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Post by silverdragon on Aug 16, 2017 10:08:11 GMT
On the TeeVee last night, they did an experiment for a month, and announced the results, of a "Phone plan".
Simple rules.
No phones at the table when eating.
Especially when "out" as a family.
One day a week "Phone free"
Turn off "Notifications"
Central charging point, no phones allowed in bedrooms [use a proper alarm clock]
Other simple stuff like look away from the phone, put the damn thing down, when having a conversation with someone in the room, etc?..
WIFI turned off between 11pm and 6am.
The parents changed from around 20 hrs per week on a phone to 11.
The kids managed to cut down 9-10 hrs a DAY to just 8-9 hrs....
The kids volunteered, but, I wonder how much was pressure from parents, and neither of them looked to happy about this.
Phone free Sunday, the family got out and "Did things" together.
My own personal gripe is with the "I want a reply" expectation from my own kids friends.
If they send messages, dont matter what the other person on the other end is doing, they expect a reply, NOW, and if not, SOON, or if they dont, they start organising a search party...
I asked my Kids to help a little with the tree work in the back gardens.
They HAD to put the phones down...
It was about every 10 mins they just HAD to go back and check messages?..
The "friends" were expecting "Updates" in a blow-by-blow situation, Pictures even, which annoyed them, as its strictly prohibited to take photographs on this property by rule of Dad unless requested and agreed.
One friend got themselves in a but of a tizzy because they expected one of the kids to drop everything to chat about the problems of launching a smurf into a pool of yellow custard or something just as inane and unimportant, and my kid rightly said "this is important catch you later"
Their "Why cant you talk to me at the same time" was met with "you ever operated a chainsaw and phone at the same time?."
They STILL expected updates.
After about 30 mins of this, I got fed up, and requested they turn the damn things off, either that or I am cutting off the WIFI.... they use free WIFI messaging apps so they dont drain their message allowance.
We managed three hours of work before we all had had enough, and then I fond that the Wife had had two "Visitors" at the door from neighbours kids [my kids "mates"] wandering why my Kids were not answering their phones?..
Here is the problem.
It be my phone, you do not "Own" me or have the right to demand that I be at your beck-and-call every time you send a message.
I know this, but, teaching my Kids this?..
Getting their friends to understand that as a family there are times we must act as a family and not as a social media outlet for everything we do?.. almost impossible.
Almost as impossible as getting a certain relative to understand that as my Kids are "Late" teenager, every holiday they get from school is not an open invitation that MUST be answered to go visit them?.. just maybe we want to do something on our own sometimes?.
"Its Easter soon, when are you coming to visit, just so I know what to get in for food"
"We didnt say we were coming?.. did we?.."
"Oh, why not?.. " and leave that hanging like its some kind of duty or they believe we never have anything better to do anyway?..
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Post by OziRiS on Aug 16, 2017 12:14:35 GMT
The problem I've experienced personally with partially or completely opting out of the whole social media "you have to answer everything within 30 seconds" thing is that once people start to catch the drift that you're not a slave to your phone and you'll answer if and when you get the time, some of them will see that as you not being interested in them anymore and just completely stop contacting you altogether.
Certain friends of mine have more or less dropped calling and texting and are only doing Facebook Messenger, so with me having said no to Facebook, I barely speak to them at all anymore. And it's not just the people younger than me or my own age either. It's people 10-15 years older than me as well.
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Post by Lokifan on Aug 18, 2017 22:47:05 GMT
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Post by Lokifan on Aug 19, 2017 15:20:28 GMT
The problem I've experienced personally with partially or completely opting out of the whole social media "you have to answer everything within 30 seconds" thing is that once people start to catch the drift that you're not a slave to your phone and you'll answer if and when you get the time, some of them will see that as you not being interested in them anymore and just completely stop contacting you altogether. Certain friends of mine have more or less dropped calling and texting and are only doing Facebook Messenger, so with me having said no to Facebook, I barely speak to them at all anymore. And it's not just the people younger than me or my own age either. It's people 10-15 years older than me as well. I saw a video of a bunch of children (under 12) trying to understand how phones worked in the pre-answering machine, pre-Caller ID, rotary dial era. Some were horrified to learn their parents and grandparents had to actually answer the phone to see who was calling, and if you didn't answer, they had to call back! I admit, it took a long time for me to deliberately start "letting it go to voicemail", and only in the last few years did I bother with Caller ID. I grew up with the idea the phone calls were always IMPORTANT and EXPENSIVE, so they had to be answered immediately. Telemarketers exist because of that attitude. Telemarketers use it to their advantage. Right now, if I don't recognize the Caller ID, I don't answer the phone. I've been stung by too many pitches like this: "HelloMartianTimeSharesAreTheNextBigThingAndICanGetYouInAtTheFantasticLowLowPriceOfOnly$12533452326..." Notice they are also relying on your sense of courtesy to not interrupt their steamroller pitch, forcing you to hear at least the basic approach? That's not an accident. All my friends and contacts know this, as I've made it clear I don't do Facebook and I screen my calls. If it's too much of an adjustment for them, well...too bad. I'm a friendly guy in general, but I'm no one's slave, least of all the phone's. I was just thinking of this last night when a newly made acquaintance called me at 11:30 PM. She had done this previously, and I had answered, thinking it must be important to call so late. But no, that call was just a "chat". Okay, she's now on my radar for "screen first, then call back if I really want to talk for an hour". Surprise, I don't call her back. Rude? I'm sorry, but if you call my home after 9, it better be for an emergency, not just a "chat". I've made it clear that I don't answer phones that late for anything else. And I won't drop everything just because someone on a phone says so. Oh, and the steamroller pitch? Depending on my mood, I either hang up in the middle of it, or I set the handset down on the table and walk away. I figure they'll waste their time giving the pitch, then hang up later--and I've slowed them down so it will take longer before the next poor sod answers. My wife sometimes likes to play with them--I call them her "chew toys". When she's in the mood, she'll string them along by asking them to repeat their pitch, or telling them she can't quite hear them, or simply saying "Huh? What?" repeatedly, seeing how long it will take before they give up. An amazingly long time, it seems.  |
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Post by GTCGreg on Aug 19, 2017 17:03:49 GMT
My wife sometimes likes to play with them--I call them her "chew toys". When she's in the mood, she'll string them along by asking them to repeat their pitch, or telling them she can't quite hear them, or simply saying "Huh? What?" repeatedly, seeing how long it will take before they give up. An amazingly long time, it seems. If it's a real person calling, I like to play with them also, if I have the time. One guy called and I kept him going in circles for about 10 minutes when he finally said; "Your retarded" and hung up on me. That call made my day. |
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Post by silverdragon on Aug 20, 2017 8:29:05 GMT
My Kid had "One of them" on his phone last week.
I was wetting my sides, he kept them talking...
One of those "You have a virus we would like to fix it for you" ones.
Is you computer on?. Yes, can you navigate to such-a-place, no, can you got to this place, no, do you have this icon on your screen, nope, in your settings can you get to this menu, yes, can you chose this one, no, ...
I knew what he was doing.
Eventually after a little more to-and-fro he gets the question what version of windows are you using?.
My Dad says they are UPVC...
Eh?..
The windows on the house?.
No the one on your computer
I dont have windows...
This is my Kid doing University of Smart-A$$, Computer studies for the terminally sarcastic.
His laptop is exclusively Linux these days.
But listening in on his speaker phone phone call was hilarious, even if I did have to leave the room so his new caller "friend" didnt hear me pizza-ing my sides laughing?.
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Post by OziRiS on Aug 21, 2017 12:12:16 GMT
/SNIP/ I was just thinking of this last night when a newly made acquaintance called me at 11:30 PM. She had done this previously, and I had answered, thinking it must be important to call so late. But no, that call was just a "chat". Okay, she's now on my radar for "screen first, then call back if I really want to talk for an hour". Surprise, I don't call her back. Rude? I'm sorry, but if you call my home after 9, it better be for an emergency, not just a "chat". I've made it clear that I don't answer phones that late for anything else. /SNIP/ THANK YOU!!!I've been trying to get people to understand for years that unless it's either some sort of emergency or I'm expecting your call because we've spoken earlier and agreed to talk at that time, DON'T FRIGGIN' CALL ME BETWEEN 9 P.M. and 7 A.M.!!! If my phone rings between those hours, I at the very least expect to hear sniffing at the other end of the line, if not full on crying or sobbing! If you're not there yet, you don't really NEED to talk to me! |
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Post by GTCGreg on Aug 21, 2017 14:13:27 GMT
Since I'm always up past midnight, I really don't care if someone calls me after 9 PM. At least I know it's not a telemarketer.
I seldom make a call that late, but I do have some friends that I know are night-owls and wouldn't hesitate to call them if there was a need.
I have one friend that always calls me between 4 and 5 pm. This is usually crunch time for me getting business orders ready for UPS pickup and no matter how many times I have told him, he still calls at this time. I just pick up the phone and say; "Can't talk now, I'll call you later", and hang up before he has a chance to say anything. You would think he would have figured it out by now. But no.
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Post by silverdragon on Aug 22, 2017 6:47:52 GMT
Since I'm always up past midnight, I really don't care if someone calls me after 9 PM. At least I know it's not a telemarketer. I seldom make a call that late, but I do have some friends that I know are night-owls and wouldn't hesitate to call them if there was a need. I have one friend that always calls me between 4 and 5 pm. This is usually crunch time for me getting business orders ready for UPS pickup and no matter how many times I have told him, he still calls at this time. I just pick up the phone and say; "Can't talk now, I'll call you later", and hang up before he has a chance to say anything. You would think he would have figured it out by now. But no. Must be related to my Mother, who ALWAYS calls between 6 and 7 pm.... Just as we eat. Except on the two days a week when I take my wife to the supermarket when she calls just as we are about to go?. |
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Post by the light works on Aug 22, 2017 14:23:43 GMT
one of the "customer advocate" blurbs on the TV last week was that if you get a robocall, hang up as soon as you recognize it - say nothing press nothing, just disconnect ASAP.
there are some robocall machines that will interpret any response as meaning it is a valid number and add it to the list of numbers to be sold onwards.
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Post by Lokifan on Aug 22, 2017 15:17:25 GMT
The "Telezapper" helped for a while, too.
It was a gadget that connected in line with your phone. Pick it up, and it generated a brief tone at the same frequency as the tone in the message you get for a disconnected phone. Apparently, many robodialers would detect that and drop your number off the list.
Worked for me back in the 2000s, anyway. I went from multiple calls a day down to one or two a week.
I stopped using it because my wife was job hunting, and wanted no reason to annoy or disconnect a potential lead.
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Post by silverdragon on Aug 24, 2017 5:31:43 GMT
In My experience, there used to be something in Autodialers that could "Sense" an answering machine.
So I used to wait until my machine "picked up" before I answered...
It Worked.
But now?.. my number is TPS registered, and I threaten any telemarketers with action if the cold call, it works, I aint got a spam call on my home line for months.
BTW, I followed up the threats, I did report a few nasties, the cold call scam ones.
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Post by GTCGreg on Aug 24, 2017 17:31:27 GMT
In My experience, there used to be something in Autodialers that could "Sense" an answering machine. So I used to wait until my machine "picked up" before I answered... It Worked. But now?.. my number is TPS registered, and I threaten any telemarketers with action if the cold call, it works, I aint got a spam call on my home line for months. BTW, I followed up the threats, I did report a few nasties, the cold call scam ones. Here, registering your number on the Do Not Call list is a waste of time. Telemarketers know that the government doesn't do anything about it and totally ignore it. I'd say about 80% or more of the calls I get are robo calls. Most are just recordings with a "press one if interested" at the end of the sales pitch. More and more have interactive AI robots that try to carry on a conversation with you. Those calls can get interesting if you just keep saying really stupid things. As far as reporting the calls, to who? The Federal Trade Commission, which is the agency responsible for the do not call list couldn't care less. |
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Post by the light works on Aug 25, 2017 2:16:54 GMT
In My experience, there used to be something in Autodialers that could "Sense" an answering machine. So I used to wait until my machine "picked up" before I answered... It Worked. But now?.. my number is TPS registered, and I threaten any telemarketers with action if the cold call, it works, I aint got a spam call on my home line for months. BTW, I followed up the threats, I did report a few nasties, the cold call scam ones. Here, registering your number on the Do Not Call list is a waste of time. Telemarketers know that the government doesn't do anything about it and totally ignore it. I'd say about 80% or more of the calls I get are robo calls. Most are just recordings with a "press one if interested" at the end of the sales pitch. More and more have interactive AI robots that try to carry on a conversation with you. Those calls can get interesting if you just keep saying really stupid things. As far as reporting the calls, to who? The Federal Trade Commission, which is the agency responsible for the do not call list couldn't care less. the federal communications commission removed the option to complain about nuisance calls or faxes from their website. all I've come up with is using their phone number any time you suspect someone if phishing for numbers to sell. |
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Post by silverdragon on Aug 26, 2017 7:04:16 GMT
In My experience, there used to be something in Autodialers that could "Sense" an answering machine. So I used to wait until my machine "picked up" before I answered... It Worked. But now?.. my number is TPS registered, and I threaten any telemarketers with action if the cold call, it works, I aint got a spam call on my home line for months. BTW, I followed up the threats, I did report a few nasties, the cold call scam ones. Here, registering your number on the Do Not Call list is a waste of time. Telemarketers know that the government doesn't do anything about it and totally ignore it. I'd say about 80% or more of the calls I get are robo calls. Most are just recordings with a "press one if interested" at the end of the sales pitch. More and more have interactive AI robots that try to carry on a conversation with you. Those calls can get interesting if you just keep saying really stupid things. As far as reporting the calls, to who? The Federal Trade Commission, which is the agency responsible for the do not call list couldn't care less. Knowing the right office helps, here its ico.org.uk/ , who DO have teeth, because I had one last month that has been closed down since after many people like myself complained. The change in Law in UK that basically makes cold-calling illegal has given them more teeth as well, and they do act. They have a "Long list", I know, but they can at least petition the phone line providers to cease the contract with rogue callers, and in doing that, the rogue company is in breach of EULA with their providers and will still have to pay the contract terms whilst their service is suspended under investigation. Find out who is doing what, complain, be a nuisance, get other people to complain, and eventually something is done... Its a bit like mating elephants, done at high level with a lot of roaring and screaming and takes a couple of years to get results, but, with enough pressure, something happens, and if you all, all 380 million of you, get organised, eventually?.. But once again, this little island on the unpopular north west part of europe can show you the way. It took YEARS of shouting at the complaints department to get the ICO office set up and doing something. |
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Post by the light works on Aug 31, 2017 2:07:55 GMT
they have just released the news that there is an approved genetic therapy that is effective against childhood lukemia. apparently there are still side effects, and it costs over a million dollars, for the treatment.
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Post by Lokifan on Sept 5, 2017 3:39:40 GMT
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