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I hate telephones

jameshfisher.com

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Re: I hate telephones

#351

Post by rootw0rm »

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…

So basically iOS doesn't do it better and equally sucks.

Re: I hate telephones

#353

Post by djhworld »

I wonder if it's an introvert/extrovert thing.

You see typically extroverted people having no problems with being on the phone all the time, probably because they call equally extroverted people who do the same. Look at sales people, or people who have to work with other people a lot, they approach the phone as a tool for getting what they want and quickly.

My solution, as an introvert, is to never answer calls from people who are not my family. I have a twillio service setup that manages my voicemail and sends me an SMS message of the transcription, that way I can review the content and purpose of the call and decide what to do next (although I don't think Twilio's voice transcription service can accurately decipher British accents that well so you do end up with some hilarious results)

99% of time it's either recruiters who've managed to scalp my number from somewhere, or the odd spam caller.

Re: I hate telephones

#354

Post by djhworld »

nicky0 wrote: post #338
jessriedel wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you subscribed to this bizarre principle that it's rude to call someone unannounced, you could always just ask by text.

I find the principle that it's OK to call people at any time very bizarre.

I think it depends when you were born.

In the 70s/80s/90s it was very common to get phone calls (on landline phones) at all times of the day from family members or friends.

I remember being on the phone to friends from school for hours in the evening, I don't even recall the subject matter of the conversations but it's just what you did.

Then as more and more people got on the internet, using other communication mediums like IM, IRC email etc became more and more common, and nowadays I'd find it very unusual for someone to call me out of the blue.

Re: I hate telephones

#355

Post by djhworld »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #48

There are a number of phone answering services that will ameliorate this issue. These guys charge $1/call ( http://www.answeramerica.com/telephone-answering-service-pri... ) (no relation to them). In terms of startup ideas, there is probably an Uber like service opportunity here. An app where your "operators" can download and put on their phone, and when ever they want to they can put them selves "active" at which po…

Seems a bit overkill for personal use.

I use Twilio with a small bit of code to call their APIs when I receive a voicemail, and send me an SMS transcription of the content of the audio.

Costs much less than $1 a call!

Re: I hate telephones

#358

Post by djhworld »

Making phone calls "unnannounced" has always been a struggle of mine, mainly because I start to think "am I bothering them?" and then negative thoughts start to flood in. I do have anxiety issues which I go to therapy for, but I'd put making phonecalls lower down the priority list of things to tackle because it's not that important to me in the grand scheme of things.

Completely irrational, I know, but that's where I'm at. Usually if I want to make a phonecall I arrange it with the person for a set time that suits both parties.

Re: I hate telephones

#359

Post by djhworld »

xg15 wrote: post #200

> I hate telephones. > The problem is the medium. The problem is synchronous communication. The problem is the telephone. I hate telephones. > I’m told that, in 1993, 2.5 million people in the UK had “telephone phobia”. That’s over 4%, similar to rates of arachnophobia. This is not unusual, and I’d bet rates are higher now. Everyone hates telephones. > ... Asynchronous textual communication is how everyone communicat…

I like communicating with companies via live chat. You can do it discreetly without bothering people around you (e.g. in an office) and usually your situation can be expressed better in text, and you have a transcription at the end to keep to.

For example a few weeks ago I was having problems with my phone, so I contacted OnePlus via their chat, and the lady on the other end arranged the RMA process quickly.

Much quicker than having to enunciate my email address, home address etc over the phone, plus I had a transcription that I could refer to afterwards in follow up emails.

Re: I hate telephones

#360

Post by djhworld »

dheera wrote: post #306

I hate not just telephones, but being funneled into this whole culture of being disturbed, and disturbing people anywhere, anytime, at will, for things that can wait. As both an introvert and a technical person I do almost everything I do with deep concentration, whether that be coding, playing piano, reading papers, biking, driving, or hiking. A single phone ring, a single "hey what's up", while I'm in the middle of…

> I spend a lot of time outdoors, on public transit, and so on, and the last thing I need is a bunch of bystanders staring and eavesdropping on my calls, and even commenting on what I'm speaking

I guess just some people don't have any issues with this, when I'm out and about I do see a lot of people on the phone all the time - usually through a bluetooh headset or other ear piece.

Wouldn't dream of it myself, but different strokes for different folks I guess!

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