4 ms·

It's also unfortunate that robocalling isn't bannable across the board because politicians want to continue to have the ability to spam call constituents. It's

by munk-a 4y ago

It's also unfortunate that robocalling isn't bannable across the board because politicians want to continue to have the ability to spam call constituents. It's really unfortunate that all sorts of automatic calls need to continue being permitted just so we can have the delightful luxury of getting spam fundraising calls from politicians. This has real world consequences, last year a lost hiker ended up declining calls from search and rescue[1] since they assumed they were spam. There is a really easy and extremely effective solution to this problem - charge calls on both ends. Make the caller pay a few cents for every call placed instead of placing the full charge on the receiver. 1. https://www.npr.org/2021/10/26/1049252333/lost-hiker-mount-elbert-colorado-ignored-rescuers-phone-calls https://www.npr.org/2021/10/26/1049252333/lost-hiker-mount-e...

brk 4y ago
Yes, there are lots of solutions if there is a genuine attempt to solve the problem and not just dance around it. Political calls and texts should absolutely be blockable by users if they so choose. Cost-based calling may not be practical, IMO. I look at the amount of junk mail I get from the USPS and I am not sure a "sender pays" approach would result in a meaningful reduction with a cost structure that didn't also impact regular users. A rate-limiting approach on call origination could work, but in the end I still think that a simple that gives the users control to block unwanted calls/texts, coupled with an origination source validation would solve most of the problem. There is nothing preventing us from capturing and passing accurate call origination data.
- godelski 4y ago
  Just an FYI, FTC has a signup for junk mail just like they do for phone calls. I just do the prescreen one and the only junk I get now is for previous tenants. Unfortunately I don't know how to solve that one. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail
  - thewebcount 4y ago
    Ugh. That's an awful solution. In order to not be spammed and have your privacy invaded, you have to submit information about yourself to the bad actors in the first place. Plus you have to pay them for the privilege of not harassing you, and on top of it, they only stop for 10 years and then you have to do it all over again. It's fucking ridiculous. This is not a real solution.
    - godelski 4y ago
      It is awful, but they already are buying that information tbh. So I'm not sure there's an information gain through this. I don't do the paid service (which is $2... come on...) and my spam (phone and mail) is significantly reduced. It's not a perfect solution, but it is a real solution.
njarboe 4y ago
I've thought this would be a good solution for years. I would like if you could choose the amount to charge people to call you that aren't on your white list. You get 90% of that and the phone company gets 10%. A win-win-win for you the, the phone company, and people trying to talk to you. I would probably set to a dollar or two. Warren Buffet or Elon Musk could set it to $10 million put you would probably need and escrow account for that amount of money.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
kube-system 4y ago
Aren't the robocallers paying for VoIP services now?
bluGill 4y ago
Since most robo calls are also illegal scams even if the call was legal all we really need is verified numbers so that we can use phone records to catch the person making the call. Politicians want you to know who is calling - name recognition is important. "I got a call from X is a big deal".

by munk-a 4y ago

brk 4y ago

Yes, there are lots of solutions if there is a genuine attempt to solve the problem and not just dance around it. Political calls and texts should absolutely be blockable by users if they so choose. Cost-based calling may not be practical, IMO. I look at the amount of junk mail I get from the USPS and I am not sure a "sender pays" approach would result in a meaningful reduction with a cost structure that didn't also impact regular users. A rate-limiting approach on call origination could work, but in the end I still think that a simple that gives the users control to block unwanted calls/texts, coupled with an origination source validation would solve most of the problem. There is nothing preventing us from capturing and passing accurate call origination data.

godelski 4y ago
Just an FYI, FTC has a signup for junk mail just like they do for phone calls. I just do the prescreen one and the only junk I get now is for previous tenants. Unfortunately I don't know how to solve that one. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail
- thewebcount 4y ago
  Ugh. That's an awful solution. In order to not be spammed and have your privacy invaded, you have to submit information about yourself to the bad actors in the first place. Plus you have to pay them for the privilege of not harassing you, and on top of it, they only stop for 10 years and then you have to do it all over again. It's fucking ridiculous. This is not a real solution.
  - godelski 4y ago
    It is awful, but they already are buying that information tbh. So I'm not sure there's an information gain through this. I don't do the paid service (which is $2... come on...) and my spam (phone and mail) is significantly reduced. It's not a perfect solution, but it is a real solution.

njarboe 4y ago

I've thought this would be a good solution for years. I would like if you could choose the amount to charge people to call you that aren't on your white list. You get 90% of that and the phone company gets 10%. A win-win-win for you the, the phone company, and people trying to talk to you. I would probably set to a dollar or two. Warren Buffet or Elon Musk could set it to $10 million put you would probably need and escrow account for that amount of money.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

kube-system 4y ago

Aren't the robocallers paying for VoIP services now?

bluGill 4y ago

Since most robo calls are also illegal scams even if the call was legal all we really need is verified numbers so that we can use phone records to catch the person making the call. Politicians want you to know who is calling - name recognition is important. "I got a call from X is a big deal".