How many of you still pay for land lines?

Hi dere. It's a cheap back-up for the cell phone in case of need.

cheap?!?

i really miss how comfortable the land is!

morbs otm. I have bent over by Ma Bell often enough. My cellie is my only phone, for a couple years now.

I have BEEN bent etc

Have to. Got DSL, no cable on my block for some reason.
Complete rip-off, though. Fuck verizon.

Me. I was born in an age of rotary phones and party lines. It is my destiny.

I HATE cell phones. Why on earth would you need to be accessible all the time?

a party line would be so much fun. and the worst thing ever.

We just moved to an area with no cell reception, so we had to bite the bullet and get our first land line in years.

people w/ landlines but no cell phones are badasses imo

I'm in the same boat at Tomboto, I've got DSL and my Satellite DVR requires having a landline. Cable internet can suck it.

people who hate cell phones are like people who don't eat lucky charms or something

no no, cell phones allow you to be accessible whenever YOU want to be.

I HATE cell phones. Why on earth would you need to be accessible all the time?

You can always turn a cell phone off. I wish more people would do this.

what do I do about nu apartment's phonejack that is USELESS cuz it has PAINT IN IT!? Tried scraping some out with a screwdriver, til I saw tiny sparks and figured if anyone could fry themselves that way, I can. No idea what genius painted the baseboard so willy-nilly.

(yes, I signed a lease that I took the apt "as is"; who looks at phonejacks?)

We had switched to a private line by the time I was in third grade. I do remember what a party line was like, though. You picked up the phone to make a call and there was someone already on it. You had to wait until they were done.

no no, cell phones allow you to be accessible whenever YOU want to be.

Liberalism vs conservativsm.

Surm: I'm strictly an oatmeal or English muffin man.

I HATE cell phones. Why on earth would you need to be accessible all the time?

You don't need to answer it. Or leave it on all the time.

I don't have a landline of my own. I use my landlady's for my DSL.

My office line is a land-line, but I switched it over to some VOIP-ish thing from my ISP, which is going to save me beaucoup jack compared to AT&T's business rates. We had the home landline extracted about a year ago.

Dumped my landline about four years ago. Don't miss it.

I HATE cell phones. Why on earth would you need to be accessible all the time?

Double-click on the iPhone top button sends calls straight to VM. I talk when I want to, not when they want me to.

Have to. Got DSL, no cable on my block for some reason.

-- El Tomboto, Tuesday, July 1, 2008 7:43 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

naw tom u can get whats called a dry line - in fact call the retention department 800.340.6221 and threaten to quit them and they might just give u dsl for $30 a/m

You don't need to answer it. Or leave it on all the time.

Believe me, it's not a problem -- I just don't answer. But it's easier for friends to assume you're being rude. Thanks to the myth of increased accessibility, if you don't answer a cellphone, you must be purposely ignoring it.

^^

cheap?!?

If you live in mucho expensive Belgium it is MUCH cheaper than a cellphone. After five pm it's FREE to call from a landline for example.

Also, we have DSL.

Yep, I still pay for a land line. Still don't have a cell phone. Laugh all you want.

lol

Not only do I still have a landline, but I prefer to use the phone with the cord in the wall and not one of the battery cordless units that came with it.

I still have one of the original area codes and a phone prefix that's probably right around the same age. yes, I know I could transfer it to a cell phone if I had to, but that's just not right.

yeah i have a few friends who refuse to get cell phones. they are nearly as bad as the ones who refuse to watch tv

actually there is some crossover

i only had a landline for internet access but then my gf moved in with her wireless/cable package and i had it disconnected.

*raises hand*

xpost

Power to the no-cell-phone-no-TV-watchers!

My landline's battery never goes dead.
It works in power outages.
The connection is clearer.
It's easier to ignore than the cell phone.

I have a cell as well, but there are many reasons to keep a landline around for us.

I have VOIP, no cell. If you do not own a cell, people act like you live in a cave and simply cannot be contacted. They are nice to have, but not a need – way too much $$$ for where I am in life right now.

the reactions people have when you tell them you don't have a cell are like a slightly more dumbfounded version of the reactions people have when you tell them you're not on myspace

actually it's kind of brilliant how both have become "must-haves" despite most definitely not being something you need

well unless you're trapped in the woods and need to make a call or update your facebook status

no reception in the woods.

Cell phones only for me and mr for the last year. It is only a pain for buzzing people into the building, because only one number can be attached to that (and it's Mr. Jaq's and at work he has not-so-great signal). We have the wireless internets (clearwire), no cable, tv is used only for occasional dvd viewing.

does optimum triple play count?

what do I do about nu apartment's phonejack that is USELESS cuz it has PAINT IN IT!?

go to a hardware store and buy a replacement jack (and a small flatblade screwdriver if you don't have one). They are simple to replace. And low voltage. But don't stick anything metal in there anymore because if you short it out, you'll probably have to have the phone company out to replace something in their panel.

Dr. Morbius: http://www.wikihow.com/Install-a-Residential-Telephone-Jack

If you can't disconnect the line, just be careful not to let any of the wires touch. You can wrap the bare ends with a small piece of electrical tape to be extra safe.

no reception in the woods.

Au contraire. I have made calls from the middle of Shenandoah National Park.

Alfred, if someone thinks you're rude for not answering the very second they want to talk to you, fuck them. Seriously.

A ringing phone CAN be answered, it doesn't NEED to be. If it's important they'll call back and/or leave a message. Their expectations need to be reset, not yours.

I've got DSL and my Satellite DVR requires having a landline.

Do you have Dish? DTV says you have to have a landline, but that's only for PPV.

Yeah here. Naked DSL (w/o a phone line) is still pretty new and cable internet isn't very prevalent. Besides, better for calling pizza place/taxis

I HATE cell phones. Why on earth would you need to be accessible all the time?

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 1 July 2008 23:44 (Yesterday) Link

because you're never home unless you're fucking or passed out?

or on ilx. ;_;

We have a land line. I much prefer it to my cell phone.

Nof if you don't use DSL, ste. Or, depending on your definition of a landline, not if you live in a country where you can get "Naked DSL" (the line without the voice calls part of it).

Unfortunately, only 84 people demand it

landlines are nice. I probably should use skype but either way, a mobile is too expensive for international calls.

also I agree with Daniel, if I'm chatting with someone I much prefer to be on my landline, the big chunky receiver in hand, it's a lot more relaxed and you don't have a hot ear afterwards.

I plug in the hands-free kit and march around the flat like a top executive.

I have one for DSL, the call quality is awful, I still have a few friends who call me on it but they are far outweighed by the telemarketers so I never answer it.

I need one for broadband, and also because mobile reception is shit in my area.

(xpost) also, like Tyler Durden, I never answer my phone.

I never get landline calls, but I still need one for the DSL.

Ah fuck, Blairwitch Projects was fake then?

The Blair Witch Project was deliberately given an early-90s period setting so that it would seem reasonably implausible that none of the characters had a mobile phone.

Who talks to anyone on the phone longer than eight minutes anyway? My parents are the only exception: they go on for hours and hours and bloody hours about the most bafflingly asinine shit you could possibly imagine.

ilx as hosted on verizon

naw tom u can get whats called a dry line

AT&T calls it a dry loop here. When I moved a few months ago I persuaded them to let me cut off my landline and keep my DSL. Was kind of a hassle to get it installed, but it saves me like $15 a month on a number that only got telemarketing calls.

Dry humped by AT&T.

what do I do about nu apartment's phonejack that is USELESS cuz it has PAINT IN IT!?

call your landlord?

anyway I just switched over to digital voice as a package with my internet and cable, it was cheaper than keeping our AT&T line which was ridiculous for long distance. this is half as much. I'd dump the line altogether and go with just our cellphones if our reception wasn't so shitty in our house.

yeah, I will sequentially try to convince landlord then Verizon to pay for it (descending order of confidence).

my SO has one in the house. it comes bundled w/ internet and she doesn't like cell phones (she has a pay-as-you-go one that she only uses for long-distance travel).

cable package for internet would be more expensive, and since we don't have time to watch TV as it is we'd be paying for someone we aren't using. plus the cable company around here are total rat-bastards. ok, so is the telecom we use but the cable company will routinely hike up rates without no warning.

someone = something

i have a landline because my cell number area code is still 718 and i want an 818 number i can put on resumes. no, i don't want to give up my 718 number. yes, i am a brooklyn hipster asshole for life.

Does it count as a landline if it's VOIP via cable/internet connection and not the phone company?

I have a phone line bundled with my cable and internet access, but it seems to go out when the power goes out--does that indicate it's VOIP, as opposed to a true landline?

Interesting they call it a "dry line" or "dry loop" in the US, the same thing here's called a ULL (ubundled local loop), really you're still using a *line* (ie the copper), it just isnt a phone service.

Still got a landline but it is strictly for DSL. Once the NBN comes in, I'll have no need for a landline, but no one will at that point, phone will be delivered over fibre. Can't wait.

I have one through the cable co that my tv and internet are through. Not sure how much I use it but handy thing to have.

I still have one! I'm paying for a cable-internet-phone bundle. I still find it easier to use one when moving around the house without interference.

i have a landline because my cell number area code is still 718 and i want an 818 number i can put on resumes. no, i don't want to give up my 718 number. yes, i am a brooklyn hipster asshole for life.

― With extreme tenderness - flexible - always guided by the words (get bent), Sunday, October 28, 2012 11:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't know where I got this impression, but I had thought you were from L.A.

Yes, but we're british.

We got one after our dryer caught on fire and our cleaning lady had no way to call 911. She ran out into the street and stopped a car to use their cell phone.

nothing but, still

FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS

Yes, but we're british.

― comedy is unnatural and abhorrent (Scik Mouthy), Monday, October 29, 2012 11:37 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^ Yup.

plus the cable company around here are total rat-bastards.

true that. we got dsl because i specifically don't want cable.

I haven't had a land line in about ten years.

At the time, the telephone reception at my apartment was terrible (really heavy static and distorted sound). AT&T sent service people out twice to look at it and said there was nothing wrong with it, and charged us a lot of money in service fees. The problem never got fixed, so we ended up just getting rid of the land line. It wasn't worth spending the extra money on a line that didn't work. To this day I would not get a cell phone or any other kind of product or service from AT&T, they were so horrible to deal with. I would probably prefer a land line if I thought could decent service from a provider, but I don't think there is much besides AT&T around here.

we still have a landline - Sacramento's always right on the edge of being flood city during heavy storms, plus earthquake-adjacent...Mr Veg and I decided we'd keep the landline purely for disaster reasons. I mean we're not prepped in any other way but hey, we got a landline, lol

Landline, of course.

If you're doing any sort of actual business, it's pretty careless to depend on the erratic nature of current cell phone reception

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, July 2, 2008 1:40 AM (4 years ago)

update?

Sheesh. I cancelled it after dad died and I took over, I don't want some old guys' weird phone calls. The only time people we know called is when someone died and who wants to be reminded of that?

I agree about business, though. You should have a landline.

I don't know where I got this impression, but I had thought you were from L.A.

am "from" new york, live in los angeles.

We got one after our dryer caught on fire and our cleaning lady had no way to call 911. She ran out into the street and stopped a car to use their cell phone.

I can't believe she doesn't have a cell phone. She had one years ago when she was cleaning my place and her brother/co-worker let the A/C fall out of the window.

You don't actually pay for a landline, do you, since you use a Google number on it?

Also, no land line for me since about 2002 b/c I don't want to pay for a service I have no use for.

Though recently I've needed to call relatives in Mexico, which I couldn't do on my cell phone.

Oh we pay for it. And it's too expensive.

The google voice number just makes it so it rings both of our cell phones as well.

Oh. If I hire the cleaning lady again and my apartment catches fire I'm sure she can figure something out.

My boss has a weird beef with cell phones. She has a Blackberry that she likes and uses all the time, but if she is on a land line and there is any sort of static or sound distortion, she assumes the other person is using a cell phone and delivers a familiar rant about how they're "a developing technology" and how it's not professional to use them for business because "they're not ready for prime time."

We pay for a land line with absolutely no features - no call waiting, no voicemail, no whatever. But the only calls I'm around to ever get are from robo/telemarketers, so I have a hunch our landline is doomed. If it knows what is good for it it'll start patching through some better material.

she assumes the other person is using a cell phone and delivers a familiar rant about how they're "a developing technology" and how it's not professional to use them for business because "they're not ready for prime time."

i love this

i do, but mostly just because we have a kid and we have weird fears about what would happen if cell coverage was knocked out and there was a medical emergency

But the only calls I'm around to ever get are from robo/telemarketers, so I have a hunch our landline is doomed.

This. One of the best thing about cell phones is that they are safe from telemarketers and 99% of robocalls. I got one robocall a few weeks ago and it felt seeing like a stranger walk into my living room unexpectedly.

I get robocalls on my cell phone all the time!

Weird. I wonder wherefore the difference?

Timely comment by a friend from high school to a post on FB about cell phone thefts I've never seen one up close, so I don't know what all they can do, but I would never keep my most private info, or all my family photos or anything of huge importance on something small enough for somebody to grab and run off with in their pocket!

This fucking guy. He was a balls-to-the-wall party monster who moved to the mountains and reinvented himself as Betty Crocker/a Southern belle (he refers his and his boyfriend's home as [boyfriends' last name] Manor and unironically calls his porch a lanai), and an aggressive Luddite. I can just hear him breathing out, "Fiddle dee dee! Those cellular telephones will be the death of us!"

someone give that man a tv show

Now that I work from home a couple of days/week, I use the landline a lot. The cell reception in our apartment is better since we switched to Verizon, but it's still a little touch and go.

I have received two robocalls from Disney in the last two days. It says to push 2 if you want to removed from the list, which I've done numerous times. Today, I pushed 1 to be connected with a customer service rep and I told her I wanted off the list and she hung up on me.

One time I told a rep to take me off a list and she said, "Well then you need to stay off our website."

Why do people give you their home number and say, "If you can't reach me there, call my cell phone"? This happens a lot at my job and I wonder, why not just have people call your cell phone? In most cases, when you're at home you can be reached by cell, so why fuck with the land line?