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I hate telephones

jameshfisher.com

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Re: I hate telephones

#291

Post by wildrhythms »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #181
lifeformed wrote: post #124

Getting a phone call always feels so rude. It's like it's saying, "Whatever you are doing, stop RIGHT NOW and listen to me. NOW! NOW! I'm giving you TEN SECONDS! LISTEN TO ME."

Just don’t answer, or, better yet, stick your phone on silent or do not disturb when you are busy. you’re projecting that emotion on to the caller, I see an incoming call as an indication that someone would like to speak to me, it a demand for attention. If I can’t take the call I won’t answer and will call them back (or email to arrange a more suitable time) when I can.

Why not do this first every time?

> email to arrange a more suitable time

Or better yet, provide the important details over email and then if there is some unimaginable reason why an audio medium is still required to convey information (identify a bird call? place a long distance call with a whistle?) then contact over the phone.

Re: I hate telephones

#292

Post by durkie »

figurehe4d wrote: post #173
izacus wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

20 spam calls per day? That sounds like torture... is there really no body in USA that would prevent that from happening? (I've never received a spam call on my now 20 year old phone number.)

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way, the ones that DO give you the option to be 'do not call' will forward your number to other spammers, actually increasing the spam calls you get. Do not ask them to put you on the d-n-c list! Here's what does work (in my experience): answer the call, but say nothing, heck, mute your phone mic if you have to. Just give them silence. I'm not sure if there's some 'person on the oth…

Hey this is exactly what I do! Answer and then mute immediately. Any real person will just say "hello?" and the bots get confused and just hang up (and don't call back). I get 1 spam call every 2 months maybe.

Re: I hate telephones

#293

Post by aero142 »

kemayo wrote: post #61
kibwen wrote: post #37

I receive about 20 spam calls per day. In contrast, I receive about 0.2 legitimate calls per day. Google itself suspects that these are spam calls, because it pops up a bright red "SUSPECTED SPAM CALLER" warning when the phone begins ringing. And yet, I have found no option to have the phone automatically decline the call. There's not even an option to silence the ringer for any call not from my contacts; I actually…

Strangely enough, given Android's comparatively-customizable nature, I think this is an area where iOS does it better? (Others might correct me.) iOS 10 added "call blocking" as an app-type, which lets you choose apps which can filter phone calls for you. They can flag calls as possible-spam, or completely block them. (See [1] for Hiya's options screen, as an example.) An "only ring for my friends" feature is sort of…

The problem with Hiya as I understand it is that it is limited by CallKit list size. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think Apple's implementation requires a fully offline call list so that your phone calls are not sent to a public server and could be logged. This means that the number of phone numbers that Hiya can call spam must be downloaded ahead of time and loaded into CallKit. What I see often is that a phone number will not be flagged as spam, but if I query the number through the app later, it will correctly show it as spam. Someone correct my if I am wrong, but I think this is the problem.

Re: I hate telephones

#294

Post by marklyon »

kibwen wrote: post #37

I receive about 20 spam calls per day. In contrast, I receive about 0.2 legitimate calls per day. Google itself suspects that these are spam calls, because it pops up a bright red "SUSPECTED SPAM CALLER" warning when the phone begins ringing. And yet, I have found no option to have the phone automatically decline the call. There's not even an option to silence the ringer for any call not from my contacts; I actually…

Do you have T-Mobile? The Spam Caller thing is actually a feature they implemented a while back. You can set the system to block such calls, but the FCC wouldn’t let them automatically block calls without user permission.

[0] http://explore.t-mobile.com/callprotection

Re: I hate telephones

#295

Post by wildrhythms »

astura wrote: post #253

I literally will patronize business that cost a little more just because they let me schedule online. For me, I'll give an example - chimney sweep. The company I use lets me request a service appointment online and lists it's prices online. The rest I saw I had to call for both prices and appointments. No, thanks.

Calling for prices... outside of very special circumstances, no thank you!

"If you have to ask for the price, then you can't afford it."

Well, I probably can afford it, but if I have to ask for the price then the business is asking more from me than I am of them. I'll go with whatever competitor doesn't seem to be actively hiding something from me, thanks.

Re: I hate telephones

#296

Post by thisisit »

kibwen wrote: post #37

I receive about 20 spam calls per day. In contrast, I receive about 0.2 legitimate calls per day. Google itself suspects that these are spam calls, because it pops up a bright red "SUSPECTED SPAM CALLER" warning when the phone begins ringing. And yet, I have found no option to have the phone automatically decline the call. There's not even an option to silence the ringer for any call not from my contacts; I actually…

I recently bought a land line phone because mobile reception in my house was terrible and attending work meetings was troublesome. One of these days I start getting spam on the landline and then I realised there is no "reject" or "silent" button. I had to pickup a call to reject it which seemed like a chore in the age of mobile phones.

Re: I hate telephones

#297

Post by wildrhythms »

walshemj wrote: post #246

Anyone exhibiting Mr Fishers phobia needs to consider seeing a therapist - Its going to cause them major problems at work and socially. I have noticed a reluctance to use the goddammed phone as intended - rather than call me to discus something important and time sensitive people will just add a task to base camp in a some what passive aggressive way

I have no social anxiety or fear of public speaking or anything of the sort (I studied theatre for years and now I do improv in my free time). I have no problems at work; I like to think I have no problems socially.

Yet I also hate telephones for all of the reasons that the author listed. Part of a past job involved helping customers over the phone. Calls are interruptive, unreliable, and inefficient. Repeating names, addresses, numbers, or relying on customers to accurately describe something. There is no real authentication.

Maybe it's a good medium for people who have trouble writing/typing effectively.

My friends do not use the telephone either. We agree where/when via text or email.

Re: I hate telephones

#298

Post by raintrees »

izacus wrote: post #65
kibwen wrote: post #37

I receive about 20 spam calls per day. In contrast, I receive about 0.2 legitimate calls per day. Google itself suspects that these are spam calls, because it pops up a bright red "SUSPECTED SPAM CALLER" warning when the phone begins ringing. And yet, I have found no option to have the phone automatically decline the call. There's not even an option to silence the ringer for any call not from my contacts; I actually…

20 spam calls per day? That sounds like torture... is there really no body in USA that would prevent that from happening? (I've never received a spam call on my now 20 year old phone number.)

Many years ago I used to take the time to put the calling number into a ProComm script for a modem to dial repeatedly every 3 minutes for several hours, if they were toll free to me (expense to the original caller). I had way too much time on my hands then...

Re: I hate telephones

#299

Post by chipperyman573 »

mbrameld wrote: post #260
giblfiz wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general this doesn't work out as well as you would hope. In many cases (financial, medical, legal) another person can't trivially act as your agent. (I.E. your secretary can't do it for you) I think the very wealthy handle this via specialists with specific licensing, but I personally had no luck going the virtual assistant route.

Is that true even with a power of attorney?

Do you really want to grant an app power of attorney over you? That's like adding yourself as a co-signer of a loan. If they mess something up, it's your problem and "they should have know I didn't want that" isn't usually considered a valid reason to undo anything.

Re: I hate telephones

#300

Post by PhasmaFelis »

thisisit wrote: post #296
kibwen wrote: post #37

I receive about 20 spam calls per day. In contrast, I receive about 0.2 legitimate calls per day. Google itself suspects that these are spam calls, because it pops up a bright red "SUSPECTED SPAM CALLER" warning when the phone begins ringing. And yet, I have found no option to have the phone automatically decline the call. There's not even an option to silence the ringer for any call not from my contacts; I actually…

I recently bought a land line phone because mobile reception in my house was terrible and attending work meetings was troublesome. One of these days I start getting spam on the landline and then I realised there is no "reject" or "silent" button. I had to pickup a call to reject it which seemed like a chore in the age of mobile phones.

I think that depends on the phone model. I recall owning a cordless home phone years ago where you could just hit the Hang Up button without answering first.
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