You have to press *82 before your call, and give up any privacy to your number before they'll even let their phone ring.
Even if they paged you (as they have your pager number, since you don't want to give out your home number), which is where I ran into this personally for the first time.
Never mind that two years ago, when Pac Bell first made Caller ID available, they had a big push about how you could select Complete Blocking at no charge and then your number wouldn't show up to people you called.
They seem to have forgotten this. Now they offer a service that allows people to keep their phones from ringing if the caller has complete blocking. Unless, of course, the caller just unblocks their number for the one call.
But it sure is a pain in the ass to hear that recording and have to re-dial everytime you call someone with this feature.
Of course, Pac Bell has gone more neutral on this. They now seem to favor Selective Blocking over Complete Blocking: "To have the greatest control over your telephone, Selective Blocking is the perfect choice."
Funny, though. They don't mention that new incoming-blocking feature.
Since you can unblock just as easily as you can block, it seems odd to say that one or the other gives greater control over your telephone. Indeed, it would seem to me that the less permissive default is better control, since it's better control of information release, especially if you forget to block.
The best argument they can make is that friends and family might not know it's you and so might not pick up the call.
That's just what we need.
Give up your rights one at a time, and before you know it they're all gone.
Nobody has to take them. We're giving them away.
The page in question also seems written on the assumption that you have complete blocking, and that you need convincing to change to selective blocking. That's interesting, as when Caller ID was introduced the default was selective blocking. Unless you listened to Pac Bell's push two years ago and had them set your phone to complete blocking.
Oh, by the way: I had them set my new phone line to complete blocking when it was installed a year and a half ago.
Guess what I discovered when I got my first phone call from my wife on my new Caller-ID-enabled cellphone?
Yup. My phone number wasn't blocked. Hmmmm.
I fully expect that on January 1, 2000, planes will begin falling out of the sky.
I fully expect that at noon on January 2, 2000, I'll find myself tied to a stake with a toasty flame at my feet.
No, it's not my fault. I'm just a programmer.
But that's what the innocent witches said, too.
Current rantings as of 1/21/99
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