably just a kid, in which case the police will scare the bejeezus out of him/her and ask you to drop the charges. I got Caller*ID to prevent crank calls. I have not had the opportunity to use Call*Trace, however, as I won't bug the police until the caller bothers me a few times. I have found that by reading the crank his phone number, and then CALLING BACK to ask why he was harassing me generally prevents future calls. (Yes, I did this once, and the kid never bugged me again. He sounded really sheepish when I called him back.) Mark Smith, KNJ2LH All Rights Reserved RPO 1604 You may redistribute this article only if those who P.O. Box 5063 receive it may do so freely. New Brunswick, NJ 08903-5063 msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu
stank@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (Stan Krieger) (03/05/90)
> Folks, Ma's kids don't just want Caller-ID for the revenue it > generates directly. THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF HELPING YOU ON > ANNOYING CALLS. > When they have CID, they can say: > "Don't call us; call your rep, pay for CID, and THEN > give the cops the number." I have opposed Caller ID from the moment NJ Bell announced it, and even wrote a letter to the president of the company forbidding him from presenting my number to anyone but the local police department, fire department, and rescue squad. A few weeks later, a trained propagandist from NJ Bell called me and tried to convince me how wonderful the service was; he didn't. As far as I am concerned, the only people/groups who NEED caller ID are: 1. Police Department 2. Fire Department 3. Ambulance/Rescue/First Aid squad 4. Businesses that take phone orders (like a pizzaria). As far as the big non-argument that the Baby Bells use; specifically, it will cut down on annoying calls by identifying the caller, the technology to track down such calls (do they call it "Call Trace"?) exists separate from, although obviously related to, the Caller ID feature; this alone negates the entire "prank call" reason as a NEED for Caller ID. The bottom line is that private residences do not NEED Caller ID. Now, for those of you who say that you want to know who's calling so you can "screen" calls, as if you can decide merely from seeing an incoming phone number which calls are "important", "beneficial", or "meaningful" to you, all I can say is "Aren't you special?" (use a Dana Carvey Church Lady voice as you read this last quoted item). Since the "prank call" reason just doesn't exist as a justification for Caller ID, the only other reason people would like Caller ID is to "avoid" certain callers, and I'm sure in most cases, the callers they want to "avoid" are those they owe money to. And if that's the reason anyone thinks they need Caller ID, it's probably the best justification for not letting them have it. Finally, and this point hasn't even been discussed, has anyone noticed that as soon as Caller ID was announced, there were already phones available to display the information? Obviously this means that the Baby Bells had a whole sales and propaganda campaign already set up well before they went to their first public utility commission with this great "new" service idea. Stan Krieger Summit, NJ ...!att!attunix!smk
peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) (03/06/90)
> Folks, Ma's kids don't just want Caller-ID for the revenue it > generates directly. THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF HELPING YOU ON > ANNOYING CALLS. Since they DON'T HELP YOU ON ANNOYING CALLS ANYWAY, who cares? Like you say, they give you the runaround. Even after you get the extra CLASS services short of Caller*ID, they'll still give you the runaround. What good is Call*Trace if no action is ever taken? I just want the tools to solve my own bloody problem. And according to that same NPR segment, it's working. I wish SWBell would quit trying to scam extra bucks out of BBS operators to subsidise their truely awful videotex service (which they just dropped out of, anyway), and get to work on something that'll actually do us some good. _--_|\ Peter da Silva. +1 713 274 5180. <peter@ficc.uu.net>. / \ \_.--._/ Xenix Support -- it's not just a job, it's an adventure! v "Have you hugged your wolf today?" `-_-'