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In case anyone wanted a picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/AUTOVON_telephone_-_Telephone_Museum_-_Waltham%2C_Massachusetts.agr.jpg ht

by neom 5y ago

In case anyone wanted a picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/AUTOVON_telephone_-_Telephone_Museum_-_Waltham%2C_Massachusetts.agr.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/AUTOVON_... Now we have the answer to one of lifes burning questions, what does the FO button do?

nexuist 5y ago
It's called "Flash Override" but I feel like a better name would have been "Fall Out."
- thelittleone 5y ago
  Modern phones could do with an "FO" button for an entirely different purpose. Don't like the current call... hit the FO button... let them know. In particular a disturbing practice I noticed in Australia. The bank calls, I pick up and a recording: "this is XYZ bank, please hold an operator will be with you shortly". A golden opportunity for an FO button. It could work like an email spam button Enough FO's and the number gets auto blocked.
  - JdeBP 5y ago
    It already exists on many telephone service providers in some countries. It doesn't have a specific button, and it isn't standardized across providers. But on one provider in the United Kingdom, for example, it is 14258 then star twice to blacklist the number that last called. (On another provider, just to show the variation, it is 1572 then 1.) * https://sse.co.uk/asset/pdf/guide-to-call-features-with-your-sse-phone https://sse.co.uk/asset/pdf/guide-to-call-features-with-your... * https://plus.net/help/phone/call-features/ https://plus.net/help/phone/call-features/ The downside of a single button would be that even with the existing systems it is all too easy to accidentally blacklist the wrong people. I know someone who was accidentally blacklisted by one of xyr elderly friends. It caused all sorts of interesting fallout until the two of them had the opportunity to speak in person. One can imagine what a single button could do in the hands of small children. And, indeed, we have known for a couple of decades what anti-spam buttons can do in the hands of people who (say) decide to "junk" every mail message after reading it. For Australia, see rather the Do Not Call Register, which is the better option as these blacklisting systems are usually restricted to a couple of handfuls of numbers. * https://donotcall.gov.au https://donotcall.gov.au
- emmelaich 5y ago
  Flash is a priority higher than urgent in Navy communications.
InvaderFizz 5y ago
If you want a slightly more up to date example, these were in common use at least as recently as 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Red_Switch_Network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Red_Switch_Network As to what the FO button does, it cuts off whatever call the number you were dialing is on and connects your call instead. So you had better be sure your call is is important enough to potentially cut off a General Officer. At least that's how it was explained to me back in 2003. Never had occasion to use the priority modes.
- monocasa 5y ago
  It's more that on systems with a circuit switched network there are typically fewer outgoing/incoming lines at a location then there were telephones, so you can get in a situation where a choke point in circuits can mean that you can't make a call because they're all busy. FO will force hang up other calls to make sure yours can go through. That's very likely to hang up other, unrelated calls in order to get through, rather than the person you're calling (it will hang up their call too if they're currently on a call though).
  - a-dub 5y ago
    yes, it sets your priority for throwing others off of interswitch trunks and keeps others from throwing you off, as i understand. traditional phone network would give a fast busy or an "all circuits are busy" message if all lines between two switches are busy. the special buttons let you assign priority for your use of those lines. F0 is just max priority.
    - usrusr 5y ago
      ...and now imagine how likely "all circuits are busy" would be in a network were half of the infrastructure was freshly nuked. A dedicated button for "give me a line, I'm the president!" doesn't seem that far fetched anymore. Who knows, if they spend enough time pondering communications availability in such dire circumstances someone might invent an internet!
Natsu 5y ago
This makes me realize that "Crash Override" was probably a riff on "Flash Override" which I somehow never connected before.
op00to 5y ago
Please please please say it stand for “fuck off” and ignites the rocket under your desk chair for a quick escape.

by neom 5y ago

nexuist 5y ago

It's called "Flash Override" but I feel like a better name would have been "Fall Out."

thelittleone 5y ago
Modern phones could do with an "FO" button for an entirely different purpose. Don't like the current call... hit the FO button... let them know. In particular a disturbing practice I noticed in Australia. The bank calls, I pick up and a recording: "this is XYZ bank, please hold an operator will be with you shortly". A golden opportunity for an FO button. It could work like an email spam button Enough FO's and the number gets auto blocked.
- JdeBP 5y ago
  It already exists on many telephone service providers in some countries. It doesn't have a specific button, and it isn't standardized across providers. But on one provider in the United Kingdom, for example, it is 14258 then star twice to blacklist the number that last called. (On another provider, just to show the variation, it is 1572 then 1.) * https://sse.co.uk/asset/pdf/guide-to-call-features-with-your-sse-phone https://sse.co.uk/asset/pdf/guide-to-call-features-with-your... * https://plus.net/help/phone/call-features/ https://plus.net/help/phone/call-features/ The downside of a single button would be that even with the existing systems it is all too easy to accidentally blacklist the wrong people. I know someone who was accidentally blacklisted by one of xyr elderly friends. It caused all sorts of interesting fallout until the two of them had the opportunity to speak in person. One can imagine what a single button could do in the hands of small children. And, indeed, we have known for a couple of decades what anti-spam buttons can do in the hands of people who (say) decide to "junk" every mail message after reading it. For Australia, see rather the Do Not Call Register, which is the better option as these blacklisting systems are usually restricted to a couple of handfuls of numbers. * https://donotcall.gov.au https://donotcall.gov.au
emmelaich 5y ago
Flash is a priority higher than urgent in Navy communications.

InvaderFizz 5y ago

If you want a slightly more up to date example, these were in common use at least as recently as 2010: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Red_Switch_Network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Red_Switch_Network As to what the FO button does, it cuts off whatever call the number you were dialing is on and connects your call instead. So you had better be sure your call is is important enough to potentially cut off a General Officer. At least that's how it was explained to me back in 2003. Never had occasion to use the priority modes.

monocasa 5y ago
It's more that on systems with a circuit switched network there are typically fewer outgoing/incoming lines at a location then there were telephones, so you can get in a situation where a choke point in circuits can mean that you can't make a call because they're all busy. FO will force hang up other calls to make sure yours can go through. That's very likely to hang up other, unrelated calls in order to get through, rather than the person you're calling (it will hang up their call too if they're currently on a call though).
- a-dub 5y ago
  yes, it sets your priority for throwing others off of interswitch trunks and keeps others from throwing you off, as i understand. traditional phone network would give a fast busy or an "all circuits are busy" message if all lines between two switches are busy. the special buttons let you assign priority for your use of those lines. F0 is just max priority.
  - usrusr 5y ago
    ...and now imagine how likely "all circuits are busy" would be in a network were half of the infrastructure was freshly nuked. A dedicated button for "give me a line, I'm the president!" doesn't seem that far fetched anymore. Who knows, if they spend enough time pondering communications availability in such dire circumstances someone might invent an internet!

Natsu 5y ago

This makes me realize that "Crash Override" was probably a riff on "Flash Override" which I somehow never connected before.

op00to 5y ago

Please please please say it stand for “fuck off” and ignites the rocket under your desk chair for a quick escape.