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This is why the telephone is "broken". My 9 year old daughter gets random calls all the time. My parents get scam calls all the time. Why does it make sense for

This is why the telephone is "broken". My 9 year old daughter gets random calls all the time. My parents get scam calls all the time. Why does it make sense for permissionless access into my personal life? Think about it. Someone can disrupt any moment of your life for any reason just by making a phone call. If your phone blinks, vibrates, or rings you are distracted. That's like an app you didn't install sending you push notifications. Taking this further... since you don't know anything about the app you have to judge on a case by case basis whether or not to engage further. Except in this case all you get as context is 10 digits. If you choose to engage further you hear someone's voice. Then you have to decide whether to remain civil and give the other person the benefit of the doubt or just hang up. It's all very gross.

wtbob 10y ago
It'd be pretty cool if numbers were unguessable: then they'd become cryptographic capabilities in which anyone who knows your number could contact you and pass your number on to others, but no-one who doesn't know it could figure it out. Granted, it'd take awhile to get used to numbers like YheXuVtGf/sxxXFYxZD7bY5nI2Tf/ylNrgBf9b5IA5Q, but if it's combined with a petname system (where I just see names like 'Bill' and 'Bill's wife's sister Susan') then I think it could work.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  Nah, this is the direction I'd hate for it to go. I don't think isolating people in bubbles of their direct social networks is good for society. Being able to get called by someone you don't have in your phonebook is a feature, not a bug. Now I would very much appreciate if calling meant sending a lot more metadata. Like full name/surname and organization to which the number is registered. And then make phones capable of creating filters based on that data. Oh, and companies faking the metadata should be open to lawsuits.
  - ryanmarsh 10y ago
    I'm sure we could figure out a way to intelligently establish identity and reputation before my phone interrupts me.
gvurrdon 10y ago
Absolutely. Telephones are an enormous nuisance for exactly these reasons. I have found Cyanogenmod's built in call blocking to be essential; I have it set so all calls from withheld numbers and all that are not in my contacts are blocked. I let texts through, though they could also be blocked. If I expect anyone to call me who can't be persuaded to use email instead (e.g. a tradesman or shopkeeper) then I add their number to my contacts or ask them to call at a particular time when the blocking can be temporarily turned off. Only once has this latter tactic resulted in a spam caller getting through.
mariuolo 10y ago
> Then you have to decide whether to remain civil That's why I loathe telemarketers. Their tactics have made impossible to have a civil conversation because that's how they screw you over.

wtbob 10y ago

It'd be pretty cool if numbers were unguessable: then they'd become cryptographic capabilities in which anyone who knows your number could contact you and pass your number on to others, but no-one who doesn't know it could figure it out. Granted, it'd take awhile to get used to numbers like YheXuVtGf/sxxXFYxZD7bY5nI2Tf/ylNrgBf9b5IA5Q, but if it's combined with a petname system (where I just see names like 'Bill' and 'Bill's wife's sister Susan') then I think it could work.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
Nah, this is the direction I'd hate for it to go. I don't think isolating people in bubbles of their direct social networks is good for society. Being able to get called by someone you don't have in your phonebook is a feature, not a bug. Now I would very much appreciate if calling meant sending a lot more metadata. Like full name/surname and organization to which the number is registered. And then make phones capable of creating filters based on that data. Oh, and companies faking the metadata should be open to lawsuits.
- ryanmarsh 10y ago
  I'm sure we could figure out a way to intelligently establish identity and reputation before my phone interrupts me.

gvurrdon 10y ago

Absolutely. Telephones are an enormous nuisance for exactly these reasons. I have found Cyanogenmod's built in call blocking to be essential; I have it set so all calls from withheld numbers and all that are not in my contacts are blocked. I let texts through, though they could also be blocked. If I expect anyone to call me who can't be persuaded to use email instead (e.g. a tradesman or shopkeeper) then I add their number to my contacts or ask them to call at a particular time when the blocking can be temporarily turned off. Only once has this latter tactic resulted in a spam caller getting through.

mariuolo 10y ago

> Then you have to decide whether to remain civil That's why I loathe telemarketers. Their tactics have made impossible to have a civil conversation because that's how they screw you over.