CFAJS@ecncdc.bitnet (TONY SCHAEFFER) (12/17/89)
This may be an anachronism, but: In the mid fifties, when I was in high school, Cincinnati Bell used 411 as a ring back number. If you dialed 411 and hung up, your phone would ring back. This worked well because it was easy to "dial" 411 by pushing the hook on a phone without a dial. Then someone else would have to answer - nothing. Life was simpler then! :) Tony Schaeffer Eastern Illinois University [Moderator's Note: It sure was simpler, and the phone service was much better, relative to the technology available at the time. Chicago used to use 571 (pause for new tone), 6 for ringback. We could also test the accuracy of the touch tone buttons by entering (after the 6) the digits 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0. If they were all on the proper frequency, the CO would respond with two short tone spurts. Now we use 1-571 through 1-577 followed by the last four of the calling number. Whether it is 571, 572, 573....577 depends on your CO. Thanks for your note. PT]