SKASS@beta (02/01/90)
julian macassey <julian@bongo.uucp> writes: > If you really think that you are so wonderful that the great > unwashed should not be able to call you, there is a cheap and useful > solution: List your phone under a nom de guerre. Yes, just tell the > telco that you want the name in the phone book to be Ivan Boesky or > Jim Bakker. For free they will also not put in a street address. Not > only is this free, but now you can tell those really important people > how to reach you. You say: "I am listed as Ivan Boesky". So if they > are out for the evening and have left their Filofax in the Mercedes, > they can call Information and ask for Ivan Boesky. Seriously, will the telco do this for you? About 10 years ago, my roommate and I tried to get a listing as "A" with no address. We wanted to be able to give our number as "the first number in the phone book." We were refused because we were unable to produce a piece of identification with that name on it. The last time I visited Madison, WI, I noticed that there were dozens of listings for "A" with no address. What's the law say about this? Does anyone in Madison want to call "A" and investigate? Steve Kass [skass@drew.bitnet, 2014083614, 2015141187] Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Drew University Madison, NJ 07940 "An amount in this box means the fishing boat operator considers you self-employed." Reproduced without permission from my Form 1099. [Moderator's Note: Business subscribers have more flexibility in their choice of listings than residence subscribers. The listings you are referring to are invariably business subscribers. And the only guarentee of A with no street address being first is if the telephone number printed is (when taken as a whole number) of lesser value than some other subscriber who wants to be listed the same way. In other words, A (no address) ...221-0001 would be listed ahead of A (no address) with 997-9000 as the phone number. The final entry for many years in Chicago has been "Zzyzx, Isidore R. genl merchandise, 1706 S. Halsted, 942-1695" PT]
Rich Zellich <zellich@stl-07sima.army.mil> (02/02/90)
Unless it's been changed recently, I'm pretty sure that Southwestern Bell, here in Missouri, will list you under any name you want - this is specifically offered as a security feature, I believe. Also, you are entitled to TWO listings for each phone number - so you can list both husband and wife separately, for instance, but some people use "cute"/"trick" entries for their second listing (those few people who know they can get one, anyway... it's not exactly a heavily-advertised feature). Actually, I suspect the telco might balk at any listing name that might appear to be an attempt to defraud - listing yourself as "Southwestern Bell Telephone", for instance.
David Tamkin <dattier@chinet.chi.il.us> (02/03/90)
And it came to pass in Volume 10, Issue 69, that Jim Shankland wrote: | Two such entries from the San Francisco white pages (last name first | for both): | | Wheldone Rumproast IV | Wong Numba An acquaintance of mine had a spare line listed in his dog's name rather than paying for nonpublished service. He lives in a quite well-to-do area. The billing records are in his own name but the directory listing is in the name of his pampered pooch. Nonetheless, the lucky canine, whose sole economic presence is a telephone listing in a posh zip code, receives mail with offers of credit cards, solicitations from brokerage houses, and such. It's a dog's life. David Tamkin PO Box 813 Rosemont IL 60018-0813 708-518-6769 312-693-0591 dattier@chinet.chi.il.us BIX: dattier GEnie: D.W.TAMKIN CIS: 73720,1570
Jody Kravitz <kravitz%network@ucsd.edu> (02/05/90)
> Two such entries from the San Francisco white pages (last name first > for both): > Wheldone Rumproast IV > Wong Numba A few years ago, when I lived in a residential neighborhood next to the University of Illinois campus, a friend of mine pointed out two unusual phone listings at a single address about a block from me: R. E. Sident O. C. Cupant I was very tempted to forward all my third class mail to them. Jody Kravitz (decvax|ucbvax|ihnp4)!sdcsvax!net1!kravitz ARPA: kravitz%net1@sdcsvax.EDU
carl@uwm.edu (Carl A. Pick) (02/08/90)
Our home number is in my wife's maiden name. Besides being a free unlisted number, it has the benefit that if someone calls asking for Barbara [maiden-name], I know it's probably someone trying to sell us something.