telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (07/09/89)
(From the [News-Star], Chicago area newspaper, June 30, 1989) Lately, I find myself having the same conversation over and over: Caller: Hello. Is this the editor? Me: Only if you don't have a complaint. Caller (chuckling indulgently): Oh, no. I'm with Flack's Unlimited Public Relations, and I'm calling to get your fax-machine number. Me: Why? Caller: Why, what? Me: Why do you want our fax number? Caller: Because I want to send you something. Me: Can't you just mail it? Caller: But we want this to really stand out. We know that editors get dozens of pieces of mail a day, and we want to make sure this gets to you. Me: I'm sorry, but we are not giving out our fax number. We've been having trouble with obscene phone calls. Caller: I beg your pardon? Me: People have been making obscene calls to our fax machine. I'm sorry, you sound like a perfectly nice person, but you never know. Caller: Who on earth would make an obscene call to a fax machine? Me: You'd be surprised. The last guy was some pervert from Australia. The tone reminded him of a wild dingo in heat. (alternate answer) Me: Sorry, but our fax machine is staging a wildcat strike. No matter what you send it, it prints out the collected speeches of Samuel Gompers. The truth is, of course, I say these things because we don't like giving out our fax number to people. I know faxes are supposed to be great, time- saving conveniences, and indeed, there have been times when I've been glad to have mine around. But more and more, our fax is getting clogged up with advertisements, press releases that are utterly unsuitable for our newspaper, and other junk. This annoys me even more than nuisance phone calls. At least with a phone call, you get to slam the receiver in the guy's ear. Others are beginning to notice this problem. There is a movement afoot to restrict junk fax messages. Connecticut recently passed a law subjecting senders of unsolicited fax messages to a $200 fine. The way the law came to be passed was this: When the Connecticut state legislature passed the measure, some business lobbyists made a last minute effort to persuade the governor not to sign it. They inudated his office with -- you guessed it -- fax messages, tying up his machine for more than two hours and preventing his staff from receiving a report they needed. The governor, infuriated, signed the bill into law immediatly. I say, hat's off to Connecticut. And I'd like to send him a letter, but it might get lost in the shuffle. Does anybody know his fax number?