Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: optilink!cramer@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Clayton Cramer) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: ANI (what else?) and Mike Royko's comments Message-ID: Date: 18 Mar 89 00:45:43 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA Lines: 36 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 97, message 2 of 4 In article > Mike Royko, Chicago Tribune, Monday, March 13, 1989 >> >> >> "For obvious reasons, my home phone number is unlisted. But a guy once >> managed to find it and amuse himself by making drunken, abusive calls late >> at night. After several nights of this, I had to change my number..." > Right, Mike. And the first time you call the local theatre to find out what > time the movie starts, your precious unlisted number ain't so hidden any > more. How do you they know which unlisted phone number belongs to which person? It's just the same as a random phone call, if you don't know who is at that number. > In fact, the more I think about it, the less useful ANI becomes: > either you NEVER answer your phone if it isn't a phone number you > recognize (gee Mike, do you REALLY know the phone numbers of EVERY one > of your colleagues at the Tribune? and if one has to call you from one > of *their* friends houses are they really out of luck??), or else you > DO. And if you're being harrassed, it takes a *real* dimwit to do that > from their home phone (I agree that phone harrassment is a dimwit > activity, but to presume that such a person would be careful to use > their home phone seems REALLY naive, no?). I've had people made life threatening phone calls, long distance, from their home phone, onto an answering machine tape. The world is full of dimwits. (Several of them seem to have formed the ACLU). -- Clayton E. Cramer {pyramid,pixar,tekbspa}!optilink!cramer Anyone who wants to be a politician bad enough to get elected, shouldn't be. Disclaimer? You must be kidding! No company would hold opinions like mine!