Miguel_Cruz@ub.cc.umich.edu (03/23/89)
Roger Critchow writes: "The phone number by itself cannot identify anyone" That is, of course, unless you live in Illinois or several other states which provide public CN/A (Customer Name and Address) services, much like a reverse directory bureau. If I live in Chicago and someone calls my line with CPID, I can know who they are in a matter of minutes by dialing 769-9600 (I think that's right.. it's something like that). And, at any rate, the telephone number identifies someone insofar as it doesn't identify anyone else; being unique, there is always a way to find it out. The wife-beater who gets a call from his wife-in-hiding can narrow her location down by the area code and prefix, then look through the phone book for a few likely establishments (shelters, etc.) and pin her down pretty quickly. MC [Moderator's Note: The number for CNA in Chicago is 312-796-9600. Locally it is a fifty cent call. They cover all of area code 312, and will give you the name and address of listed numbers, or nothing if the number is non-pub. PT]
msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) (04/03/89)
> Illinois or several other states ... > provide public CN/A (Customer Name and Address) services, much > like a reverse directory bureau. In the early 1960's when I lived in Edmonton, Alberta, a form of reverse directory was included right in the public directory, as "Pink Pages". Where the white pages might say Brader S L 12219 51st St ........... 477-7474 the pink ones would just have 7474 Brader as an entry under the heading 477; thus they were much shorter than the white pages. I was too young in those days to think of investigating whether the pink pages listings included all phone numbers or only some classes thereof, and I have no idea when they stopped doing that. By the way, that was my actual phone number. Best one I've ever had, though for most of the time we had it, it was still GRanite 7-7474. My present one has a pretty nice pattern, too: 488-6366. Unfortunately, the number 488-6636 belongs to a business. -- Mark Brader "It can be amusing, even if painful, to watch the SoftQuad Inc., Toronto ethnocentrism of those who are convinced their utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com local standards are universal." -- Tom Chapin