Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!hayes.fai.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Thomas.Farmer@actrix.co.nz (Thomas Farmer) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Crank Calls Message-ID: <11047@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 19 Aug 90 03:04:22 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: Actrix Public Access UNIX, Wellington, New Zealand Lines: 30 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 581, Message 7 of 9 In article <10918@accuvax.nwu.edu> Henry Troup writes: >I wonder if Sedat's blissful crank call-less world is due to the fact >that most of Europe -- and I therefore presume Austria -- charges for >local calls, making crank calling a much less attractive 'hobby' of >the eight-to-ten year olds and drunks that I seem to get? >On another track, when I lived in the U.K. we were taught to answer >the phone with the number. I presume this dates from a time when the >switching system was even less reliable than it is today. But in North >America one thing you never do is tell a caller what number s/he has >reached. How does the rest of the world answer the phone? Well, firstly, I live in an area with free local calling (Praise the Lord! :-) and I have never had a crank call yet ... A few wrong numbers, but no crank calls. And that's on both lines! Secondly, what you say about answering the hone with the number is interesting. I suddenly understand where my friend with British parents gets the habit from! But it appears that the standard here is to answer the phone with a "Hello?" if it's a private line. Of course businesses answer with their name. mail: tfarmer@actrix.co.nz (I think)