Caller ID

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Tracy, Sep 17, 2006.


?
  1. Yes

    11 vote(s)
    68.8%
  2. No

    5 vote(s)
    31.3%
  1. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    Yes, I have it, but not at every phone in the house.

    Do you have it? Do you always know who you are (or aren't) going to talk to before you pick up the receiver?

    The other day as I hung up from a friend who answered "Hi, Tracy!" when I called (don't get me wrong - it was a lovely greeting) I got to thinking what a sad invention it truly is.

    It has its benefits: Letting you know about telemarketers. I know some who no longer use an answering machine; they just check caller ID when they get home because "not everyone leaves a message anyway." Some use it to avoid bill collectors. Some use it to avoid being "stuck" on the phone with someone who they'd just rather not talk to right now.

    What saddens me is that, with it, we've lost that element of surprise.

    At one point in our lives, we've all picked up the non-ID'd telephone and been delightfully surprised at who was on the other end. Can you recall the smile that enveloped your face? The feeling of warmth and friendship that overcame you?

    I liken it to like a "gift", if you will, with every call. Oh, sure; some of them you don't need, some you might not even really want, but some of them brighten your day and give you a smile that will carry you through the night.

    Caller ID unwraps those gifts before we get the chance.

    No longer can we call to surprise an old friend whom we haven't talked to in far too long. You don't get to hear that spontaneous smile in their voice as they discover who is on the other end.

    I'm finding that I like answering the non-ID'd phones more and more. Technology isn't always a better thing.
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Nope, I don't have it, don't want it, don't need it, and really fail to see the "advantage" it offers. I detest telephones anyway, and wouldn't have one if it were not for the potential of emergency communications. I do have an answering machine by similar reasoning, but I gotta say that roughly 95 out of 100 messages are not needed for any reason.:mad:
     
  3. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Same here ghrit, except I do have an answering machine on my land line for business reasons. I'm not a telephone person. I have a cell phone for emergencies but only a very select few have the number.
     
  4. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    Used to have it, don't anymore. I found it to be a waste of money. I don't answer the phone anyway, if you wanna talk you have talk to the answering machine first.

    BTW, I think I'm the only person left on the planet that's never had a cell phone. And I don't want one.
     
  5. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    The land line here is basically for emergencies and my Daughter. 16 yr olds can sure burn up the lines...

    Other than that. My house has 5 Cell lines. Of course they all have Caller ID and I don't think it is an option anymore.

    Sad in a way.

    I try never to answer with a "Hey Joe" type of thing.
     
  6. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I carry a cell because the company says I have to have it for the job 24/7. Truth is, I have it set to vibrate rather than annoy me or others in meetings, elevators, nap time, etc.. POS battery life is so short, it spends a lot of time on the charger, so I don't get the message until later anyway. (Not a bad thing, I'm not first response.) Much rather not carry it, and probably wouldn't other than the company dictum.:sneaky: That said, there are some really valid reasons for some folks to have one handy for emergency use, as in getting medical or other emergency assistance.:)
     
  7. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I fail to see the difference in being surprised by reading it or hearing their voice and playing the guessing game Maybe because my hearing is not what it used to be, but I often mistake one joe for another and unfortunately, am married by necessity to my blackberry, satphone,cell, and landlines. When I'm in my office, I certainly want my secretary to screen my calls. There is this one really nice guy, a pump salesman, that calls at the most inappropriate times and no-matter what you are doing, wants to come by and demonstrate his pumps to anyone within reach. Every once in a while, I don't recognize his number (think he switches phones) and I get stuck with an hour long call that almost takes rudness to escape. Thank God for caller I.D.
     
  8. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    I don’t care who calls, If I don’t want to talk to them I tell them so, in a nice way.
    The phone is at my convenience and I don’t rush to answer one.
    If I call somewhere I don’t want my number available to them I shut the caller id off and then make the call.
    The one good thing about caller ID would be when my daughter is home alone she can see who’s calling and answer family only calls,In that way strangers don’t know she is home alone.
     
  9. TexasDoc

    TexasDoc Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Well since I only use a Cell Phone I have it, its a feature that is automatically on the phone. So be it

    it helps me when folks call and Don't leave Voice mail and thats one of my biggest peeves is not leaving VM

    Doc
     
  10. CRC

    CRC Survivor of Tidal Waves | RIP 7-24-2015 Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I have my phone, internet and cable bundled together...Caller ID is just part of it..

    But I figure I pay the bill...It is there for my convenience..and if I don't want to talk to whomever is calling?

    My phone, my money, my choice.

    If it says No Data? I don't answer it....and if someone tries to block their number? It won't allow it in....I didn't do that. Comcast did. And you can't change it. They set it up that way to try and protect their customer...or that's their spiel anyway.....
     
  11. CRC

    CRC Survivor of Tidal Waves | RIP 7-24-2015 Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    New Song to come out on the new album next month...Jimmy played it at Madison Square Garden this week for the first time...


    "Everybody's On The Phone"


    Message in a bottle
    Rhythm of a drum
    Smoke signals and telegraphs
    Make the airways hum

    But that’s all ancient history
    Like bongs and lincoln logs
    Now we’re living like the Jetson’s
    In a wireless wacky fog

    Sqwakin Talkin Hawkin
    Who knows if anybody’s gettin’ through?
    Toasters talk to crackberries, Bombay to LA
    Teenage needs and long-held dreams as minutes tick away

    We act like crazy people
    Talking to ourselves
    Crashing cars in conversation
    While that sh*t flies off the shelf
    The information superhighway's locked up like an LA traffic jam

    --------

    Chorus:
    Everybody's on the phone
    So connected and all alone
    From the pizza boy to socialite
    We all salute the satellite

    Let me text you with your master plan
    You're loud and clear but I don't understand
    I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
    And everybody's on the phone

    --------

    Do you remember dialing up?
    Yes I remember well
    Now I just can't go anywhere without my sacred cell

    I think that I might die if I miss anything at all
    Text me, send an email, bring me up, give me a call
    I'm ADD on AOL, trying to read the writing on the wall

    --------

    Chorus (2):
    Everybody's on the phone
    So connected and all alone
    From the pizza boy to socialite
    We all salute the satellite

    Won't you text me with your master plan
    You're loud and clear but I don't understand
    I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
    And everybody's on the phone

    --------

    Now I'm a real jungle jumpup
    I'm a megahertz man
    I swing from tree to tree on the very latest plan

    On the download and the dropouts
    On every major city across the land
    I got my Marley on my ringtone, getup, standup, reachout, touch somebody band!

    Chorus (2)
    I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
    And everybody's on the phone

    .......

    Spoken:

    Hey can you hear me?
    Can you hear me now?
    I gotta git over by the beerstand!
    Oh sh*t my batteries are going!
    I'll call you back!

    .......

    Spoken after the end of the song:

    Anybody gettin' through?
    Thank you!
    It has a certain ringtone to it!
    Did I say that?
    Oh sh*t ok!





    Some video clips from the Madison Square Garden show on September 14th are available at Youtube and Google video:

    Everybody's on the Phone (with Fingers Taylor)
    Brown-Eyed Girl
    Floridays
    Southern Cross
    A Pirate Looks at 40 (with Fingers Taylor)
     
  12. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    We dropped the land line since we all have cell phones. They all have caller I.D., which personally I like.
     
  13. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    I have one landline phone and an answering machine. It has a ringer set on it that allows me to choose when it picks up to record the message. I set it to 4 rings. The telemarketers, who aren't blocked by the do not call list that I am on, don't like it. Anyone that I want to call me, knows I am always screening my calls and four rings isn't too long to wait for potential employers, business associates or the like. No caller ID for me.
     
  14. poacher

    poacher Monkey+++ Founding Member

    I have it and it does help to some degree. I get enough calls on the home phone that I answer them. If by some chance I get hit with a telemarketer then I simply tell them I'm not intrested in my own special way. If it's a friend that called but at a bad time I let them know and will call them back. I figure that if they are a friend they understand that there are just bad times to talk and they just happened to call during one. No insult just fact.
    The cell phone well I'm married to two of them. Both for work but at least one I get to make the calls on it that I want.
    The answering maching is part of the phone service, you get it, you pay for it no options. I have a lot of friends that work second and third shift. I let their phone ring 3 to 4 times. If they haven't picked up by then I hang up because they are either sleeping or just not there. anyway
    Take care Be safe Poacher.
     
  15. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    We have it and I like it. It helps some for screening but mostly that it makes it so that if someone calls it shows up on the ID and we can call them back. We both do a little bit of whatever we can on the side to make ends meet so some of the time there are business calls comeing in and it makes it easier than haveing to save messages on a lot of anwsering machines plus you have the number right there.
     
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