From: chelf@lunatix.uucp (Chad Helfenberger)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Caller ID block?
Date: 22 Dec 92 21:27:43 GMT
Organization: Lexington Public Access Unix. -KY- (606) 255-9121

[trimming some extra stuff]
   
In article <1992Dec22.145426.19388@cc.gatech.edu> byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff) writes:
>>>
>>>As for multiple phone lines it might be reasonable to exclude an entire area
>>>code + prefix. That'll usually get all the business lines. 
>>
>>Are you *truly* serious about the excluding an entire area code + prefix?  I 
>>laughed so hard when I read that I thought it must be a joke, however, 
>>reading the rest of your message, I assume you ARE serious.  Why would you 
>
>I'm deadly serious. And excluding a whole area code (which I would not do)
>or area code/prefix (which I would) only take one line in a kill file
>(i.e. 1-512-891-XXXX). No need to buy RAM each week at all.

Hmm.  I seem to remember that people don't always have the same number for 
the lifetime of their businesses or selves.  This would be ok, if that were 
true.  Everyone lived for a long time without Caller ID, and now it's like 
it's a basic human right or something.

>>want to continously make a list bigger and bigger, when you can easily just 
>>pick up the phone, listen, and if it is a telemarketer, you say, 'Do NOT 
>>call me EVER again.'  Then hang up.  Simple as that.  No need to buy a box, 
>>no need to shell out 40 bucks for another meg of RAM every week.
>
>You've obviously not dealt with a computer dialer. Sample:
>
[example of computerized marketers deleted]
>
>Ad-nauseum. They'll keep calling all day/all night until you talk to the
>sales-droid. Why do you think Congress finally had to grapple with legislation
>to prevent computer dialers. BTW did that pass?

Well, I have dealt with computer dialers, and I agree.  They are annoying as 
all get up.  However, yes, I believe the law has passed now.

>Even a persistent human telemarketer will keep on calling until you threaten
>to call the authorities. And even then you're annoyed by having you phone
>ring at all.

The first time the telemarketer calls, tell them if they call again you will 
take legal action.  If the droid doesn't seem to understand, ask to speak to 
a supervisor.  I get approximately 2 telemarketing calls a YEAR, since I 
started threatening them and not passing my number to businesses via CNID.

>>Why make it harder on the EMS/Hospital?  Why can't you remove the 1984 
>>aspects of this altogether and forget adding millions of numbers to a kill 
>>list as they are placed?  All the reasons you stated for using the emergency 
>>ID sequence (or whatever you want to call it) are very good arguments 
>>against CNID.
>
>The point I'm trying to make is that CNID give me the opportunity for me to
>decide who I want to have access, not the person calling. Every day I have
>telemarketers, computers, hangups, wrong numbers, late nite calls (usually
>wrong numbers) come over my phone. A true emergency is extremely, extremely
>rare and on the occasions that is has happened it's been someone I know anyway.
>So I'd gladly add a marginal discomfort (by having an emergency access code)
>to an extremely rare event in order to manage the garbage my phone receives
>on a 24/7 basis.

CNID doesn't prevent anyone from calling you.  It just doesn't ring your 
phone (in your 'black box' case, that is).  People can call you from a 
payphone, and you'd think they were allowing you to have their number.  
Anyway, in a lot of areas, when your phone is ringing (even if your box 
prevents it from ringing), your line is busy.  So building up this massive 
list of people who are not allowed to call you may busy out your phone when 
they call.

>My "kill list" as you call it will not be large. Actually there will be two
>small lists and all the rest:
>
>A List: Numbers to accept at any and all times. Parents, family, friends.
>F List: Numbers to reject at any and all times. Persistent computers, tele-
>        marketers, pranks, annoying people.
>Default: any other number not on list A or F.
>
>"A list" folks always get you, "F list" folks won't get you at all and depending

How can you say it will not be large?  If you add every telemarketer that 
calls you onto the 'F' list, then it *will* become QUITE large.

[inner workings of black box deleted]
>
>If you havn't noticed most every business in this country already has this
>method in place. They're called receptionists. All I want at home is a
>computer based receptionist.

One big difference.  Receptionists make notes of who calls.  CNID doesn't.  
Why?  Because CNID is not an AI box which converses with whoever calls.

>BTW you can laugh away but if/when I get this box built then if you try to call
>me you'll get an answering machine and my phone won't ring at all. And that
>my friend would make this "Big Brother" extremely happy ;-).

I won't laugh when you build it.  I wish you luck.  However, I think that 
this little black box is just a way to avoid telemarketers.  I find it fun 
to cuss them out, when they call.  I don't find it an annoyance, except in 
some cases.. Anyway, my opinion doesn't really matter.  I was just throwing 
that out there..

>BAJ
>
>---
>Another random extraction from the mental bit stream of...
>Byron A. Jeff - PhD student operating in parallel!
>Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332   Internet: byron@cc.gatech.edu

-- 
Chad Helfenberger
(chelf@lunatix.uucp) 
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk