Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!limbo!taylor
From: gast@CS.UCLA.EDU (David Gast)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Caller-ID
Message-ID: <1376@limbo.Intuitive.Com>
Date: 22 Oct 90 18:37:27 GMT
Sender: taylor@limbo.Intuitive.Com
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 25
Approved: taylor@Limbo.Intuitive.Com

Peter da Silva writes:

> I am currently recieving sporadic calls at odd times from some munchkin..

Use an answering machine and just don't pay any attention to his calls.
If it's the middle of the night, wait until morning.

> If Caller-ID was in place, this would not happen.

Not necessarily.  What if he is calling from out of LATA?  What if he is
calling from out of state?  What if he is calling from a PBX or someother
device like a cellular phone that will not provide a phone number?  What
if he calls you from a different pay phone every night?

> I can use call-blocking (if implemented), but this does not serve as 
> a deterrent: keeping said bozo from acting in the first place.

Call-blocking can and will be implemented regardless of whether caller-id
is.  And given the scenarios above, caller id is not that much of deterent.

Further, Caller Id may increase your nuisance calls.  Since everyone and
every cretin that works for everyone you call will now have your phone
number.

David Gast