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From: cdaf@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Charles Daffinger)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Caller ID Privacy Question
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Date: 18 Aug 89 02:45:12 GMT
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X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 309, message 1 of 8

In article  bnick%aucis.UUCP@mailgw.
cc.umich.edu (Bill Nickless) writes:
> [...]
>And if we can stop these obscene phone calls without getting Big Brother
>involved, more power to Caller ID.  Since it's now technically feasible,
>let's do it.  In 10 years people will wonder how they ever got along without
>it.  Secretaries can get written or digital record of who calls, without
>getting numbers mixed up.  All kinds of other benefits present themselves.

>Just because something is new doesn't mean it's bad.

My second line is unpublished and unlisted for a reason.  I don't want
other people to have it.  Not secretaries, not friends... nobody.
According to a posting in the Digest a while ago, ATT goes to great lengths
to protect the privacy of such a number.  If it were to show up on the
screen of whomever I'm calling, that would be silly, would it not?

Something which *could* be acceptable to some may be the option of
using some kind of an alternate code for those who so desire.  Thus,
instead of your unlisted/unpublished number appearing on the screen of
the receiver of the call, an alternative code (certainly a
non-telephone number) would appear.  This identification number would
be unique and associated with your particular number.  If somebody has an
unlisted/unpublished phone number then this associated number is
treated in the same way as the phone number:  with the same level of
confidentiality.

This way, when you make a call people can identify *who* is making the call
once they know that number comes up when you call, while preserving the
privacy of your telephone number.

In the case of harrassing phone calls from unlisted/unpublished numbers
using such a feature, the telephone company could cross-reference the
code for the harrassing calls with its telephone logs.  If indeed these
match, the telephone company alone can easily find the phone from which
these calls originated.

But then, the harrasser could be from a pay phone...

-charles

--
Charles Daffinger  >Take me to the river, Drop me in the water<  (812) 339-7354
cdaf@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu              {pur-ee,rutgers,pyramid,ames}!iuvax!cdaf
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