On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 19:22:11 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/22/2015 7:09 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2015 13:10:51 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 12/22/2015 12:51 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 12/21/2015 10:40 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 12/21/2015 8:56 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:

I'd imagine the worse problem would be a machine waiting until the
*eighth* ring to pick up -- at which point, many may have abandoned
the call (and you've no record of it).

You have the caller ID record.

If the machine -- and the subscriber -- have CID! :

It's a very useful thing to have. Yes, junk callers do spoof the number you see
on caller ID, but the seldom take the time to find one of the few that could
really fool you. CID is still useful.

BTW, answering machines may not have CID. That appears to be a phone function.

Yes. But for most folks, CID means you have to interact with the
phone when it is ringing -- to see *who* is calling ("Do I want to
answer this?") As I don't want to have to acknowledge the
"interruption" (that the ringing phone represents), my only solution
is to silence the ringer and defer interaction until some time when it
is more convenient for me.

This is where email excels -- I can overnight -- rearrange who has
access to me via email. Not so with the phone (I can't change my
phone number without involving TPC!)

So, I can monitor particular email accounts based on the sorts of
people with which I might want to interact at any given time
(e.g., don't watch the email account that friends use if I'm
busy working but *do* watch the one associated with business
contacts).

My goal has been to come up with a scheme whereby the "watching"
can be done by something intelligent -- the equivalent of a
"secretary" -- so I need only specify the criteria that are
important to me at any given time (e.g., I'm asleep! I sure
as hell don't want to be disturbed by a friend calling to chat!)

Isn't technology wonderful??! :

Automatic blacklist/whitelist management on the VOIP means I can get
the rings from those I want to hear from, and not from thespammers.

How do you deal with the local library calling to tell you
a book is overdue?

Or, the store that you had back-order a pair of slacks calling
to tell you they've arrived?

Or, a friend calling from someone else's phone?

Or...

You use the basic blacklist - whitelist basically not required. The
library or store won't be on the "universal" blacklist.. Nor will your
friends' friend's phone your friend borrowed. If you get a call from
a caller you don't want to hear from a gain you add it to the
"personal" blacklist.

Black/white-lists don't work, in practice. There are too
many exceptions.

An organization can have many telephone numbers; how do I
know which one will be placing the call to me?

You don't have to. As I said, the whiltelist is only for "bad guys"
you want to hear from.

What you want/need is something that is tied intimately to
individuals, not their phones or phone numbers. And, something
that allows the system to adapt to new conditions as they
arise without having to be "reprogrammed" (adding/removing
numbers from black/white lists is considered programming)

Perfect it and be the "Next American Billionaire"