4 ms·

I Hate Voicemail

11 points by pitdesi 16y ago

the-kenny 16y ago
In soviet russia, voicemail leaves messages for you.
jerrya 16y ago
I don't listen to voicemail, but it is rude not to accept it just as it is rude to leave long messages on voicemail. The caller has already connected with you, for you to tell them to then hangup and try again with a txt or email is pretty obnoxious and arrogant. I don't listen to voicemail, because I have googlevoice.
ChrisArchitect 16y ago
while reading this I was afraid of what conclusion the author was going to reach -- but a vm message that says 'txt or email me' is great -- amen!
- pavel_lishin 16y ago
  That seems redundant. If I get a voicemail that says, "text or email me" - isn't that basically saying, "i was trying to get in touch with you, please reciprocate" - which is already made implicit by the fact that you have a missed call because someone was trying to get in touch with you? At that point, don't even leave a voicemail. I never do - they'll see that they missed a call and call me back, or I'll try again later - or I'll send them a text or an email!
  - stevelosh 16y ago
    I'm pretty sure the OP is taking about having the RECEIVER'S message mention texting/emailing, e.g.: ring... ring... ring... "Hi, this is Steve. I'm not here right now. If you could text or email me instead of leaving a voicemail that would be much appreciated."
    - ChrisArchitect 16y ago
      yep really I find VM is just a 'medium' choice, and one that I don't prefer, but maybe my callers would at the time. Sometimes it's just easier to ramble on about something instead of typing. But VM is by no means instant, don't expect a reply in any soonish timeframe. That's what IM/txt is for. Email and VM might as well be the same...non-current issues.
darklajid 16y ago
I agree fully. First of all 90% of my voicemail messages suck and follow this universal script: - "Oh.. Erm.. It's XXX. I tried to reach you" - Babbling, most are not used to a one-sided talk and get lost - After listening the conversation could've been compressed to half a text message. Unfortunately the business phone I have is required to support a voicebox. Worse: German carriers tend to abuse these things to milk their customers. The cheaper the carrier, the more certain you can be to have a mandatory (no way to turn it off. Calling your own box costs money..) mailbox that answers after X rings, where X is usually small enough that I can reach my wife only on the second try (before she pulls out the device the voicebox answers). What a rant. I guess I have a deep sympathy for all people that hate this voicebox thing..
lukejduncan 16y ago
Personally, even if I get voicemails I tend not to listen to them - just return the call. If my phone rings I find myself feeling a little stressed. I'm usually in the middle of something that I don't want to be pulled away from for more than a minute. Phone calls always imply they will last longer than you want.
Flemlord 16y ago
I'm notorious for never returning voice mails for the exact reasons expressed in this post. But two months ago I signed up for Google voice it largely fixed the problem. The text recognition is bad, but I can usually figure out who called me and that's all I need. The only outstanding issue is that my phone (WP7) doesn't always update the Google Voice tile that lets me know I have new messages. Not sure if that's an issue on other phones.
kovar 16y ago
You lost me with the first line: "Leaving someone a voicemail message on someone’s cell phone in 2011 is not only misguided, it’s selfish." If you don't want to get voicemail, don't offer it as an option to your callers. I get really bent out of shape by people who expect that everyone trying to reach them by <insert communication medium here> will follow their personal, and unpublished, rules. We all use <insert communication medium here> in different ways, and most of the mediums are designed to be flexible, thus appealing to more users. Don't attribute malice, or selfishness, to other users of the medium who are using it in the way it was designed. If you don't want people to leave a VM, say so. If you don't listen to your VMs, say so. If you don't want people to leave a long VM, say so.
pronoiac 16y ago
I wonder if there's a way to deconfigure voicemail completely. Someone noticed that on a friend's phone & sort of envied them having "one less inbox." [1] [1] http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2011/04/three-phone-tips-for-antisocial-people-like-me-that-hate-phones.html http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2011/04/three-phone-tips-for-...
wewyor 16y ago
Just as an alternative point of view: I probably won't call you back just because of a missed call if you don't leave a voicemail as I'll think whatever you were calling about wasn't important or if it was you will call back later. I use Google Voice on my android phone and though it doesn't always update right away it does mean I don't have to call a voicemail number and log in to hear my messages I just press play.
decode 16y ago
I know some people like the author, people who never listen to their voicemail. I call and leave them a message and they call me back without listening to it. When they do this, they are communicating to me that their time is more important than mine. I am often just conveying information and I have to say it twice if they don't listen to the message. That's fine if it's a salesman cold-calling you. If it's a friend or family member, that's insulting. There are a number of other reasons to use voicemail: 1) Everyone can speak faster than they can text. If you have a significant amount of information to convey, texting sucks. Voicemail can be very efficient. 2) Many people don't have unlimited texting plans and texting can get expensive quickly. 3) Texting is dangerous and illegal while driving in many places, while speaking and listening on the phone are often not illegal and definitely less dangerous.
- dlsspy 16y ago
  > 1) Everyone can speak faster than they can text. If you have a significant amount of information to convey, texting sucks. Voicemail can be very efficient. Voicemail is potentially efficient for the sender at the cost of the recipient's ability to understand what you're rambling. My phone lets me SMS via voice. I can send a concise, planned message. The recipient can receive something that uses his time most effectively. > 2) Many people don't have unlimited texting plans and texting can get expensive quickly. I turned mine off in favor of a data plan and use that for SMS. > 3) Texting is dangerous and illegal while driving in many places, while speaking and listening on the phone are often not illegal and definitely less dangerous. Speaking and listening to a phone while driving is dangerous and illegal without digging out and hooking up a headset, while waiting until you stop is not illegal and definitely less dangerous.
  - stevelosh 16y ago
    > Speaking and listening to a phone while driving is dangerous and illegal without digging out and hooking up a headset It's still just as dangerous, even with the silly headsets. Multiple citations in the first paragraph of the "Handsfree device" section here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety#Handsfree_device http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safet...
tomjen3 16y ago
I don't hate voice mail - I hate people who use it without understanding how to. Half my messages are .... crackling .... dut dut dut
paul9290 16y ago
I agree voicemail is pointless. Just send me a text message, email or Instant message.
bconway 16y ago
While I agree with the premise that voicemails that provide no additional information are not useful, the author is an elitist jerk. That being said, callers generally have no idea if you aren't answering because you're not near your phone, or because your phone is off/without reception/on a plane, in which case the call notification would never appear. Google Voice does a good job of solving this by includes notifications for missed calls, but everyone else has no way of knowing they missed a call.

11 points by pitdesi 16y ago

In soviet russia, voicemail leaves messages for you.

I don't listen to voicemail, but it is rude not to accept it just as it is rude to leave long messages on voicemail. The caller has already connected with you, for you to tell them to then hangup and try again with a txt or email is pretty obnoxious and arrogant. I don't listen to voicemail, because I have googlevoice.

ChrisArchitect 16y ago

while reading this I was afraid of what conclusion the author was going to reach -- but a vm message that says 'txt or email me' is great -- amen!

pavel_lishin 16y ago
That seems redundant. If I get a voicemail that says, "text or email me" - isn't that basically saying, "i was trying to get in touch with you, please reciprocate" - which is already made implicit by the fact that you have a missed call because someone was trying to get in touch with you? At that point, don't even leave a voicemail. I never do - they'll see that they missed a call and call me back, or I'll try again later - or I'll send them a text or an email!
- stevelosh 16y ago
  I'm pretty sure the OP is taking about having the RECEIVER'S message mention texting/emailing, e.g.: ring... ring... ring... "Hi, this is Steve. I'm not here right now. If you could text or email me instead of leaving a voicemail that would be much appreciated."
  - ChrisArchitect 16y ago
    yep really I find VM is just a 'medium' choice, and one that I don't prefer, but maybe my callers would at the time. Sometimes it's just easier to ramble on about something instead of typing. But VM is by no means instant, don't expect a reply in any soonish timeframe. That's what IM/txt is for. Email and VM might as well be the same...non-current issues.

darklajid 16y ago

I agree fully. First of all 90% of my voicemail messages suck and follow this universal script: - "Oh.. Erm.. It's XXX. I tried to reach you" - Babbling, most are not used to a one-sided talk and get lost - After listening the conversation could've been compressed to half a text message. Unfortunately the business phone I have is required to support a voicebox. Worse: German carriers tend to abuse these things to milk their customers. The cheaper the carrier, the more certain you can be to have a mandatory (no way to turn it off. Calling your own box costs money..) mailbox that answers after X rings, where X is usually small enough that I can reach my wife only on the second try (before she pulls out the device the voicebox answers). What a rant. I guess I have a deep sympathy for all people that hate this voicebox thing..

lukejduncan 16y ago

Personally, even if I get voicemails I tend not to listen to them - just return the call. If my phone rings I find myself feeling a little stressed. I'm usually in the middle of something that I don't want to be pulled away from for more than a minute. Phone calls always imply they will last longer than you want.

Flemlord 16y ago

I'm notorious for never returning voice mails for the exact reasons expressed in this post. But two months ago I signed up for Google voice it largely fixed the problem. The text recognition is bad, but I can usually figure out who called me and that's all I need. The only outstanding issue is that my phone (WP7) doesn't always update the Google Voice tile that lets me know I have new messages. Not sure if that's an issue on other phones.

kovar 16y ago

You lost me with the first line: "Leaving someone a voicemail message on someone’s cell phone in 2011 is not only misguided, it’s selfish." If you don't want to get voicemail, don't offer it as an option to your callers. I get really bent out of shape by people who expect that everyone trying to reach them by <insert communication medium here> will follow their personal, and unpublished, rules. We all use <insert communication medium here> in different ways, and most of the mediums are designed to be flexible, thus appealing to more users. Don't attribute malice, or selfishness, to other users of the medium who are using it in the way it was designed. If you don't want people to leave a VM, say so. If you don't listen to your VMs, say so. If you don't want people to leave a long VM, say so.

pronoiac 16y ago

I wonder if there's a way to deconfigure voicemail completely. Someone noticed that on a friend's phone & sort of envied them having "one less inbox." [1] [1] http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2011/04/three-phone-tips-for-antisocial-people-like-me-that-hate-phones.html http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2011/04/three-phone-tips-for-...

wewyor 16y ago

Just as an alternative point of view: I probably won't call you back just because of a missed call if you don't leave a voicemail as I'll think whatever you were calling about wasn't important or if it was you will call back later. I use Google Voice on my android phone and though it doesn't always update right away it does mean I don't have to call a voicemail number and log in to hear my messages I just press play.

decode 16y ago

I know some people like the author, people who never listen to their voicemail. I call and leave them a message and they call me back without listening to it. When they do this, they are communicating to me that their time is more important than mine. I am often just conveying information and I have to say it twice if they don't listen to the message. That's fine if it's a salesman cold-calling you. If it's a friend or family member, that's insulting. There are a number of other reasons to use voicemail: 1) Everyone can speak faster than they can text. If you have a significant amount of information to convey, texting sucks. Voicemail can be very efficient. 2) Many people don't have unlimited texting plans and texting can get expensive quickly. 3) Texting is dangerous and illegal while driving in many places, while speaking and listening on the phone are often not illegal and definitely less dangerous.

dlsspy 16y ago
> 1) Everyone can speak faster than they can text. If you have a significant amount of information to convey, texting sucks. Voicemail can be very efficient. Voicemail is potentially efficient for the sender at the cost of the recipient's ability to understand what you're rambling. My phone lets me SMS via voice. I can send a concise, planned message. The recipient can receive something that uses his time most effectively. > 2) Many people don't have unlimited texting plans and texting can get expensive quickly. I turned mine off in favor of a data plan and use that for SMS. > 3) Texting is dangerous and illegal while driving in many places, while speaking and listening on the phone are often not illegal and definitely less dangerous. Speaking and listening to a phone while driving is dangerous and illegal without digging out and hooking up a headset, while waiting until you stop is not illegal and definitely less dangerous.
- stevelosh 16y ago
  > Speaking and listening to a phone while driving is dangerous and illegal without digging out and hooking up a headset It's still just as dangerous, even with the silly headsets. Multiple citations in the first paragraph of the "Handsfree device" section here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety#Handsfree_device http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safet...

tomjen3 16y ago

I don't hate voice mail - I hate people who use it without understanding how to. Half my messages are .... crackling .... dut dut dut

paul9290 16y ago

I agree voicemail is pointless. Just send me a text message, email or Instant message.

bconway 16y ago

While I agree with the premise that voicemails that provide no additional information are not useful, the author is an elitist jerk. That being said, callers generally have no idea if you aren't answering because you're not near your phone, or because your phone is off/without reception/on a plane, in which case the call notification would never appear. Google Voice does a good job of solving this by includes notifications for missed calls, but everyone else has no way of knowing they missed a call.