[net.news] Phone Numbers - Now yah gotta be kidding!

jrc@ritcv.UUCP (James R. Carbin) (12/23/84)

  >From: piet@mcvax.UUCP (Piet Beertema)
  >Date: Fri, 21-Dec-84 07:41:28 EST
  >Reply-To: piet@mcvax.UUCP (Piet Beertema)
      >>Wouldnt it be nice if everyone in the US admitted the existence of
      >>the rest of the world and specified their phone numbers CORRECTLY
      >>preceded with a +1, instead of the (parochial) >area code in brackets
  >Yes, please!

     Aren't we being just a wee bit picky here.... no matter what standard
you utilize, any standard is going to be "foreign" in many parts of the world.
For example, even though the U.S. Military utilizes the 24 hour clock, the first
time I ever saw a clock with 24 hours on the face was on the outside of the
train station in Copenhagen.....  sorry but in the U.S., we're accustomed to
the old "a.m." and "p.m." even though the 24 hour clock is used on the net.
Won't you recognize how we tell time?  And how about the date.  In most of the
European countries, it is the "day, month, year" while in the States it is
"month, day, and year."  And in many parts of the world, they would even
challenge you as to what year it is.

     Don't we have more important issues that these?   Living only 65 miles
from the Canadian Border, (40+ if I go in my sailboat), I find few problems
adjusting to their parochial spellings (i.e. centre, colour, etc.) and I have 
not heard any of my Canadian friends complain about our spellings. I believe the
adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," is 	quite appropriate in this case.

j.r.       {alegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!jrc

P.S.  An examination of my passport shows a visa from 21 other countries.....
      so I'll admit that life exists beyond our borders.      :-)