Patent ID: 8270582

Claim:
A method of processing a call from a caller, the method comprising: receiving from a telecommunication system at a call processing system a first communication indicating that a first call directed to a first telephonic device address is in progress, wherein the first call is received at the telecommunication system via the Public Switched Telephone Network and the first telephonic device address is associated with a user; accessing from computer readable memory associated with the call processing system a call routing instruction associated with the first telephonic device address; based at least in part on the call routing instruction, causing at least in part a second call to be placed to a first telephonic device and a third call to be placed to a second telephonic device, wherein the second call and the third call are placed at substantially the same time; causing at least in part the first and second telephonic devices to ring with a first ring type in association with the second call and the third call, respectively; if the second call and the third call are not timely answered: terminating the second call and the third call; causing at least in part the first call to be routed to the call processing system; causing at least in part a fourth call to be placed to the first telephonic device and a fifth call to be placed to the second telephonic device, wherein the fourth call and the fifth call are placed at substantially the same time; causing at least in part the first and second telephonic devices to ring with respect to the fourth call and the fifth call, wherein the first and second telephonic devices alert with a distinctive ring as compared to the first ring type associated with the second call and the third call, and wherein the distinctive ring provides an indication to the user that if the user answers the first and/or the second telephonic devices, the call will be in a screening mode of operation; causing at least in part a message to be played to the caller asking the caller to leave a message; if the user timely answers the first and/or the second telephonic devices while the caller is listening to the call processing system or leaving a message, causing a one-way talk path between the caller and the user to be established, wherein the user can hear the caller and the caller does not hear the user.