Bill Schwab Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Okay, I admit, I'm a bit hyper, but it drives me nuts!! Is there some logical reason why the older folks among us wait until the 2nd ring to pick up the phone? My mother-in-law does it, my Dad does it, and this gentelman who sits next to me at work does it all day. I keep wondering if maybe, years ago, the connection didn't go through if you picked the phone up right away. Anyone? Maybe I'm just anal..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Party lines. Unless you lived out in the country way back when, you probably never heard of them. Several houses shared one line. You knew if you were supposed to pick it up by the number of rings. Of course, once it stopped ringing, all the other neighbors picked up the line and listened in. The digital age has done wonders for privacy, but killed off a lot of juicy rural gossip. (Edited by EricW at 10:32 am on Dec. 12, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPSC CHIK1 Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 i wait for the second ring so my caller ID activates. SharonAnne L 2387 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted December 12, 2002 Share Posted December 12, 2002 Ditto on IPSC CHIK. I also seem to have a bunch of knobs that only let it ring once before hanging up. Pick it up on the first and theres no one there..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 My caller ID seems to activate before the first ring and does a 'gotcha' on all calls. Thank goodness. ErikW-- Oooo, that goes back a long way. You're probably right (even though that phenom was prevalent even a little before MY time)(or maybe it was because I didn't live full-time in a rural setting). I don't think it's just "old" people... we have a young dude at the office who has the volume turned way up on his ring, waits at least two rings to pick up his phone, is sitting--for cryin' out loud--only about six inches from the phone in the first place... That must be how they do it in Turkey (that's where he's from). I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Ditto on Pat. They realized they dialed wrong and hang up. I love getting non-English speakers calling me all the time. (My prefix is used in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood.) - Hello? - (they speak so quickly I can hardly identify the language) - Hello? - ?Que? ?Guillermo? (or whomever) - No esta aqui. Su numero esta mal. - (click, dial tone) (10-30 seconds pass and the phone rings again) - !Hola! - (click, dial tone) If only I could connect these people with the telemarketers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 You don't realize how retarded people are on the phone 'til you work wiretaps. Some guys should not be allowed to touch them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Party line phones were funny. We had one when I was a little kid. Of course we lived WAY out in the boonies back then. The area was so backwards the church we went to actually had an outhouse. Sound like stories from a 70 year old? Nah. I'm 36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogmaDog Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Hahaha...pretty funny all. Sorry in advance for the thread drift, but I hate calls from telemarketers. I have noticed, however, that there's a little pause when you pick up the phone, between when the computer detects your pick up, and connects the annoying telemarketer on the other end. I got in the habbit of hanging up quickly if someone didn't start talking to me within about 1/2 second of my "Hello?" Sometimes I'd get a call back from some bewildered friend, wanting to know what happened, but most of the time, nothing. I'm just presuming that means I'm hanging up on telemarketers successfully. If you ever call me, you better say whatever it is you wanna say, right away dammit! Lata, DD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Dogma, that's the answering-machine detector in the delay-- they wait for a couple seconds of silence to be sure you're message is done before they start the recording. You can make one of those irritating "Hello?? {pause} Ha, got you, I'm not here." messages, but better yet, stick the tone from the 'doo-dee-dah This number is no longer in service" on the front of your message-- that hangs up the computers, and is the same thing those 'Tele-Zappers' as seen-on-TV do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaughn leayme Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I haven't been able to get the mafia (phone technician) out to my place to put in the second and third lines, so the Computer (data) and Fax machine, share the same line and are set to detect the carrier signal by the second ring. Get the BEEP BEEP HISS in your ear a couple of times and you remember to wait. The computer recognizes the tele marketing computers and assumes they want to initiate a data transfer and click they try to hangup and my computer has on occasion actually dialed them up and hiss and beeps in thier ear.......Ahhh it makes me warm to the soles of my feet just thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 It takes me at least 2 rings to get up off the couch and get to the phone, then at least 2 MORE rings to find my glasses to read the caller ID - by then, the answering machine gets it and I don't have to talk to anybody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 Just 2 rings? Sometimes i wait until it hits 4 and the answering machine kicks in. I never agreed that i had to jump up and answer a ringing phone. My phone, my time...and if I don't want to answer or I want to screen the call...my business! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I don't answer the phone. That's why someone invented voicemail! People who rate have my cell phone number. That one I do answer 24 hours a day ---- but very grumpily between 3 a.m. and Noon, if I'm asleep and the caller isn't going to either the hospital or the morgue.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 I let my answering machine screen my calls. If I want to talk to you, I'll pick up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Schwab Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Bill, maybe they believe everyone will think they were actually doing something when you called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 Quote: from Eric Schwab on 7:51 pm on Jan. 2, 2003 Bill, maybe they believe everyone will think they were actually doing something when you called. Er, I can always count on you to interject humor into just about any situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2alpha Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Bill, chill out man, how much time is this costing you? It's not only the old people who don't answer on the first ring, you might be interupting my meditation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted January 4, 2003 Author Share Posted January 4, 2003 Quote: from 2alpha on 10:25 pm on Jan. 3, 2003 Bill, chill out man, how much time is this costing you? It's not only the old people who don't answer on the first ring, you might be interupting my meditation You're right, I DO need to chill. I'm just kinda hyper sometimes, okay, lotsa times....I need to calm down when I'm driving too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Schwab Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 I need to calm down when I'm driving too. Yes!!! I can vouch for that statement! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 I've got both a home phone (obviously) and a cell phone, but don't really like answering either. For some reason I prefer email and meeting face-to-face over speaking with someone on the phone. Nowadays I'm horrible... if I don't recognize the number on my Caller ID or if it says "Private Call" or "Unknown" I'm liable to not pick it up or answer with a "What?!" I don't know... I guess it just stems from having a cell phone for so long (that had to be on "just in case"). The only relief you get is when you're driving through an area with no signal (a good part of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia on Cingular before it was Cingular). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now