Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!netsys!vector!nobody From: davef@brspyr1.brs.com (Dave Fiske) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Excuses instead of info Message-ID: Date: 2 Feb 89 18:53:50 GMT Sender: chip@vector.UUCP Lines: 38 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 43, message 9 In article , jbh@mibte.UUCP (James Harvey) writes: < In article , childers@avsd writes: < > In article mcgp1!donn@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Donn Pedro) writes: < > < > >If I gave out the ringback codes to everyone who asked it would < > >not be available for our use for testing. People used it to < > >busy out their phones so as not to be disturbed. < > < > Can you document this, or is this what your supervisor told you to say ? < YES, supervisors tell you to say this, it's TRUE. More < frequently, people use the ringback numbers as an intercom, (call < ringback, wait till somebody upstairs picks up extension, talk). In Connecticut, back in the '60s, we used to dial 1199 to make the phone ring to be able to talk to someone who was upstairs, etc. My father used to like to do this, and put on phony voices to try and fool other members of the family. I myself once came up with the idea of, as the family was leaving to go shopping, dialing the ringback number as I left the house. An hour later, when we returned, I watched in glee as the rest of the family rushed to unlock the door. "Hurry up! The phone is ringing." It never occurred to us that we might be tying up phone company resources, so I can imagine, with lots of people doing this wantonly, it could easily become a problem. Even now, a friend of mine leaves his phone off-hook if he leaves the house while he's expecting a call. He seems to figure that if people get a busy signal they're more likely to call back than if they think he's not home (?). He did this once when I was there, and the phone started making all its electronic barking noises, then the recording, and I said something about it. His attitude was that it couldn't possibly hurt anything, which doesn't explain why the phone company has gone to such trouble to put all those warnings on there. -- "FLYING ELEPHANTS DROP COW Dave Fiske (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) PIES ON HORRIFIED CROWD!" Home: David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com Headline from Weekly World News CIS: 75415,163 GEnie: davef