Spammers, Telemarketers, Solicitors, etc.

[ResidentEvil7]

Is there really no where else to avoid someone advertising their business or product?  A few minutes ago I had to rid myself of a member of my Resident Evil Umbrella site because of spamming that I didn't realize that has been going around for the past few weeks.  It's funny because he advertises body building drugs in my Resident Evil 0 forum page, which is just 1 topic below the NO SPAMMING!!!!!!!!!! topic.  And he did it about a dozen times.

Telemarketers; that one is really irrotating.  Before we signed up for the Illinois Do Not Call list were getting telemarketing calls litterally every 15 minutes.  It's horrible and they're calling when you're asleep or at dinner with your family.  The number of calls is so bad that you have to bring the cordless phone with you around the house so you don't mistake a real caller with a telemarketer.  For over 20 years we had tried many ways to block telemarketers from getting through to us, so thank god they came out with the Do Not Call system, and the Federal government passed laws to keep them from calling over and over.  What's real bad is when ever they call, it's shuts off my Internet connection (in the middle of a large download) and I have to restart my computer just to get the internet back.

You know I don't care what people are selling me.  I just don't want it shoved in my face in every format; email, phone, postal, website, the side of a road.  It's horrible!

[BubblyShell22]

We're on the Do Not Call List too, but sometimes they will sneak in anyway. But if you tell someone you're on the DNC List, they'll immediately apologize and hang up.

[Raphael]

We have the DNC call list here in Canada too, but it only works a bit.

1) If the caller is a registered charity, they're allowed to call.
2) If the caller has done business with you before, they're allowed to call.
3) If they're calling from outside of Canada, they ignore the DNC list.

That's what answering machines are for. I let the answering machine answer the call, then I call back if the person leaves a message.

[BubblyShell22]

We used to do that when the telemarketers were calling all the time, but lately we don't get as many as we used to.

[ResidentEvil7]

It's not just the phones.  I get junk mail in the postal and emails.  Plus you can't go on a site even major sites like YouTube and even on my sites Resident Evil Umbrella and Ninja Turtles 25 Years without someone pretending to be a member so they can get access to leaving spam on my forums.  But I show them; I respond to them and perminately ban their membership.  What's funny is how they keep on trying to re-register to get back in.  I never let them back in.

Speaking of endless phone calls.  I wish that banks and mortage companies would be banned from calling.  I sure heck like it if 800 Service stops calling.  And don't you just love those IDs on the phone where you still don't know who it is?  But still I remember a time when the phone would ring so many times to where you have to bring the cordless with you everywhere around the house, because it was THAT often.  I hate having to bring the phone with me everywhere I go.

[Raphael]

I hate to be rude to telemarketers, the odd time I do answer the phone, because they are just trying to do their jobs. I suspect most of 'em wish they could be doing something else.

However, if they refuse to take "No" for an answer, I'll often just hang up on 'em.

IF I answer the phone.  Like I said, it's just easier to let the answering machine get it and phone back anyone who is someone I wanna talk to.

As for spammers, yeah, we've had more than our fair share here on TMNT-L. Pretty much got it stopped now...sometimes, I miss having the spammers to ridicule. 

[ResidentEvil7]

I just ban spammers forever with my two sites.  The neat thing about Webs is that once you ban a member, and they try to re-register, it won't complete automatically.  It puts it in a membership pending list, and I decide manually if I want to allow them back in.  They always get rejected, and it takes like 7 or so times before they figure it out.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, sometimes it's best to let the machine pick it up. I hate the kind of calls where no one answers you when you answer the phone.

[ResidentEvil7]

I know it's been a while, but I want to respond to that last statement.

It's even worse when an unwanted call comes in, you answer it, and a machine puts you into a waiting line that can last up to an hour or so.  At least Illinois has a "Do Not Call Registery" you can register online.  Speaking of which, I think I need to re-register since it's been past 5 years.

[Raphael]

It's even worse when an unwanted call comes in, you answer it, and a machine puts you into a waiting line that can last up to an hour or so. 
 

If it was an unwanted call, why would you stay on the line for up to an hour?

Funniest telemarketing call I ever got (well, actually, a message on my answering machine) was when some telemarketer's machine called mine. It was like listening to one of those "How do you keep an idiot busy for hours?" jokes.  The message went something like this:

"....to reduce your interest rates press one now. Press two if you do not wish to receive future calls." (apparently, it had started its spiel while my answering machine was still doing its "You have reached..." message)  *pause*  "I'm sorry, we did not get that response." (darnit, still need to train my answering machine in how to press a number...) *pause* "Hello, this is company such-and-such. *babble*...to reduce your interest rates press one now. Press two if you do not wish to receive future calls." *pause" I'm sorry, we did not get that response." *pause* "Hello, this is company..."

Seven times!  The spiel was repeated seven times before their machine either gave up or finally realized it wasn't dealing with a human. Totally cracked me up, listening to how many times it kept trying.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, we've had stuff like that, too, though it didn't happen seven times in a row. That's funny.

[ResidentEvil7]

First off, I don't stay on the line with bad calls for that long, but I know it happens.  Secondly, it's examples like that is why they should be hiring people to answer phones instead of that answer machine ba-jazz; at least the person has some sense of logic that a machine doesn't have.  Seriously if they need people to call them or answer them, I say at least have an actual person there instead of machines.  I hate knowing that machines are taking over people's jobs; just like self check outs at Jewel and Home Depot.  I refuse those machines!  I pay my way, or I take my business else where.

[Raphael]

Ahh, ok. Misinterpreted what you said there.

I tend to avoid self check outs too, partially because I just know that it'd do something wonky if I tried to use it.  *G*  I also avoid gas stations where they've gotten rid of "full serve". It annoys me that they've gotten rid of a few minimum wage jobs, so I try to take my business elsewhere whenever possible.

[Fugitoid]

I don't see any problem with self checkout lines. Especially if I have just one item to buy. I know it *could* mean someone losing their job but you can't think of it that way. There still needs to be people to monitor the self checkout lines for problems and then there is the jobs created for making and maintaining those self checkout kiosks. Those things still don't run themselves.

I don't think I've ever used a full service gas station. And growing up, I can't remember my parents using one either.

As for unwanted calls, I've had my share of those. Doesn't help that I'm the IT Manager for my company. So I get cold calls from salespeople pretty much everyday. But I don't sweat them. You just gotta remember they're just doing their job too. Besides, caller ID is one of the greatest things ever invented!  

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, either that or the answering machine. Most of the time, we don't do the self-checkout lines either. We just go where the people will ring us up because it's better for us to do that.