# New regulations about telemarketing - strike one for the good guys! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 18, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689 "2002-12-18T23:34:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/1 "2002-12-18T23:34:10Z")
This is not really a rant, but anything dealing with telemarketing usually ends up here anyway. [http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/18/pf/ftc\_telemarketing.ap/index.htm](http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/18/pf/ftc_telemarketing.ap/index.htm) At last…some real consumer protection. Now, about that spam mail… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/2 "2002-12-18T23:38:02Z")
Just for reference, the instant poll “Do you think the FTC should create a national telemarketing do-not-call list?” resulted in a 97% YES response. I’m not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/3 "2002-12-18T23:42:41Z")
Didn’t notice that - good eye. So what of the claim by telemarketers that people “want to be called” ? ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/4 "2002-12-18T23:46:20Z")
The claim by telemarketers that people want to be called, is called bullshit. Of course, the 3% of people who responded that they want to be called are lonely, very, very bored people who may want to justify their phone so they want someone, anyone to call them … or they’re the actually the telemarketers themselves trying to fudge the results … or they’re assmonkeys. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/5 "2002-12-18T23:53:32Z")
…or they have restricted eyesight and clicked the wrong button! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/6 "2002-12-19T00:28:08Z")
Actually, I would have been among those who voted against a national “Do not call” list. I don’t want an opt-out feature, I want an opt- **in** feature. Make it a national “CALL” list. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/7 "2002-12-19T00:31:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DarrenS \* > \*\*…or they have restricted eyesight and clicked the wrong button! \*\* We call them Floridians. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/8 "2002-12-19T02:00:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > \*\*Actually, I would have been among those who voted against a national “Do not call” list. > > I don’t want an opt-out feature, I want an opt- **in** feature. > > Make it a national “CALL” list. > > 😃 \*\* Oh hell yes! The whole concept of the Do Not Call list, to say nothing of the Caller ID crap and what not is what pisses me off about this whole issue. Why should the burden of not being bothered be mine? If I want aluminum siding or a larger penis _I_ will shop for it! ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/9 "2002-12-19T02:02:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LlamaPoet \* > \*\*We call them Floridians. \*\* Did they check for hanging or dimpled chads on this poll??? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/10 "2002-12-19T02:08:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\* Why should the burden of not being bothered be mine? \*\* A-fuckin’-men. The only excuse for the way it is now is that there must be some powerful telemarketing lobby/bribe thing going on. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/11 "2002-12-19T02:43:57Z")
About that 3%…what precentage of US adults are employed as telemarketers or own companies to telemarket? ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/12 "2002-12-19T02:44:56Z")
TOTALLY agree with you guys - I should NOT have to specifically take some action to avoid receiving calls I never asked for in the first place. You can bet some of these watered-down laws were made on the golf course at a high level, with money changing hands. That said, having a federal DNC list is certainly a step in the right direction - I will happily sign up for it. The bastards will probably charge us though. ---
**Author:** ![BZ00000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/13 "2002-12-19T03:10:47Z")
> [@](#): > > TOTALLY agree with you guys - I should NOT have to specifically take some action to avoid receiving calls I never asked for in the first place. But you did ask for these calls and take action to receive them. Did someone force you to get a phone? No? Well, if you don’t have a phone you won’t receive these calls. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/14 "2002-12-19T03:29:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BZ00000 \* > \*\*But you did ask for these calls and take action to receive them. Did someone force you to get a phone? No? Well, if you don’t have a phone you won’t receive these calls. \*\* Since this is in the Pit, I’ll say it: that is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard. You must either be a telemarketer or be related to one. If I have a phone, I shouldn’t have to worry about being called 83 times a day so someone can try to sell me aluminum siding for the house I don’t own, or long distance service, or magazine subscriptions. I have a friend who is using a job in telemarketing to get him through college. Even he refers to it as “Hell.” No one wants or likes it, so why do we still have it? As for the national list, the simplest way to do it would be to start with the states that already have lists and then add the other states, IMO. -brianjedi ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/15 "2002-12-19T03:31:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BZ00000 \* > \*\*But you did ask for these calls and take action to receive them. Did someone force you to get a phone? No? Well, if you don’t have a phone you won’t receive these calls. \*\* Sorry, I’m going to have to call bullshit on this. Do you really believe this sentiment, or are you just trying to stir up controversy? Am I asking to be panhandled because I am employed? Am I asking for a drunk driver to crash in to me because I drive? Perhaps you think that I am asking to be killed because I choose to be alive. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/16 "2002-12-19T03:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BZ00000 \* > \*\*But you did ask for these calls and take action to receive them. Did someone force you to get a phone? No? Well, if you don’t have a phone you won’t receive these calls. \*\* BZ00000 - either you are …hmmm…not allowed to say it, even in the Pit - or you are ignorant beyond belief. Having seen some of your other threads, I have to tend towards the latter. I couldn’t even hope to put it as eloquently as **Cervaise** did in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51270) masterful rant, so I’ll just quote him. > [@](#): > > \> **You do have a phone wich implies you WANT to be called.** > > I have a butthole, too, but that doesn’t imply I want a running jigsaw inserted into it. Oh, but hey, you’ve got a VCR, so clearly that implies you want me to come into your house and put on a German Scheisse video while your mother is visiting. You’ve got a drawer full of silverware, too, so that implies you want someone to saw on the webbing between your fingers with red-hot butter knives while someone else scoops out your eyeballs with your grapefruit spoons. Right? I suppose you want to receive spam too, since you obviously have a computer and presumably an e-mail account? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/17 "2002-12-19T04:28:58Z")
**Darren,** I almost pulled out a link to that rant, but decided not to because I was too lazy to look for it. That is a classic. -brianjedi ---
**Author:** ![BZ00000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/18 "2002-12-19T04:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > If I have a phone, I shouldn’t have to worry about being called 83 times a day so someone can try to sell me aluminum siding for the house I don’t own, or long distance service, or magazine subscriptions. > [@](#): > > Am I asking to be panhandled because I am employed? Am I asking for a drunk driver to crash in to me because I drive? Perhaps you think that I am asking to be killed because I choose to be alive. Look, telemarketing is a legal business in this country. You have a phone in your home that is specifically designed so people can communicate with you, including selling you stuff. If you want to change the law that is fine with me, but I don’t think this is the time to do it. Do you know how many people will be out of work if telemarketing is made illegal? Not to mention the President has said we need to continue business as usual if we are to win the war on terror. Like it or not we as a country need telemarketing. ---
**Author:** ![Fredge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Fredge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredge)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/19 "2002-12-19T04:59:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BZ00000 \* > \*\*Do you know how many people will be out of work if telemarketing is made illegal? Not to mention the President has said we need to continue business as usual if we are to win the war on terror. Like it or not we as a country need telemarketing. \*\* Wah for the telemarketers who accepted a job that is nothing more than harrassment. Do you feel sorry for the people who lose their jobs when ponzi schemes are shut down? How about medical quacks? These were both once thriving, legal industries in the U.S. as well (and to some extent still are). We as a country don’t need telemarketing. We do need to respect peoples’ privacy however. If we can’t win the war on terror without telemarketers then I say it’s time to scrap the whole damn system and start over. ---
**Author:** ![Lou\_Yablonski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/0ea827/32.png) [@Lou\_Yablonski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lou_Yablonski)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689/20 "2002-12-19T05:22:54Z")
> [@](#): > > If you want to change the law that is fine with me, but I don’t think this is the time to do it. Do you know how many people will be out of work if telemarketing is made illegal? Not to mention the President has said we need to continue business as usual if we are to win the war on terror. Like it or not we as a country need telemarketing. Yes, Osama bin laden WANTS us to fight the telemarketers because then we’re not fighting him. That incredibly laughable notion aside here is some tried and true advice on dealing with telemarketers: Phone Sex. I only do this with female telemarketers, and usually only if they really mangle my name or have a horrible connection with thousands of chicken like voices in the background. It usually goes something like this: TM: Hello, is this Mister Yaboloski? Me: Hey baby…how YOU doin? TM: Mister Yabolovski I’m calling with an exciting chance for you to get a pre…approved… Me: What’s your name sweetie? TM: My name is Marcie Johnson sir. Me: What ah, what do you look like Marcie? You have a really sexy voice honey. TM: …um, sir thank you, but… Me: Your voice is kind of turning me on Marcie, what are you wearing right now? TM: Sir, I really can’t… Me: What? Come on just tell me what you look like\> TM: Well, I’ve got brown hair and blue eyes… Me: God I’m SO hard right now…I want to kiss your neck. TM: Sir! I really can’t talk… Me: God baby I want to get my mouth on you so bad… etc, etc… you’ll get varying reactions before they finally hang up. Some get immediately offended at which point of course I say, " Hey baby, YOU called ME", and some will laugh and play along for a while depending on how bored and/or unsupervised they are. Shoot, one of those crazy Phillipino ladies who wanted to give me a long list of consumer electronics and plane tickets and vacations if I’d only give my address, social security number and credit card, she was telling me all about her itty-tays and her buttocks. Some people, huh? The point is, they don’t call back and when they go back to their supervisor the guy rips it up because you are a sick pervert and he doesn’t want to subject anyone else to your boner. So, in order to support the war on terror I’d like to encourage you all to buy and smoke only the finest domestically grown, terrorist-free marijuana, and engage telemarketers in free phone sex whenever they call and interrupt your dinner. John Asscroft told me so, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Don’t look at telemarketing as an intrusion, look at it as a chance to get your jerk on! By the way ladies, I say give it a try with the male telemarketers, I’m just afraid they’ll like it too much and it will have the opposite of the inteneded effect. Good Luck Americans! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-regulations-about-telemarketing-strike-one-for-the-good-guys/143689.md?page=2)