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From: DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu) (DOUGLAS SCOTT REUBEN)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: SIT Tones on an Answering Machine
Message-ID: <12410@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 22 Sep 90 06:54:32 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 664, Message 11 of 13


In response to the Moderator's addition to my earlier posting:

Pat- I thought it was obvious from my posting, but after reading your
comments allow me to make myself clearer:

I couldn't care less about blocking Telemarketers or whoever from
calling, and am not trying to rationalize any specific message using
"8000+ bytes of bandwidth" or whatver.

The point is this: The message is mine, as is the machine and the
phone line.  As long as I don't represent myself as the Telco, I have
the right to express myself in whatever manner I choose for whatever
reason, and this is beyond the scope of the Telco's inquiry or
authority.

I am not disputing that there are very limited circumstances when one
would forseeably place a SIT tone or whatever on their machines, yet
that's the customer's business. The point which I was attempting to
make is that this is not within the realm of the Telco's control, and
your claim that the Telco has a 'right' to tell customers to alter or
eliminate a non-fraudulent Outgoing Message is seemingly baseless and
rationally unsound.

I briefly checked Westlaw the other day before my initial posting, and
found no recent cases to support Pat's contention. (Doubtful many of
them would get to Westlaw, granted...)

Perhaps this message is short enough so that I won't hear any
bandwidth complaints and find out *exactly* what right was granted to
the Telcos which allows them to censor what they consider to be
offensive messages and the basis by which is applied.


Doug
(return address removed to conserve even more bandwidth! ;-) )