From: bobk@dogear.spk.wa.us (Bob Kirkpatrick)
Newsgroups: pnw.general,seattle.general
Subject: Re: CALLER ID
Date: 27 Aug 92 18:55:04 GMT
Organization: Dog Ear'd Systems of Spokane, WA

mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU (Mark Crispin) writes:

>      The reason for the delay is that a small, noisy, and very well-organized
> group has been fighting Caller ID tooth and nail.  For whatever reason, they
> claim we have no right to know who is calling us.  They demand a feature so
> that the caller can suppress Caller ID, and that it be automatic.

Baloney, Mark. They have no problem with the "who" of calls, it's the 
broadcasting of the caller's number which is under contention.

If there was a way to send the "who" of a call, then I'd be all for it. But
as it is, it's sending a "where.' That I don't think much of. Yes, there are
a ton of ways for people to get my phone number, but I'd really prefer it
if I gave it out, rather than it being broadcast.

Already there are a slew of ways that businesses get my number. A good 
portion of the "junk" calls I get come from business which didn't use
a number generator to call, but used a list they got from somewhere. 
Perhaps you don't mind having your evenings with the family interrupted
(I've had nights where I got 8 of these crap calls), but I certainly do.
If I want something, I'll go buy it. I don't want companies chasing me
down in an attempt to make a sale.

>      The problem is, that makes Caller ID useless.  I can't simply ignore
> calls with no ID, because it could be coming from someone in a region where
> the switch does not yet support the ID signals.  The risk of missing the
> "Help, I'm at a pay phone at xx, the car broke down, nobody's around, it's
> getting cold and dark and I'm scared, come get me!!" call is serious.  I'm
> also not sure what sort of ID, if any, would appear with international calls.

If you're worried about "Help" calls, then answer the phone whether or not
it pops up the phone number. But don't make me have to have a service YOU
want when I don't. If I can't disable sending my phone number, I don't want
it.

>      Bottom line: I can understand anonymous calls from a pay phone, or from 
> region where technical limitations prevent it.  Otherwise, I don't want
> anonymous calls, and I don't agree with the bizarre notion that there is some
> `right' to make anonymous calls.

I don't believe that there's anyone who's suggesting that they be allowed
to make anonymous calls. What people don't want is to give their number to
every Tom, Dick, and Harry. To put in caller id would be to shut down the
phone company's "unpublished" system. We may as well all be listed. Well,
I have some pretty damn legitimate reasons for not wanting my number out.
I work for the Superior Court. In my function, I deal with parent's of kids
who have been abused or neglected. Quite a few of these folks aren't as
balanced as we'd like to believe most of society is, and it's agency policy
to keep our home phones from the clients. Since we do most of our work at
home, caller id would certainly place quite a few of us in an unnecessary
jeopady. The calls I make are anything but anonymous, these people know
exactly who I am --but the phone numbers we have are witheld.

Now, if you don't answer the phone when there is no ID, and others do the
same, then if people like me become exempted from caller id and you don't
take the call --well, you're going to have a cop in your home or in your
place of work. 

For an emergency service to have the ability to see where a call is made
from is a Good Thing. The reasons are manifold. The reasons for personal
caller id don't carry the weight though. One of the reasons that the
phone company is dragging it's feet is NOT the lobby against the service.
Instead, it's the very valid reasons why caller id shouldn't be made
widely available which they're looking at. And they should. If a system
I didn't want caused my family or property harm, you can bet your butt
I'd sue them out of a million years worth of the revenues they'd gain
from offering the service. And, I'm anything but alone.