Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site olivee.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!ucdavis!ucbvax!decvax!decwrl!Glacier!oliveb!olivee!gnome
From: gnome@olivee.UUCP (Gary Traveis)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Phone-line-grabbing junk callers (release time)
Message-ID: <437@olivee.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Nov-85 17:40:00 EST
Article-I.D.: olivee.437
Posted: Wed Nov  6 17:40:00 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Nov-85 07:02:48 EST
References: <29f04efc.a51@apollo.uucp>
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 23

> From (Mark Rosenthal @ Adaptive Optics Assoc., Cambridge, Mass. USA)
> > These machines are especially obnoxious since they refuse to release your
> > phone line until they are done with you...
> 
> This practice is not only obnoxious, but also potentially dangerous. One night,
> I got such a "junk" call during my Girl Scout meeting. The recorded caller
> did not relinquish my phone line for over six minutes. (I timed it.) I had
> nineteen kids in the house. What if I had to call the paramedics or the fire
> department? Six minutes can be a LONG time in an emergency.
> 
> w. christensen

If you live in an area that has relatively modern central-office equipment,
all you have to do is leave your phone on the hook for over 15 seconds and
the calling party will get disconnected from your line.

This applies to all CO's other than step-by-step, which are very old and
cannot accept Touch-Tone phones (one way of telling).  The other way
of telling is to call a friend and have 'em hang up for 15-18 seconds.

None the less, those machines do suck.

Gary