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Phone Numbers

Started by zachary_amaryllis, October 29, 2021, 12:30:29 PM

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zachary_amaryllis

Quote from: Big John on October 29, 2021, 09:58:54 PM
Quote from: dlsterner on October 29, 2021, 09:42:28 PM

- I believe most everywhere now requires 10 digit dialing.  I still sometimes find myself pressing "1" first, out of habit.
And many of those 7-number calling changed to 10-digit calling this week, in order to activate 988 as a suicide prevention hotline.

that was the reason here. and to make it more interesting, 988 is a local prefix here.
clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)


zachary_amaryllis

clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)

LilianaUwU

Until June 21st, 2007, I could call people in my hometown with 7 numbers (XXX-XXXX), but anything beyond that needed the 1, the area code, and the number, even in the same area code. On the aforementioned date, calls in my hometown started requiring the area code (though with no 1), while long distance calls remained the same. I believe this was in preparation of a second area code being added due to numbers running out.
"Volcano with no fire... Not volcano... Just mountain."
—Mr. Thwomp

My pronouns are she/her. Also, I'm an admin on the AARoads Wiki.

tolbs17

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 30, 2021, 04:10:54 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

i'd talk to you.
Send it in PMs. It's the best.

I have a question for the Mods/Admins!

Btw, my area code is 252.

dlsterner

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.

ilpt4u

#30
Quote from: yanksfan6129 on October 29, 2021, 04:00:43 PM
867-5309 is a good phone number
I work for a Telephone company, and one of the small towns here in Southern Illinois has 867 as its primary exchange

In regards to the Area Code whether to change or not when moving, I still have my Western Suburban Chicago 630 Area Code on my celly (and yes I lived there in 2005, but got my 1st cell in 02 or 03), but have considered dropping it (or porting it to Google Voice) and signing up with a 618 number. The more years I live in Southern IL the more I consider it

I gave up my cell number at one point back in 07 or 08 - Switched to Sprint with a new number, ported that back to ATT, and then lost a carrier-subsidized iPhone...and to get the subsidy back on the replacement, had to get a new number. Now ATT/Cingular at the time was my orignal carrier, and my "original"  cell number was back in the available pool, so I said give me that one. So absent a few years in the Late 00s, I've had the same celly number for 2 decades now

tolbs17

Quote from: dlsterner on October 30, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.
Thats why it's the best in PMs

Scott5114

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 06:11:51 PM
Quote from: dlsterner on October 30, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.
Thats why it's the best in PMs

It's best to not do it at all. You have no idea who anyone on this forum really is. How do you know that someone you give your number to won't send you pictures of their dick or something like that, or hand it out to someone that would do that? The phone doesn't have a moderator you can report people to, other than the police.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

KeithE4Phx

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 30, 2021, 04:10:04 AM
that was the reason here. and to make it more interesting, 988 is a local prefix here.

It is in 3 of the 5 Arizona area codes (480, 520, and 928, but not 602 or 623).  But here in the Phoenix area, 10-digit dialing has been required for many years, anyway.  I think it's required statewide now, but I don't know how long that's been the case.
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

tolbs17

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 31, 2021, 12:32:02 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 06:11:51 PM
Quote from: dlsterner on October 30, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.
Thats why it's the best in PMs

It's best to not do it at all. You have no idea who anyone on this forum really is. How do you know that someone you give your number to won't send you pictures of their dick or something like that, or hand it out to someone that would do that? The phone doesn't have a moderator you can report people to, other than the police.
I mean I do get a lot of spam calls, I just block them! Simple!

Scott5114

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 31, 2021, 01:30:04 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 31, 2021, 12:32:02 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 06:11:51 PM
Quote from: dlsterner on October 30, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.
Thats why it's the best in PMs

It's best to not do it at all. You have no idea who anyone on this forum really is. How do you know that someone you give your number to won't send you pictures of their dick or something like that, or hand it out to someone that would do that? The phone doesn't have a moderator you can report people to, other than the police.
I mean I do get a lot of spam calls, I just block them! Simple!

Unlike spam callers, a stalker won't stop just because you block them.....
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

dlsterner

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 31, 2021, 09:44:56 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 31, 2021, 01:30:04 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 31, 2021, 12:32:02 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 06:11:51 PM
Quote from: dlsterner on October 30, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

I would advise NOT doing that.
Thats why it's the best in PMs

It's best to not do it at all. You have no idea who anyone on this forum really is. How do you know that someone you give your number to won't send you pictures of their dick or something like that, or hand it out to someone that would do that? The phone doesn't have a moderator you can report people to, other than the police.
I mean I do get a lot of spam calls, I just block them! Simple!

Unlike spam callers, a stalker won't stop just because you block them.....

... and do some sort of reverse number search on line, and get your address and real name, and ... I dunno ... slip pictures of their dick under your door ...

(Even though that last part was meant to be slightly humorous, in all seriousness, don't do it.  You don't know who is behind any screen name.)

noelbotevera

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?
Yes, obviously, give out your phone number to a bunch of random strangers. I don't see how giving out a piece of critical information could possibly backfire.

...seriously?


Anyways, out of curiosity, it turns out area codes had some logic to them: lower numbers are faster to dial. And by faster, this assumes you were using a big old rotary phone. All the big cities got area codes like 212 (New York), 213 (Los Angeles), and 215 (Philadelphia). My area got 717 (the original area code, later split), so clearly it wasn't important.

Why they couldn't start at 111 or 112 is beyond me, especially since there was no 911 in the '50s. I think calling emergency services was a 7 digit number, especially since you'd call local services and not some centralized system.

index

#38
Quote from: abefroman329 on October 29, 2021, 02:54:35 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 29, 2021, 12:30:29 PMdoes the difference between local and long distance even matter any more? when i'm working delivering, i frequently have to call customers, and the vast majority of them have out-of-area area codes, and it costs exactly the same to call them as it does to call a 'local' number.
Yes, if you live in an apartment building with an antiquated call box that's only capable of dialing local numbers.

It also does if you're staying in a hotel or motel and don't have a cell phone.  We went away for Father's Day, and I was going to let our three-year-old son call my parents, since he was absolutely fascinated with the phones in the room.  I called the front desk to see how much it would cost to make a long distance call, and no one, not the woman I talked to, nor her manager, nor the owner of the hotel, knew how much that would cost.

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 29, 2021, 12:30:29 PMand now we have 'mandatory' 10-digit dialing this area as of a few weeks ago.

10-digit dialing started in Atlanta when the 770 area code was new, but I remember you had to dial 1 plus the 10 digits if you were calling, say, a number with a 312 area code from a number with a 708 area code, and I'm pretty sure that was still a free call.

Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 29, 2021, 12:30:29 PM10 years ago, you could still dial 4 digits and the pound sign if it was on the same prefix
This is the first time I've heard of this.

My mom was an operator for Illinois Bell way back when, and she used to have most, if not all, of the area codes memorized.

Not sure if this is relevant since I didn't grow up around that sort of stuff, but I had to stay in a hospital two months ago in Avery County without my phone, and they had an old payphone-style one there. It could only make or receive calls to and from Avery County, and nowhere else.

The building, Cannon Memorial Hospital, was built in 1999.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

hotdogPi

Quote from: noelbotevera on October 31, 2021, 02:15:20 PM
Why they couldn't start at 111 or 112 is beyond me, especially since there was no 911 in the '50s. I think calling emergency services was a 7 digit number, especially since you'd call local services and not some centralized system.

1 meant long distance.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

noelbotevera

Quote from: 1 on October 31, 2021, 02:55:16 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on October 31, 2021, 02:15:20 PM
Why they couldn't start at 111 or 112 is beyond me, especially since there was no 911 in the '50s. I think calling emergency services was a 7 digit number, especially since you'd call local services and not some centralized system.

1 meant long distance.
Isn't that the country prefix? I thought you dial 1 and then the area code.

KeithE4Phx

Quote from: noelbotevera on October 31, 2021, 03:54:22 PM
Quote from: 1 on October 31, 2021, 02:55:16 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on October 31, 2021, 02:15:20 PM
Why they couldn't start at 111 or 112 is beyond me, especially since there was no 911 in the '50s. I think calling emergency services was a 7 digit number, especially since you'd call local services and not some centralized system.

1 meant long distance.
Isn't that the country prefix? I thought you dial 1 and then the area code.

It is now, but back in the day it was the standard Long Distance code.  Direct dialing of international calls, except between the US and Canada, wasn't possible until the 1970s, which IIRC was when country codes were first assigned.
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

snowc

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 04:44:54 AM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on October 30, 2021, 04:10:54 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 30, 2021, 02:19:47 AM
Should I give out my phone number?

i'd talk to you.
Send it in PMs. It's the best.

I have a question for the Mods/Admins!

Btw, my area code is 252.
Mine is 910, so hey neighbor!  :wave:

vdeane

Quote from: tolbs17 on October 31, 2021, 01:30:04 AM
I mean I do get a lot of spam calls, I just block them! Simple!
That doesn't actually do anything.  Any spammer/scammer that's even remotely smart is spoofing numbers (usually from your own area code/exchange to appear local) and won't be calling you too many times from the same number anyways.  Most of the time the spoofed numbers are actually real, too, so you could end up blocking legitimate calls because of that.  This is incidentally how some people have reported getting calls from themselves.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

andrepoiy

Also with area codes, due to the proliferation of mobile phones, you don't necessarily get a number assigned to where you actually live.

For example, Toronto proper's area codes are 416, 647, and 437.

However, the suburbs of Toronto (such as York, Durham, Peel, Halton, and beyond) are assigned 905 and 289. And even though I live in a 905 area, my mobile phone is a 647, and so was pretty much all my high school classmates.

wxfree

Quote from: Scott5114 on October 29, 2021, 02:37:54 PM
Quote from: SP Cook on October 29, 2021, 01:15:14 PM
I think that in another 20 years, maybe less, your cellphone number, for an average middle-class person, is going to be a hint about where you grew up, more than where you lived. 

There is no real reason to change your phone number every time you move, and lots of reasons not to.



This is no longer true.  I know people who got new cell phone service in the last 10 or so years who were assigned an area code near where they live, but not an area code they live in.  Specifically, I know two or three people who live in my area code, 817 and 682, Fort Worth, who were given Dallas area code numbers.  I know one person who lives in 254, Waco, and got a number starting with 817.  Given the portability of numbers these days, the area code may become obsolete and replaced by a national pool of numbers that tell you nothing about where that person is, or was at one time.

If caller ID can identify between landline and cellular numbers, then maybe landlines would still have area codes, but I know one person who has a home phone that works through the cellular system.  He has a box with an antenna, a telephone is wired to it and a second extension works wirelessly.  I didn't even know about that.  I don't know why someone in a house with telephone wires would want that.  He can only use the number at home, so the area code means something.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

SkyPesos

Quote from: andrepoiy on October 31, 2021, 11:32:03 PM
Also with area codes, due to the proliferation of mobile phones, you don't necessarily get a number assigned to where you actually live.

For example, Toronto proper's area codes are 416, 647, and 437.

However, the suburbs of Toronto (such as York, Durham, Peel, Halton, and beyond) are assigned 905 and 289. And even though I live in a 905 area, my mobile phone is a 647, and so was pretty much all my high school classmates.
Is 416 considered more "prestigious" than the other Toronto area area codes, as the OG one, similar to 212 in NYC, 213 in LA and 312 in Chicago? If so, imaging hitting the jackpot when you get assigned a 416 number without living in its zone.

1995hoo

Quote from: vdeane on October 31, 2021, 09:00:26 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on October 31, 2021, 01:30:04 AM
I mean I do get a lot of spam calls, I just block them! Simple!
That doesn't actually do anything.  Any spammer/scammer that's even remotely smart is spoofing numbers (usually from your own area code/exchange to appear local) and won't be calling you too many times from the same number anyways.  Most of the time the spoofed numbers are actually real, too, so you could end up blocking legitimate calls because of that.  This is incidentally how some people have reported getting calls from themselves.

That happened to us a few years ago. Of course we immediately knew it was a scam and didn't answer, but it's definitely weird seeing your own name and phone number pop up on the caller ID. I wonder how many other people got calls purporting to be from us. The overwhelming majority of "neighbor scam" and other robocalls we get don't have a real name attached–they give a city and state with the phone number.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

renegade

Quote from: dlsterner on October 31, 2021, 01:51:00 PM
... and get your ... real name, and ... I dunno ...
Even though Tolbert's already done that, in the thread about being on TV.

He still believes this forum is an acceptable substitute for Fakebook.  Let him learn his lesson.

:popcorn:
Don’t ask me how I know.  Just understand that I do.

frankenroad

Area codes as a means of identifying the location of a caller are going away quickly.  My sister and her husband physically live in area code 231.  But her cell is 202 (her work area code from 2008-2017) and his cell is 734 (the area code they lived in from 2001-2008).  They have no landline.

Both of my kids still have 513 numbers even though one lives in 510/341 and the other in 614/380.
2di's clinched: 44, 66, 68, 71, 72, 74, 78, 83, 84(east), 86(east), 88(east), 96

Highways I've lived on M-43, M-185, US-127



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