Can't block caller ID in Massachusetts?

[Michael H. Warfield]

Eric Murray enscribed thusly:

> Caller ID isn't for people, it's for businesses who want to
> track callers.  They're willing to pay for that service, enough
> to make it worth the while of the phone companies to spend many
> millions on a campaign of lies (excuse me, "PR") to convince us
> that we need CID for "safety".

	BULLSH*T!  Pure, unadulterated, BULLSH*T!  Businesses don't NEED
Caller ID!  They've got (and have had for a long time) ANI!  Most businesses
don't even WANT CLID!  You can block CLID.  You can't block ANI.

	This was the ultimate and supreme LIE behind all of the fights
over CLID.  All the arguements about how businesses would then abuse this
and that and would invade our privacy was all a crock of SH*T.  All CLID
did was give to the consumer SOME of what businesses have had for years.
The whole business abuse arguement was pure red herring...

	Even in California, where CLID was stopped for a while, businesses
still had ANI.  Do you actually think your numbers were safe just because
they weren't delivered to residences?  Hell no!  Businesses could still
get them if they wanted them and there was nothing you could do about it!
To top it off - you THOUGHT you were safe!

	I know of some businesses whose sole reason for getting a 1-800
number was to be able to log and track that information.  Every wonder
about those local companies who still had you call a 1-800 number.  Guess
what.  That was the easiest (and sometimes the cheapest) way to get ANI.
I ran a Harris 20/20 PBX switch for a company over 6 years ago and remember
looking over and discussing the ANI specs with the management.  We decided
not to pursue trying to get ANI on our DID lines but the switch supported
it and that switch was considered out of date technology at THAT time!

> -- 
> Eric Murray  ericm at lne.com  ericm at motorcycle.com  http://www.lne.com/ericm
> PGP keyid:E03F65E5 fingerprint:50 B0 A2 4C 7D 86 FC 03  92 E8 AC E6 7E 27 29 AF

	Mike
-- 
 Michael H. Warfield    |  (770) 985-6132   |  mhw at WittsEnd.com
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