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Is the Do-Not-Call list not working? | 49 comments (49 topical) | Post A Comment
Urggh[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#5)
by Anonymous User on Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 02:10:12 PM PDT

It's high time the rules were amended to disallow calls even from companies you DO have a business relationship with, except for calls explicitly related to existing business being transacted. Your bill is past due -- OK. Your order has been shipped -- OK. You bought our widgets, so you're eligible take advantage of our new SuperWidgets at a 10% discount! -- Not OK.

When I want a product, even from a company I've already done business with, I'll seek it out. Don't call me, I'll call you.

P.S. got woken up twice, at times about twenty minutes apart, by my cell phone ringing on my nightstand. Not my regular phone, my cell, so these calls probably cost me money. When I answered, both times all I heard was a periodic beep, like some sort of beacon pinging.

Anyone know what clowns are responsible for that particular bit of stupidity? I have no idea what they think they can sell me by simply beeping at me without mentioning any products or services of any kind at all...maybe it's Big Pharma trying to drum up sales for sedatives or something? :P

P.P.S. Which of the following is a car?
Silver, Bloodhound, Vermont, Pinscher, Pear, Peugeot

Got it, but it's kind of obscure. Might give others trouble. More obscure brands and suchlike (including Peugeot and lychee) might be better off avoided. We're trying to keep out bots, right? Not everyone with an IQ under 150 plus most nonnative speakers. :P

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That sounds[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#9)
by sconeu on Sat Jul 12, 2008 at 07:32:56 AM PDT

like a legit wrong number.  I think a fax machine was calling you.

----

Which of the following is a car?
Fiat, Navy, Vermont, Washington, Grape, Spaniel

Having owned a Fiat, I'd argue that none of them are :-)

--
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the United States of America.
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Business relationships[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#13)
by Anonymous User on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 12:20:04 PM PDT

Actually, I like calls from businesses I deal with when they have something new. For instance, I've got Verizon and was frequently called about getting DSL (I have DSL, just not through them). Total irritation. But I was happy to be spammed when they finally got FIOS in our area! P.P.S. Which of the following is a car? Silver, Bloodhound, Vermont, Pinscher, Pear, Peugeot Which of the following is a car? Fiat, Navy, Vermont, Washington, Grape, Spaniel By the process of deduction, "Vermont" must be the car!

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Exception that proves the rule[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#17)
by Anonymous User on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 05:14:29 PM PDT

That sounds like the exception that proves the rule. Actually, given your interest in FIOS it seems likely that you might have periodically searched the web to find out if it had reached your area yet, anyway. Even if not, you could have.

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I doubt it[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#16)
by Anonymous User on Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 05:12:33 PM PDT

I doubt it. Fax machines typically produce a complex buzz of electronic tones, not a simple pinging. I know, because I've gotten misdirected calls from faxen before.


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Fax probe tones[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#20)
by Anonymous User on Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 11:52:34 AM PDT

Modern fax machines, when they call, emit a series of simple repetitive beeps called probe tones in order to "wake up" a fax machine on the receiving side. Then the receiving machine initiates the bizarre-sounding handshake sequence. This allows fax machines to share voice lines which used not to be possible. I agree with the previous poster: legitimate wrong number.

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No[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#36)
by Anonymous User on Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 10:17:00 PM PDT

According to your theory, the machine in question was configured to share the line with a human, but when I said "hello?" there was no answer. Ergo, it wasn't sharing the line with a human.

Now please stop implying that I was being dishonest earlier and let it drop.

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You've got it backwards[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#38)
by sconeu on Sat Jul 19, 2008 at 12:06:04 PM PDT

They emit three beeps in case the *RECEIVING* line is sharing a fax machine.

--
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the United States of America.
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You are a jerk[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#39)
by Anonymous User on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:36:34 AM PDT

I've got nothing backwards and I don't like people posting stuff whose very subject is insulting and accusatory.

Now mind your manners, young man!

You seem to be forgetting not only your manners, but also that the same call occurred twice in a row, about twenty minutes apart. Wrong numbers are one-offs. When they realize they dialed the wrong number, they dial a different one when they try again. Spammers are the ones that are often persistent and will generally spam you over and over and over again.

Now stop hassling me and get back to whatever you normally do.

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Thin Skinned Jerk![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#44)
by Anonymous User on Mon Aug 11, 2008 at 07:31:11 PM PDT

I would normally simply note that we have all had a fax not go through and retried later. But you appear to be an exceptionally obtuse fool. You betray more of your ignorance and inability to learn with each post.

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Jerk![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#45)
by Anonymous User on Fri Aug 15, 2008 at 10:55:34 AM PDT

Who are you, and why are you attacking a complete stranger by posting vicious and untrue insults in public?

Remember that we were discussing A SUPPOSED WRONG NUMBER. If you dial an unfamiliar number and don't get the expected response, you double-check the number. Only when you dial a familiar number that you have used many times before do you just automatically retry.

Now enough on the subject! If you MUST say something more, stick to the actual matter under discussion and leave personalities and personal attacks out of it. That sort of nonsense belongs locked up tight in your skull, not broadcast in a public forum for anyone to hear. Got it?

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Wow.....[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#46)
by Anonymous User on Sat Aug 16, 2008 at 08:47:35 AM PDT

Have you thought about anger management training or medication?......

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Hey d00d[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#47)
by Anonymous User on Mon Sep 01, 2008 at 10:32:48 AM PDT

Hey, d00d, what part of

Now enough on the subject! If you MUST say something more, stick to the actual matter under discussion and leave personalities and personal attacks out of it. That sort of nonsense belongs locked up tight in your skull, not broadcast in a public forum for anyone to hear. Got it?

didn't you understand? :P

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DVD Ripper for Mac[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#48)
by Anonymous User on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:18:22 AM PDT

DVD Ripper for Mac, DVD Creator for Mac, Mac DVD Ripper, clone dvd mac, DVD Converter Mac, Video Converter for Mac, FLV Converter for Mac, DVD Decryption for Mac, AVI to DVD Mac, DivX to DVD Converter Mac, MOD converter, Convert DVD to iPod, AVI to iPod Converter, iPod to Mac transfer, YouTube Converter, Video Joiner, Transfer iPod to Computer, FLV to 3GP Converter, HD Video Converter, iPod to PC Transfer, iPod to iTunes transfer

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DNC list does work, but we do need to additions[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#32)
by Anonymous User on Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 02:44:58 AM PDT

The exemption for "companies you have done business with in the last 18 months" needs to be thrown out, and replaced with "companies that you are currently doing business with." They actually listen to you; once you are no longer a customer they feel freer to annoy you. There should also be an option to include charities and political campaigns. I know it was a free speech issue, but shouldn't I have the right to be close-minded and not listen to them? Another class of callers, that account for the largest group of unwanted calls I get, are bill collectors calling for previous users of my current phone number (at least 6 years ago at this point.) Apparently, they are lied to so often they don't believe that the person they are looking for wasn't any better about paying the phone company. They should at least be required to check if phone number has changed hands since the debt was incurred. == Which of the following is a dog? Melon, Chihuahua, Kia, Grapefruit, Mississippi, Saab I owned a Saab once, and it definitely was a dog. I've never considered Chihuahuas to be dogs.

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What's the definition?[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#33)
by Anonymous User on Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 06:49:39 AM PDT

... of "companies that you are currently doing business with"? If you make a purchase from a retail company, how can you define whether it's a one-time purchase so that there's no ongoing relationship, vs. the first in many upcoming transactions? Businesses need to know clearly when they're obeying and when they're breaking the law, so 18 months was selected as a reasonable balance point.

You have the right to be close-minded and not listen to charities and political campaigns; you don't have the right to prevent others from exercising their free-speech rights to talk into a dead line after you've hung up.

There is no constitutional right not to be offended, though some people seem to forget that. Being offended is (perhaps) a violation of civility, not of the law.

Which of the following is a color? MG, Purple, Bulldog, Cranberry, Corgi, Hawaii. Any designer will tell you that Cranberry is a valid answer along with Purple.

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Nobody has free speech rights[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#40)
by Anonymous User on Tue Jul 22, 2008 at 11:28:49 AM PDT

if they are calling a phone line that I pay for.

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