As a personal aside, I once had a scrap of paper with Douglas Adams' email address written in his own hand, which he gave me in the course of a brief conversation after a book signing.
Sadly, it was lost in a fire a few years later.
Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
81–90 of 104 posts
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#82pre internet, your name, address, and phone number would published in the widely distributed telephone book. if you were a big celebrity, you could get an "unlisted" number (I think you had to pay for it), but that was relatively rare. you might recall, the opening of the original Terminator film (1984, same time period) hinges on this idea: the robot has a name and a city, he tears that page out of a phone book in a…
> pre internet, your name, address, and phone number would published in the widely distributed telephone book Not sure where you’re from, but at least in the countries where I’ve lived (Canada and the US) your address was not in the phone book. It was a book of phone numbers - nothing more.
> Not sure where you’re from, but at least in the countries where I’ve lived (Canada and the US) your address was not in the phone book. It was a book of phone numbers - nothing more.
I'm pretty sure addresses were listed US West (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_West) telephone book White Pages.
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#83It's not called doxxing if it was a mistake. Doing is doing it to put people in danger.
doxing, the act of exposing private or identifying information on the Internet about an individual or group without the person’s or group’s consent, usually with malicious intent.
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#84apparently his "new home" is on sale
https://themovemarket.com/tools/propertyprices/22-duncan-ter...
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still very much a thing in Norway
In Norway, the phone book hasn't been published since 2012. What are you referring to?
The online version: https://www.gulesider.no/
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was literally no other way to get in contact with anyone, other than ringing their doorbell if you already knew where they lived, or asking around. Getting unlisted was unusual, and for most, would defeat the point of having a phone in the first place. At least where I was from, early 90s, exchanging contacts was not something people did casually either, only for business or love (email/ICQ changed this when th…
Even in the early 2000s, when I dropped my landline, my parents (born in the 1930s) were aghast. "How will people get in contact with you? You won't be in the phone book!"
The only reason we still have a landline is because of my elderly parents. My dad complained at me the other day because my mobile number is always changing (it has been the same for 26 years).
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was literally no other way to get in contact with anyone, other than ringing their doorbell if you already knew where they lived, or asking around. Getting unlisted was unusual, and for most, would defeat the point of having a phone in the first place. At least where I was from, early 90s, exchanging contacts was not something people did casually either, only for business or love (email/ICQ changed this when th…
Even in the early 2000s, when I dropped my landline, my parents (born in the 1930s) were aghast. "How will people get in contact with you? You won't be in the phone book!"
I didn’t finally talk my parents into dropping their landline until 3 months ago.
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some phones had a slot where you could insert made to fit cards with common numbers.
Some had custom numbers that could be dialed by pressing the “mem” key followed by a number key. There would be a little slip of paper which you would write in “1: Grandma, 2: Dad work…”. Simpler times.
This is called "speed dial" and it's still a standard feature on desk phones.
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Norway, the phone book hasn't been published since 2012. What are you referring to?
The online version: https://www.gulesider.no/
That's the yellow pages, not the phone book. And also not an actual book.
1881.no also exists for "white pages", but it's useless because most people with mobile phones are not in the database.
Re: Bill Atkinson doxxed Douglas Adams in 1987
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
The online version: https://www.gulesider.no/
That's the yellow pages, not the phone book. And also not an actual book . 1881.no also exists for "white pages", but it's useless because most people with mobile phones are not in the database.
What is the practical difference?
I was responding to the reference in GP’s comment that “…your name, address, and phone number would published…” which is the case with gulesider. Their comment was about pre-internet, mine was referring to the post-internet version. Apologies if there was confusion.
Additionally, the Wikipedia page on ‘Telephone directory’ [0] states:
> A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages