15 ms·

Honestly I'm at the point where I'm like lets just kill the POTS. It makes little sense to me that it's become a sort of user ID for many things, that we have b

Honestly I'm at the point where I'm like lets just kill the POTS. It makes little sense to me that it's become a sort of user ID for many things, that we have better alternatives (WebRTC, FaceTime et al) that we should push. Like where it currently says "Telephone number" i should be able to put in a URL like "webrtc://<a pseudonym for my IMEI>" (which itself could be a dropdown box for "This device" on the phone itself...) For example, why isn't it the default that when a telemarketer calls me it's not a video call? And why can't I preview their video stream prior to answering? I get its "impossible" to make everyone change, but i do think we should push forwards...

frollogaston 4mo ago
IMEI is tied to the physical phone, Facetime is Apple-specific, idk what the webrtc option would be. I'm actually glad phone won as digital ID, not cause it's the best choice but because it could've been a lot worse.
apt-apt-apt-apt 4mo ago
Careful, you are one capital letter 'U' away from having the FBI, NSA, SWAT team at your door!
themafia 4mo ago
> that we have better alternatives (WebRTC, FaceTime et al) They may or may not be better. What they _aren't_ is "widely available." Also I feel like a lot of people forget that phones still work even if the power grid is disabled. Your replacement should have the same attribute. > why isn't it the default that when a telemarketer calls me it's not a video call? How about when I block you I block the underlying service number and not the fake caller ID number. If a company gets blocked by too many customers it is automatically disconnected from the network. This is _our_ network. Not the spammers. All companies use it by our leave. They wanted common carrier status and that should have a price.
- dredmorbius 4mo ago
  phones still work even if the power grid is disabled With the sunset of POTS and twisted-pair copper wire, this is absolutely not the case. At the very least, service continuation now requires 1) cellular masts with reserve power and 2) a charged cellphone (most of which have at best ~24h battery life), or 3) a directly-wired or fibre-based Internet access and 4) battery-backed VOIP or SIP system. A POTS service had its own power supply, independent of mains, with battery back-up, and frequently ran for days even during widespread grid outages.

frollogaston 4mo ago

IMEI is tied to the physical phone, Facetime is Apple-specific, idk what the webrtc option would be. I'm actually glad phone won as digital ID, not cause it's the best choice but because it could've been a lot worse.

apt-apt-apt-apt 4mo ago

Careful, you are one capital letter 'U' away from having the FBI, NSA, SWAT team at your door!

themafia 4mo ago

> that we have better alternatives (WebRTC, FaceTime et al) They may or may not be better. What they _aren't_ is "widely available." Also I feel like a lot of people forget that phones still work even if the power grid is disabled. Your replacement should have the same attribute. > why isn't it the default that when a telemarketer calls me it's not a video call? How about when I block you I block the underlying service number and not the fake caller ID number. If a company gets blocked by too many customers it is automatically disconnected from the network. This is _our_ network. Not the spammers. All companies use it by our leave. They wanted common carrier status and that should have a price.

dredmorbius 4mo ago
phones still work even if the power grid is disabled With the sunset of POTS and twisted-pair copper wire, this is absolutely not the case. At the very least, service continuation now requires 1) cellular masts with reserve power and 2) a charged cellphone (most of which have at best ~24h battery life), or 3) a directly-wired or fibre-based Internet access and 4) battery-backed VOIP or SIP system. A POTS service had its own power supply, independent of mains, with battery back-up, and frequently ran for days even during widespread grid outages.