Land lines -- do you miss them?

[Jimmy Todd]

I never did quite grasp the whole taking the earring off to answer the phone thing to be honest, other than the fact that it looks really cool when being done properly.

Sue Ellen Ewing was also quite adept at that move

 

[Richard Channing]

God yes.

The notion of always being available is such a stress factor for me. I miss when you weren't at home, you just weren't at home. Now everyone and their mom expects you to be available at a moment's notice. Hate that for me.

Yes, I hate this also. If you don't answer a call on a smartphone you know that they know that you, for some reason, are not answering their call. So just by doing nothing you are already putting certain thought processes in motion. So as much as I like caller ID because you can choose who to ignore it also means that you enter into a kind of mind game with someone just by doing nothing that will eventually require you having to make excuses or explain things.

Then there's my parents who love to catastrophize. If I don't answer a couple of calls from them they immediately assume that I'm probably bleeding to death on the bathroom floor and can't reach my phone. So no matter what mood I'm in it's just not worth the chain of events that will ensue if I don't pick up.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Sue Ellen Ewing was also quite adept at that move

I think she did it better than anyone. I would quite often forget who she said was calling cause I was too busy watching her do this.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Then there's my parents who love to catastrophize. If I don't answer a couple of calls from them they immediately assume that I'm probably bleeding to death on the bathroom floor and can't reach my phone

I have one of these in my family unfortunately. If I don’t answer it soon turns into a manhunt to find my whereabouts. They will keep calling over and over until I finally answer. If that doesn’t work they will call the rest of the family one by one seeing who’s heard from me. Soon a federal investigation begins until I’m found. I kind of enjoy it though. Every family needs one of these in my opinion.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I still have my landline, admittedly the phone hardly gets used anymore but my broadband is through it and it's handy to have it in case of an emergency and I can't find my mobile.

 

[Seaviewer]

I still have my landline only because my father requested it and now I thank him everyday. He can phone my home and leave a brief - non urgent - message for me. However since the onset of scammers I find having my home phone is a godsend. I never offer my mobile number to any company/organization. I give them my home phone number and now I find most, in particular scammers hang up as soon as the answering machine kicks in. If a legit organization leaves a message I simple choose to delete it. Using this method means my private mobile number isn't being sold or end up somewhere I don't wish for it to be. If some random text or phone calls sneaks thru I know it's a scammer.

That's similar to me. My landline is still my primary phone. Telemarketers and scammers are no problem because I let the answering machine pick up. I don't have a smart phone - just a simple mobile that is basically just there for when the NBN (broadband) goes down.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Last night, I called my aunt to tell her my brother just went to that great Peanuts cartoon in the sky. And although she's still sharp as a tack and very articulate, I couldn't understand half of what she was saying.

Long exhale.

 

[Rove]

Telemarketers and scammers are no problem because I let the answering machine pick up

They detest answering machines...especially scammers. My elderly father has a smartphone since the onset of Covid-19. He/we were worried about scammers contacting him so the family instructed him to answer the call if our ugly mug shot appeared otherwise ignore it. I now do the same. Unless you are in my contact list I ignore all other calls and texts.

 

[DallasFanForever]

The thing I don’t miss about my landline is the constant scammers. It would get a little entertaining at times though as I do have to admire their tenacity. I once had the same scammer call me twice with two different names. He had a very distinct voice so I just played along and informed him that the last time we talked he was using a different name. He hung up rather quickly.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The thing I don’t miss about my landline is the constant scammers. It would get a little entertaining at times though as I do have to admire their tenacity. I once had the same scammer call me twice with two different names. He had a very distinct voice so I just played along and informed him that the last time we talked he was using a different name. He hung up rather quickly.

I once told one of the spammers/scammers that "I'm not going to give you any money," and hung up. And she promptly called back and angrily explained that she wasn't trying to get me to give her any money and then proved immediately that that was, of course, exactly why she was calling. Naturally, I just hung up again.

Good times.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I once told one of the spammers/scammers that "I'm not going to give you any money," and hung up. And she promptly called back and angrily explained that she wasn't trying to get me to give her any money and then proved immediately that that was, of course, exactly why she was calling. Naturally, I just hung up again.

Good times.

My grandmother, rest her soul, had an odd way of dealing with the scammers. She’d simply say, “my mother isn’t home right now,” and just hang up. The problem was she was still doing this at 88 years old and I politely reminded her that what she was saying made no sense since her own mother was long gone and that was something only a child would say. But in retrospect, I think it was just her way of making the scammers think she was nuts so they didn’t bother her again. Anyway, I’ve adopted her phrase now and I use it often. And considering I’m way younger than she was, I often wonder about the scammers’ reactions on the other end after I hang up.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

My grandmother, rest her soul, had an odd way of dealing with the scammers. She’d simply say, “my mother isn’t home right now,” and just hang up. The problem was she was still doing this at 88 years old and I politely reminded her that what she was saying made no sense since her own mother was long gone and that was something only a child would say. But in retrospect, I think it was just her way of making the scammers think she was nuts so they didn’t bother her again. Anyway, I’ve adopted her phrase now and I use it often. And considering I’m way younger than she was, I often wonder about the scammers’ reactions on the other end after I hang up.

That's a good one!

I use a similar one as it's just me and my brother in the house.

When I can be bothered to actually answer the phone I just say My brother's not here at the moment and hang up!

Nine times out of ten he's upstairs in his room however we both have our own mobiles and whenever the landline rings we both just ignore it. As I mentioned earlier the only reason the landline is still there is because of the broadband.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Yes, I hate this also. If you don't answer a call on a smartphone you know that they know that you, for some reason, are not answering their call. So just by doing nothing you are already putting certain thought processes in motion. So as much as I like caller ID because you can choose who to ignore it also means that you enter into a kind of mind game with someone just by doing nothing that will eventually require you having to make excuses or explain things.

Then there's my parents who love to catastrophize. If I don't answer a couple of calls from them they immediately assume that I'm probably bleeding to death on the bathroom floor and can't reach my phone. So no matter what mood I'm in it's just not worth the chain of events that will ensue if I don't pick up.

I've telephoned for the Paramedics buddy.

They're on there way. Lie still and try to breath evenly.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Occasionally I'll say "he's not here" or "can I take a message?" to spammers, and sometimes that works and sometimes they jump in with their spiel anyway, trained to talk over you and not allow you to interrupt (like that's going to encourage you to give them your money). Sometimes I take to saying loudly, "hello???.... hello???" like I'm an elderly possibly-foreign person who can't communicate... Which is fun, and they usually hang up themselves.

But when it's a machine recording that calls you, love is just never possible.

 

[Alexis]

Very tired after work and misread this thread title as, Land Mines -- Do you miss them?

 

[DallasFanForever]

Very tired after work and misread this thread title as, Land Mines -- Do you miss them?

Interesting cause the first time I read it I too was very tired after a long day and misread it as Long Lines, Do You Miss Them? I thought it was a thread on self-checkouts.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Interesting cause the first time I read it I too was very tired after a long day and misread it as Long Lines, Do You Miss Them? I thought it was a thread on self-checkouts.

Oh, don't get me started!

 

[Mo Mouse]

Like a desert misses the rain.

 

[Seaviewer]

But when it's a machine recording that calls you, love is just never possible.

Oh, that's fun. Their machine talking to mine. No one at either end but I guess the phone company doesn't mind.

 

[rlr718]

God yes.

The notion of always being available is such a stress factor for me. I miss when you weren't at home, you just weren't at home. Now everyone and their mom expects you to be available at a moment's notice. Hate that for me.

Yes. Life was much easier when you got home and said ooooo I have messages. Now it’s the phone rings and you say oh yea I’m not in the mood to chat with you.