glee@cognos.uucp (Godfrey Lee) (01/24/89)
>>I believe the time has come to do something about nuisance phone calls. >I found after I installed an answering machine, that junk callers >usually hang up when they realize they got an answering >machine. Problem is that there are more and more automated phone solicitations. With these you don't get the satisfaction of hanging up on them, and if you have an answering machine, you get junk filling up your tape! I do sense some consumer rebellion on this though, I got a few of them about a year ago, but lately have gotten none, what is the situation in the rest of Canada and in the U.S.? -- Godfrey Lee P.O. Box 9707 Cognos Incorporated 3755 Riverside Dr. VOICE: (613) 738-1338 x3802 FAX: (613) 738-0002 Ottawa, Ontario UUCP: uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!glee CANADA K1G 3Z4
gdelong@cvman.UUCP (Gary Delong) (02/01/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0031m05@vector.UUCP>, glee@cognos.uucp (Godfrey Lee) writes: > >>I believe the time has come to do something about nuisance phone calls. > >I found after I installed an answering machine, that junk callers > >usually hang up when they realize they got an answering > >machine. > > Problem is that there are more and more automated phone solicitations. With > these you don't get the satisfaction of hanging up on them, and if you have > an answering machine, you get junk filling up your tape! > > I do sense some consumer rebellion on this though, I got a few of them about > a year ago, but lately have gotten none, what is the situation in the rest > of Canada and in the U.S.? I too think it's time to do something about unsolicited calls from both machines and humans. I firmly believe that "blind calls" should be prohibited. How about a statute that would prohibit anyone from using the phone to solicit business, contributions, or any other support from anyone unless the person or organization being called was either a) presently doing business with the caller or b) had shown positive interest in the caller's organization within the last six months. I know that this is really very wishfull thinking, but wouldn't it be nice? Presently I respond to automated solicitations in one of two ways. 1) Since most of the machines use a VOX to control the recording of the victim's responses, I let them listen to a local radio talk show until their system times out. 2) I leave EXTREMLY obscene messages for whoever gets to transcribe the victim's responses for followup. Such messages usually suggest unique things that they might attempt with their automated equipment. I've even thought about renting some of this equipment and having it call all the state legislators' work and home numbers repetitively until they get the message. Any other ideas? -- _____ / \ / Gary A. Delong, N1BIP gdelong@cvman.prime.com | \ / COMPUTERVISION Division {sun|linus}!cvbnet!gdelong \____\/ Prime Computer, Inc. (603) 622-1260 x 261
roskos@ida.org (Eric Roskos) (02/06/89)
> Problem is that there are more and more automated phone solicitations. With > these you don't get the satisfaction of hanging up on them, and if you have > an answering machine, you get junk filling up your tape! Ah, but you do get the satisfaction of telling them what you think of their annoying calls, if it's the interactive type of machine. Many of these advertisements ask you a question at some point ("do you plan to buy real estate within the next six months? In what area?" "What brand of coffee do you currently drink?" etc.). I've found that these machines seem to keep recording as long as you keep talking. So, you can tell them that you don't appreciate being bothered by their calls, at some length and detail, and the machine seems to keep recording. This is not a very courteous thing to do, but neither are the machine-generated phone calls.
len@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Leonard P Levine) (02/09/89)
Could not the phone company be asked/required to institute a tarrif that bills the caller 3 times if the called party hangs up first? Social etiquette would then requre that you let your caller hang up unless you were pissed with them, otherwise you hang up on them. Free enterprise extra cost is a real good way to control excess. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + | Leonard P. Levine e-mail len@evax.milw.wisc.edu | | Professor, Computer Science Office (414) 229-5170 | | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Home (414) 962-4719 | | Milwaukee, WI 53201 U.S.A. Modem (414) 962-6228 | + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +