Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cbmvax!bagate!dsinc!telecom-request From: mitel!Software!grayt@uunet.uu.net (Tom Gray) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: My First Month of Caller ID in Atlanta Message-ID: Date: 29 Mar 91 14:31:09 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: Mitel. Kanata (Ontario). Canada. Lines: 39 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 250, Message 5 of 11 In article cyberoid@milton.u. washington.edu (Robert Jacobson) writes: > The "alleged horrors" which Bill Berbenich has not yet experienced as > a result of one month of Caller ID have to do with duration and > penetration. The telcos commonly pass off one month tests of small > wait a couple years when a few tens of millions of more people are > forced into Caller ID and the files have started being built up. Then > let's see if the horrors happen, Bill. Well, we have had Caller ID here in Ottawa for over a year now. There are no reports of any horrors. Even the scandal a day radio and TV programs are silent on this. I personally have Caller ID and Call Barring. Caller ID really helps. I can determine who is calling befroe I answer the telephone. This allows me to prepare my greeting. I know this may sound trivial but it really helps a lot. You can greet a friend in a friendly manner while calls from unknown numbers can be greeted formally. No more occurances of waiting for a call from a friend and then being presented with a carpet cleaning call as a surprise. Call blocking allows at least some freedom from telemarketers. This service is a godsend. I look forward to the day of smart telephones which can bar an unlimited amount of numbers. Then we will be truely free of crank sales calls. Even a telephone which had a time of day feature to allow calls from friends during meal times but bar all others. The rest of the time let everybody through. Caller ID and CLASS serivice give me control over my own telephone. It allows me to decide wheteher to permit someone into my home. Would you ever think of dropping in on a friend during meal times? Most peopple would consider this the height of rudeness. How many of your meals have been interupted by a sales call? Plenty of mine have but not so many now that I have Call Barring. Tom Gray