Some bullshit

[prog]

If you are not the intended recipient, please do not retain, copy, use, or otherwise disclose the information contained in this message. Instead, please delete it and notify the sender.

Has this ever happened in the history of email?

"When you are finished recording, you may hang up, or press star for more options. (pause) To leave a numeric page, press pound. (pause) *boop*"

Has this ever happened in the history of telephony? As an alternative to leaving a voice message and then hanging up, I mean.

The first one is just insulting legalese that I barely notice, but the second actively wastes my time every time I leave a voice mail for practically anyone. I hate it!

Comments

[ianmcin.livejournal.com]

As an alternative to leaving a voice message and then hanging up, I mean.

"Oops, I screwed up that message the first time, let me erase it and try again."

[prog.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting and legitimate-sounding use - you've actually done this?

It's never occurred to me that that could be among the mysterious "options", which I suppose I always dimly imagined would be an array of aural filters and sound effects you could add, or something. And anyway, I think like most people I'd only realize my error after I hung up anyway, and end up just calling again and leaving an amending message.

[daerr.livejournal.com]

I actually have...

[chocorisu.livejournal.com]

Actually... I have done the first one before, but it was years ago when spam wasn't such a problem. I wouldn't do it now because I'd just suspect it was someone fishing for active addresses.

The latter, though... wtf was wrong with "Hello this is David leave a message after the beep *beep*?" People always gotta add stupid "features" to everything.

[jazzfish]

When uilos's phone was acting up I used to page her instead of leaving a message, since the message would have consisted of "hey your phone isn't receiving my calls again." I freely admit that I'm probably the one person on the planet who ever did this, though.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I've never seen the former. How odd.

The latter has always made me go Wha? Isn't one of the wonders of cellphones that they record the number of incoming calls? And if you-the-caller have your number kept private, then wouldn't you automatically know "hey maybe I should LEAVE A MESSAGE"? But I've used that option (leave a numeric page) once or twice, just for the novelty of it (Hey what does this do?).

[karlvonl.livejournal.com]

I only recall ever seeing the former in freakin' *Usenet* postings. :-) My thought is usually "yeah, good luck with that".

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I've occasionally (but rarely) pressed star for more options because sometimes one of the options is the option to re-record your message, and if you've really botched your original message then it's nice to have a second chance.

And sometimes the options might be to do something like dial another extension at the same office you've just dialed into or to check your own voicemail if that happens to be the same office where you have voicemail, and so it's more convenient than hanging up and then dialing back into the system.

[prog.livejournal.com]

That's two comments about the re-recording feature... I'll buy it. Interesting!

[spatch]

I always listen very closely to every phone tree option because they always seem to be changing!!

[cortezopossum.livejournal.com]

For fun next time you get one of those relay the message back to the sender with about 20 other e-mail addresses in the CC list.

Although for the second I often flub my phone message if I'm leaving anything more than a 'call me back' message and having the option to re-record can be handy.

Numeric pages, however, I've tried a couple times and I have never had one returned -- ever. I guess if they're not willing to pick up the phone they're certainly not going to respond to your stupid page.

[mogaribue.livejournal.com]

I see the former all the time, because we work in a medical environment. It's such a joke. It it no way ensures HIPAA compliance to tag a stupid little piece of text at the end of your email sent in PLAIN TEXT across THE INTERNET.

Ugh. Plus it's at the bottom, after you've read the message anyway. What are you supposed to do erase your mind?

[keimel.livejournal.com]

I used to have a line in my postfix banner that said something like "You agree to my terms at http://website.com/foo "

In those rules I had a bit about "Any email sent to this domain, accidental or on purpose, is submitted for immediate publishing at the discretion of the postmater" or some crap - just because my receiving your misdirected email does not leave me liable to your idciocy in mis-sending email.

I used to get a lot of crap email into 'atacc.org' email that was destined for some other organization, obviously not in the same realm as what we did and was somehow non-profit. They all had those stupid warnings at the bottom of their emails.

A recent similar case in regard to voicemail was evident in some political stuff. The Minneapolis gay sex senator person left a voicemail on some random person's answering machine as the result of a wrong number and laid out some of the detail in which another well known senator was going to support him in his defense. That person gave or sold the message to the news outlets.

IANAL, of course, but I see no obligation just because it says you're not supposed to. It's a nonconsensual contract. I agree with you. Stupid. But of course, it is probably the 'right' thing to do to just delete it. I never really thought otherwise until I started seeing those warning and thinking "well screw you pal, I never agree to that!"

;)