There was no expectation of privacy with early phone systems. I'm only 31 but when i was very young my parents (in small town Washington) had a party line [1] s

There was no expectation of privacy with early phone systems. I'm only 31 but when i was very young my parents (in small town Washington) had a party line [1] shared with some neighbors such that you could listen in on each others calls. See also the archetype of the gossipy telephone operator. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_(telephony) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_(telephony)