Slashdot Mirror
Do Not Call Registry Set to Become Permanent
coondoggie passed us a NetworkWorld article about an initiative by the Senate to transform the Do Not Call list into a permanent institution. Originally individuals on the list were to have their place on the list revoked; up to a third of the people who signed up might have fallen off the list by the Autumn without renewing legislation. A move by the Senate this past Wednesday will permanently prevent salesmen from calling those who have registered for the list. "Aside from what telemarketing junk the bill does prevent, experts note what may also be a big deal is a provision that is NOT in this bill and that is protection for those other annoying time wasters: political robo calls."
My congresscritters are finally doing something I approve of!
I agree. You have to actually pay to get off of some mailing lists now. The law should allow a single repository where you can request to not get any junk mail except from companies you already are doing business with and even then only when you opt-in. And no, affiliates of businesses you do business with DON'T count.
I went one further.
I received a call from a politician running for mayor or some jazz, an automated type. I patiently listened to this spiel, did a google lookup for his business number, called him and left HIM a message stating:
"Dear Sir, I have called to inform you that I am not voting for you, not because of your stand on certain positions, but because you have resorted to an automatic phone dialer. I will also recommend my friends, acquaintances, and co-workers do the same. Good day."
Special note: I would not do it for any other sales pitch, as then they would know "I was there".
Hi, I Boris. Hear fix bear, yes?
Caller ID along with an answering machine is a great combination. My home phone/answering machin also lets me set up custom ring tones for numbers in its address list. If a family member of friend calls I hear one type of ring so I always answer it. If the Caller ID says something like "blocked" or "unknown" or shows a phone number like 000-000-0000 then I just let my answering machine pick it up. It sure saves me a lot of hassle.
Exactly. We have trained all of our family, friends, etc., to start talking when the answering machine engages.
We do not answer the phone at all before this unless we're expecting a call at a specific time. We may pick up the phone if we want to talk at that time; otherwise we'll call 'em back.
When we lived in a newly-built house, we were always getting the little entrepreneurs (selling gas logs, house numbers painted on the curb, front yard gas lamps, etc.) banging on the door or ringing the doorbell in the middle of the day. Those would go unanswered, too.
Yeah, right.
What happens to the status of the number when someone discontinues usage of the telephone number, say by moving or canceling your service and moving to VoIP? IF the number is then at some point reassigned to another person, does that number remain on the Do-Not-Call list? If it does, is that legitimate, as an individual can only vouch for their own phone numbers, and not that of a third-party?
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Now we need to do something about the telemarketing firms calling "on behalf" of non-profit organizations. This is still legal under the law (it seemed like a good idea: who doesn't love non-profits?), but it's being abused. The telemarketing companies keep an extraordinary fraction of the donations (over 50%, from what a local newspaper investigation found) so little of your money goes to the organization you're trying to help.
One obvious solution is to only allow the non-profit exemption if more than, say, 90% of the donation goes right to the actual non-profit. That'll probably shut up the telemarketers because profit would no longer cover costs.
Here is an effective (though laborious) way to deal with that.
1. Register on National Do-Not-Call list.
2. Wait 3 month beginning period.
3. Get caller ID.
4. Wait for another call.
5. Be pleasant to the person, if you can order something cheap, say $10, do it.
6. Get their address and phone number as you place the order.
7. Photograph the Caller ID display as evidence.
8. Take good notes including date, time, person talked to, company name, as more evidence.
9. Copy the bill you receive for $10 as conclusive evidence of marketing intent.
10. Go to your county courthouse, lodge a small claim for $500 for a telemarketing violation.
11. Send them proper notice they are being sued.
12. Since they are often out of state, they won't show and you get default judgment.
13. If they do show, you have proof of listing, notice, call, and call purpose.
14. For bonus dollars, ($500 per item) look into whether they have, train to, practice and publish upon demand the required company calling policies.
15. Profit!!!
I've tried it, it works.
"We think people rightly feel that once they buy something, it stays bought," --Suw Charman, Open Rights Grp
It forces me to take action- to look, or to shut the phone up from reminding me of a missed call or junk voicemail.
No. That's your crappy ass phone.
It *should* feature call management features to allow you to do stuff like:
I only want the missed call notifier to beep if:
a) its my wife or immediate family
b) the emergency number from the alarm company
c) its someone in my address book between 9 and 5
d) unless its -that guy- in which case don't ever beep. Hell don't even ring.
otherwise, if I miss the call, don't beep, ill see the notification when i check the phone.
Me, I want the missed call beeps during the day. But after 5pm, no. After midnight... HELL NO.
Similiarly I should be able to set ring rules in the same way.
Why don't we have features like this? I can say that my Primus VOIP service actually does... but why not my cellphone? My only theory is that the network desperately wants me to use my phone... although since I have unlimited incoming calls on my package, really, better screening would save them money. Not me.
Instead what do we get? The ability to assign different ring tones (purchased at $3+/each) to different contacts. Hurrah. Just another indicator of how fucked up it is to have the device provided by the network.
Its always: "What can the phone do to make you consume more services?" Instead of "What does the consumer actually want?"
Some have claimed that at least some robo calls are specifically designed to discourage you from voting, either by annoying you or by giving misleading conversation.
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
The concept that corporations have ANY "rights", including free speech, is completely ludicrous. Corporations don't really die (even when they go out of business, their brand sometimes gets picked up, like Atari), and they have no sense of consequence unless regulations force them to. The activist Conservative judges gave corporations some of the same "rights" as people, through a grave misunderstanding of the term "people" in the Constitution, because apparently Conservatives think corporations are more important than actual living, breathing PEOPLE. You know, the new type of hairless talking monkeys. That kind of people!
;) I may even try that with the corporations SPAMMING me too, but they are so much bigger of a target, the ammo may be cost prohibitive.
Apart from that, "freedom of speech" has nothing to do with your ability to call my phone, send mail to my mail box, or e-mail me. Those communication methods all terminate on MY PROPERTY, and my property rights trump your "speech" rights any day. You can stand and yell at me all you want, but if you do it on my lawn, I can call the cops and have them drag you away, and no activist Conservative judges can change that. If they do, I'll just use my "right to bear arms" and shoot you.