msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) (04/13/89)
A while ago I posted an item to comp.dcom.telecom / the Telecom Digest about some alphabetization issues in telephone directories. I pointed out in particular that Bell Canada treats corporate names that consist of a string of initials in a special way, which generally results in them appearing at the front of the listings for their letter, in a sequence that isn't the one that most people would first think of. It turns out that normal users of the directories are not the only ones who may be confused by this. Two recent articles in our local area newsgroup "tor.general" have cited instances of Bell Canada directory assistance (411) operators being unable to locate listings, which actually existed, for so-named companies. (Of course, the fault may lie with badly designed database-query software rather than the queriers.) One of the companies was AT&T Canada! -- Mark Brader "A computer[']s view of the world is analogous [to] a SoftQuad Inc. flashlight in the dark. What they can see, they see Toronto well. What they can't see, they see not at all." utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com -- M. Valvo