How To Make Friends on the Telephone 327
Dan writes "What a wonderful find--it seems since the internet, we've forgotten the correct way to communicate with people. So here is a book to teach us the proper etiquette, as well as how to handle complex modern communications devices."
who uses a phone? (Score:5, Interesting)
What makes you think... (Score:5, Interesting)
What makes you think this isn't exactly what's going on? Story placement is a *big* part of any PR department's job...
I learned my phone skills in the military. But telemarketers who ignore the do-not-call list have forced me into a corner. Now, I simply hang up on them rather than waste more than 10 seconds on trying to be polite. I feel for the person on the other end who is often just some low wage person trying to make a living, but that's not my problem.
Re:Lame. (Score:0, Interesting)
I agree, whoever drew the retarded pencil steps is a dick. Who does that? PEOPLE WHO VIOLATE THE HANDBOOK ON HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH USEFUL INFORMATION AND PENCILS THATS WHO!
Additionally you fail it at the internet because you're supposed to load all the pages at once before reading them. That shouldn't take more than a minute on this site. You can even detect the patterns in the url and enter them manually if the site takes too long to load individual pages that have the next buttons. However it is agreed that they are, in fact, motherfuckers and their actions are "Nice going" in the sense of being totally gay. You should demand a refund. I bet none of the editors, not even Cowboyneal, could make friends on the telephone.
Interesting (Score:3, Interesting)
If you so much as claim to like a TeeVee show someone else doen't like, that other person will tell you how your taste is all in your feet, your brain cells suffer from some degenerating disease of the mind, you should do disgusting and incetuous things with your mother and/or father and/or unlce, and you are, somehow, the moral equivalent of Hitler, Stalin and Caligula combined.
Although not in so many words. It's usually "Yu fvkin suuk dood!" But the meaning is clearly implied.
People tell me it's the result of free speech and free expression and the tossing of old ways, but that doesn't do much to mitigate the fact that we live immersed in an endless legion of assholes.
Re:Ok, thats great (Score:5, Interesting)
She was probably trying to avoid pissing you off. Over the years, I've rarely gotten someone upset by calling them or sending them a message, but I've had many who stopped talking to me or chewed me up on the spot because I knocked on their door (yes, even when there was an emergency). Your friend had probably thought of the idea but dismissed it because she's had similar experiences.
It's sad but most likely, your friend wasn't as much the problem as our collective attitudes tending towards anti-socialism.
-hadohk
Re:telemarketers (Score:3, Interesting)
Havn't you ever wondered WHY they won't hang up?
Re:Lame. (Score:3, Interesting)
Ma Bell used to charge per phone in the house, so most households had only one phone and one phone line (the rest would disable the ringers on any newer phones so the CO would only see one phone).
At any rate, when you were calling someone, they may have been at the other end of the house or even outside when you called, hence the one minute "rule", to give them time to get to the phone.
Some Questions on *new* Telephone Technology (Score:5, Interesting)
1. If you have call display, is it polite to answer the phone with the caller's name? I couple of years ago, this freaked people out, now it's very common. Older people tend to think of this as an invasion of privacy; but these same people consider it acceptable to have a peephole on their door and only open it to people they know.
2. What about call answer? Should you take the incoming call and how long should you be on it before returning to the original call? What happens if you consider the second call to be more important than the first?
3. Is call screening using an answering machine polite?
4. I give telemarketers one chance to hang up before I slam the receiver down on them. Is this polite or should I listen to their pitch? Can I blow a Fox-40 whistle into the receiver?
5. What are cell phone rules? Is it acceptable to have a social call while in line at the supermarket? What about a heated business call?
I suspect that a lot of these answers are based on how old you are and what your workplace experience is.
Enquiring minds want to know!
myke
Re:Communication communication everywhere... (Score:2, Interesting)
And if dancing with dozens of beautiful women I've never met before, and making friends all over the country, isn't a social activity? I don't know what is.
So. The Internet is a tool. People use tools. Sometimes they use them wisely, sometimes unwisely. Why is this any different than any other innovation in history?
You could argue that the advent of literacy means we don't sit around a fire telling each other stories anymore. I think that's equally silly.
Phone vs Txt (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, this is when I have a computer handy, and I'm not saying cellphones aren't useful for the road. But even then, I find it more convenient to text someone. Why? Simply because, when using text, via computer or cell, it doesn't require your immediate attention. When I'm on a computer, I can alt-tab and focus on other things, like webpages, games, pr0n, etc. With txtmessaging on cells, you can do the same thing, leave the msg in your inbox and view it later. Of course, there are times and places where audio data is better than visual data, but I still find I have a preference for texts.
And I'm not saying this because I have an aversion to people, I simply prefer to use text via IMs or cellphones or face to face, I hate the phone.
Re:Ok, thats great (Score:3, Interesting)