4 ms·

using my landline, i generally just give people my last 6 digits - one of the reasons i like using landlines for local calls, actually

bobthepanda 3y ago
Most major metro areas in the US no longer support seven digit dialing.
- creeble 3y ago
  And I love how they call it "10-digit calling" even though it generally requires 11 digits (or 11 button presses on cell).
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    Huh? You don’t if it’s a “local” call. Probably more of a US thing where mobile phone long-distance charges went the way of the dodo a long time ago. But they’re still very much a thing in Canada and just starting to die off.
  - caturopath 3y ago
    I'm not sure I follow. Obviously cell phones and cordless phones have a talk button, but that's not very digitlike. When I operate a landline, I just enter ten digits: 9095551212. Are you implying a leading 1 would be necessary? IME, it isn't for local 'ten digit dialing'.
    - giantrobot 3y ago
      The 909 area code? What, are you buying meth?
      - DonHopkins 3y ago
        411 on the 909: https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/909/ https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/909/
  - lxgr 3y ago
    And even more if you count the taps/swipes to unlock the screen! So people generally don't.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  Sometimes it’s just implied. At the pizza place where our cabin is (ok, it’s like a 25 minutes drive), you can just give them your last 4 numbers and they assume the rest.
  - readthenotes1 3y ago
    Up until the 1980s my great-grandparents lived in the town where they only used four digits for all local calls. It was pretty nice, they tell me
  - ThrowAway1922A 3y ago
    > Sometimes it’s just implied. Like in Nova Scotia/PEI. Technically there are two area codes, but no one actually knows what the second one is. The other one is undesirable because if people see it they often won't even answer, assuming it's scam or such. That's how unknown it still is 902 was introduced in 1947, making it one of the first area codes used in Canada and it's been completely ingrained in the region since then. The second was only introduced in 2014.
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      That’s interesting. In the US spam calling is so prolific I assume anyone using my area code is a spammer spoofing. Though it helps that I don’t live where I got the phone number anymore.
vxNsr 3y ago
You must live in a very remote area to still support that. Not to mention to still have a landline, no one I know in my area will even give out a POTS line, you can only get VOIP and most households don’t have that anymore either, aside from the outrageous cost all the providers charge for a single line, there’s so many taxes and fees you end up paying close to 100% more. (E.g $40/m for the line ends up being $80). Most families that have young kids who are old enough to place calls but not have a cellphone appear to just some form of internet VOIP like ooma.
- ghaff 3y ago
  Even living someplace that has fairly poor cell reception if WiFi assist isn't working for some reason, it's really hard to justify a landline as "backup" for the rare occasions I wished I had it. I got rid of it a few years ago and, while there has been a day or two I wish I had it, hard to make the case. (And, yeah, if you're going to be VOIP anyway, if your internet and/or power is hosed you're probably not in a better place anyway.)
  - vel0city 3y ago
    Wouldn't it be nice if your cellular provider had a SIP gateway for your number as well, and if it rang your phone it would also route to your SIP device? Like, it's already routing calls through the WiFi. Is it really that much harder for them to allow two devices to register for the number and connect the first to answer?
    - lxgr 3y ago
      My German mobile phone provider supports that! It's really handy when traveling internationally; I usually receive my calls over SIP without incurring any roaming charges (due to using a local SIM). In the US, Google Voice allows a conceptually similar thing (but you need to give everybody your Google Voice number or port your "real" number there; then you can forward calls to both a mobile and a SIP number, with both ringing for incoming calls).
- seabass-labrax 3y ago

bobthepanda 3y ago

Most major metro areas in the US no longer support seven digit dialing.

creeble 3y ago
And I love how they call it "10-digit calling" even though it generally requires 11 digits (or 11 button presses on cell).
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  Huh? You don’t if it’s a “local” call. Probably more of a US thing where mobile phone long-distance charges went the way of the dodo a long time ago. But they’re still very much a thing in Canada and just starting to die off.
- caturopath 3y ago
  I'm not sure I follow. Obviously cell phones and cordless phones have a talk button, but that's not very digitlike. When I operate a landline, I just enter ten digits: 9095551212. Are you implying a leading 1 would be necessary? IME, it isn't for local 'ten digit dialing'.
  - giantrobot 3y ago
    The 909 area code? What, are you buying meth?
    - DonHopkins 3y ago
      411 on the 909: https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/909/ https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/909/
- lxgr 3y ago
  And even more if you count the taps/swipes to unlock the screen! So people generally don't.
Scoundreller 3y ago
Sometimes it’s just implied. At the pizza place where our cabin is (ok, it’s like a 25 minutes drive), you can just give them your last 4 numbers and they assume the rest.
- readthenotes1 3y ago
  Up until the 1980s my great-grandparents lived in the town where they only used four digits for all local calls. It was pretty nice, they tell me
- ThrowAway1922A 3y ago
  > Sometimes it’s just implied. Like in Nova Scotia/PEI. Technically there are two area codes, but no one actually knows what the second one is. The other one is undesirable because if people see it they often won't even answer, assuming it's scam or such. That's how unknown it still is 902 was introduced in 1947, making it one of the first area codes used in Canada and it's been completely ingrained in the region since then. The second was only introduced in 2014.
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    That’s interesting. In the US spam calling is so prolific I assume anyone using my area code is a spammer spoofing. Though it helps that I don’t live where I got the phone number anymore.

vxNsr 3y ago

You must live in a very remote area to still support that. Not to mention to still have a landline, no one I know in my area will even give out a POTS line, you can only get VOIP and most households don’t have that anymore either, aside from the outrageous cost all the providers charge for a single line, there’s so many taxes and fees you end up paying close to 100% more. (E.g $40/m for the line ends up being $80). Most families that have young kids who are old enough to place calls but not have a cellphone appear to just some form of internet VOIP like ooma.

ghaff 3y ago
Even living someplace that has fairly poor cell reception if WiFi assist isn't working for some reason, it's really hard to justify a landline as "backup" for the rare occasions I wished I had it. I got rid of it a few years ago and, while there has been a day or two I wish I had it, hard to make the case. (And, yeah, if you're going to be VOIP anyway, if your internet and/or power is hosed you're probably not in a better place anyway.)
- vel0city 3y ago
  Wouldn't it be nice if your cellular provider had a SIP gateway for your number as well, and if it rang your phone it would also route to your SIP device? Like, it's already routing calls through the WiFi. Is it really that much harder for them to allow two devices to register for the number and connect the first to answer?
  - lxgr 3y ago
    My German mobile phone provider supports that! It's really handy when traveling internationally; I usually receive my calls over SIP without incurring any roaming charges (due to using a local SIM). In the US, Google Voice allows a conceptually similar thing (but you need to give everybody your Google Voice number or port your "real" number there; then you can forward calls to both a mobile and a SIP number, with both ringing for incoming calls).
seabass-labrax 3y ago