From: chelf@lunatix.uucp (Chad Helfenberger)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Caller ID block?
Date: 17 Dec 92 16:38:58 GMT
Organization: Lexington Public Access Unix. -KY- (606) 255-9121

In article <BzD8s8.E0n@ns1.nodak.edu> csmith@plains.NoDak.edu (Carl Smith) writes:
>>
>>What will you people do if someone calls from a payphone?
>
>Hmmm... I had planned on building some sort of smart call router whenever
>caller ID became available in my area.  But I had never thought of this...

Well, pay phones are looking nicer and nicer when people insist upon having 
my number (if/when I call them).  Why must everyone know who is calling them 
before they pick up thet phone?  If you don't like who is calling you, just 
scream obscenties to them and hang up.  Big deal.

>>And why do you seem to believe you are "owed" the number of the person calling?
>>You haven't had it for years.
>
>Just because we haven't had it doesn't mean we don't deserve it.
>
>People say that caller id is an invasion of privacy.  I say that everytime
>my phone rings it is an invasion of MY privacy.  The act of my answering the
>phone or not, and what the other party might hear in the background, could
>potentially reveal all sorts of info about myself that I might wish to keep
>private.  In the past that was just the price we paid for the convenience of
>the telephone.  In my opinion,  in return the caller OWES it to me to reveal
>who they are.
>
You say EVERYTIME the phone rings, it is invasion of your privacy.  Let me 
guess.  But ONLY if it is someone you don't want to talk to?  Right?  I 
figured so.  Let me clue you in on something.  You could 'potenitally reveal 
all sorts of info about' yourself when talking to ANYONE on the phone, not 
just someone who you don't want to talk to.  

If Calling-#-ID is not ruled unconstitutional (which it IS), then there must 
be some sort of protocol which will be followed by called parties and 
calling parties.  WHY in the HELL would you want to give out your number to 
anyone you called?  Why don't you Caller ID freaks put yourself on the other 
end of the line for a minute.


>Here's a similar scenario.  Suppose my doorbell rings.  I can look though
>the peep hole and see who it is.  If the person on the other side is
>carrying a case that says "Handy Dandy Brush Sales," or I just don't like
>their looks, I can choose to not open the door.  Also, if you knocked on
>the door and someone said "Who's there?" and you refused to answer, could
>you actually expect them to open the door?
>
>This all parallels caller id quite nicely.  If I don't recognize your number
>I won't answer the phone, just like I won't answer the door if I don't like
>the looks of the person on the other side.  And if you call with your ID
>blocked, I wouldn't even consider answering the phone, just like it would
>be totally out of the question to open the door to someone who refused to
>answer when I said "Who's there?"
>

That doesn't parallel *Calling-#-ID* at all.  When someone calls that you 
don't want to talk to, it's merely an inconvenience.  When some freak is at 
your door, your life could be at danger.  Please pick your analogies with a 
little more realism.
-- 
Chad Helfenberger
(chelf@lunatix.uucp) 
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk