this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024

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If someone gave you a 1-800 number for free, what would you do with it? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I'd play the Nickelodeon theme song on repeat at 180 decibels for as long as the caller is on the line.

If they hang up, a voicemail will be sent to them that contains... you guessed it, the Nickelodeon theme song at 180 dB. It will be played only once in this case.

Truly what an ingenious way to fry your phone's earpiece/speaker in addition to your ears and those of everyone around you within at least a kilometer of distance, all by listening to a too loud overamplified distorted rendition of those 5 notes known to be associated with Nickelodeon. I'd go to jail for causing such a disaster (both for "ear terrorism" AND copyright infringement).

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Not use it, as much as I don't use all my other numbers

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Well, I already have the power to announce stuff for free here by creating a community, so I guess I'd use it the same way I use Lemmy: telling people about free video games

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

“Put that fork down. You can do it. The urge will go away in 30 minutes. Be strong. Wait a while. Eat an egg. Wait a while longer. Be strong. You are doing it. Love yourself being strong.”

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Gangster Party Line

https://youtu.be/Cx1J2CzNnS8

https://youtu.be/nqs6wiHK99M

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I fucking crying! Haven't seen that in years!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't care if someone gave it to me for free. I still wouldn't call whatever number they gave me! For that matter, I wouldn't pay them to give me a number either.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Assume you are given a 1-800 number for your own use - people can call it and reach whatever you set up (you directly, a voicemail box, a phone menu set up, a dialup connection, whatever). The number is free and your minutes are unlimited.

Would you use it? If so, what for?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

No means no.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If it's magically free, is it also magically permanent?

An audio-based SSH client, maybe. It could be used for good or evil, but at this point any open SSH connection is regularly targeted anyway. It'd be really neat to be able to do whatever computer task over an old landline or one of the remaining payphones.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Magically permanent if you want it to be/give some "Yes I'm still using it" feedback to the shadowy organization giving it to you. Otherwise it's active for one year.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Oh, good. I was asking because otherwise it's the sort of thing that they'd try to shut down the first time it was misused.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I actually have a toll free number. I was going to potentially use just for a goofy project, however once robodialers find out you have a working number you might get a flood of spam calls. This sucks because you(as the toll free owner) are billed for any minutes for calls that connect to you.

Someone would have to foot those bills and that’s really how you’d only get a 1-800 number “for free”.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I can't believe it took me two days to ask the obvious - as someone toying with some goofy project ideas themselves, what was yours?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I shouldn’t have even said or eluded to any kind of real project - just more of a loose idea. I wanted to set up something similar to Lenny but not necessarily for the same application against telemarketers. Just wanted to tinker around but never got off the ground - mostly because of some painful stupidity on my part trying to set up FreePBX and deleting my whole HDD accidentally.

What was yours?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

One of the following ideas, in order of how likely I could get it running (given I wouldn't have the foggiest what I'm doing):

Forward the 1-800 calls to a free VoIP voicemail service, inviting callers to leave to leave the date, their location, and a message. Print stickers with the number, slap them on however many payphones I can find, and see what happens. I could do this tomorrow if I wanted.
Same idea, but routing to a FreePBX set up with whitelisting. While slapping up stickers, dial an echo number (don't think that's the right term - one that just reads back the number you're calling from, not one that echos what you're saying to test latency), add number to whitelist. That payphone is now activated. Activated payphones get to leave a message, anyone else gets 'Good bye' and disconnected. Some reading suggests this is possible, but with many, many things to learn between now and then (especially whitelisting). I'd be starting from 0 knowledge.
The above, but when you hit # to end your message, you get access to some automated menus with some fun/weird stuff (qotd, show times for upcoming bands I find interesting, a party line would be cool, etc.). See all comments demonstrating ignorance.

Why? It's pretty dumb, but seems like it'd kill some time and could garner some interesting/weird audio. I do like the idea of whitelisting payphones only, both to cut down on bot call vectors and to push the like 3 interested people to use the disappearing comms anachronisms around town.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Lol really fascinating and fun sounding honestly. But why do you keep referring to calling party numbers as payphones? Am I missing something or what do payphones have to do with this.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Probably just poor writing.

I had an interaction a while back that made me start thinking about payphones, and since you can call toll-free numbers from payphones here without depositing any coins (checked to make sure this is still a thing last week), this seemed like an interesting idea.

I have some artsy-fartsy thoughts about it, too: creative uses of dying infrastructure; 'true' anonymity - the info I'm getting from people is basically the number they're calling from, as a product of that their location during the call, and whatever audio they want to shove down the pipe - that's it; ideas about locality and physicality in an age where mass communication has erased borders in many senses, but people feel disconnected from their local communities more than ever, etc.

If you have some time to kill, I wrote a long-winded comment about it earlier and put it on a pastebin clone here (due to length limitations for comments here): https://pastes.io/paoqsezsjn

Basically, I like the idea of this weird number you can only reach from payphones someone slapped a sticker on in 2024, that doesn't ask for money (even the .50 to connect), doesn't try to sell you anything, and primarily just offers a box to leave some audio in. Could yield nothing, could yield something neat.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I thought that was what's being implied.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

And yes, 100% free in this magical scenario, no paying for the number, minutes etc.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I’d probably call it when my car breaks down

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

https://dialasong.com/

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

If I could, just use it for any and every single service that requires you to sign up using a phone number and don't allow things like VoIP.

Otherwise, I ain't got no use for it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Nobody uses the phone system anymore. It's all app based voip calls now.

A 1800 number might be good for a business, maybe a bail bondsman

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Most phone plans are unlimited calling nowadays, at least where I live. I use phone calling all the time. Especially WiFi calling, the sound is great.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Wifi calling is voip, but regardless I'm glad the phone works for you.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What does 1-800 number mean? I guess it's an USA thing, isn't it?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (4 children)

A 1-800 number is immune to long distance charges, free to call by anyone in the US— the owner of the 800 number pays any fees associated with the call. Traditionally, 800 numbers are owned by companies in order to sell stuff. (The 1- portion of a 1-800 number means that it’s a long distance call… which was a thing when I was growing up in the 80s/90s, but basically isn’t a thing anymore in the age of cellphones)

The opposite of an 800 number is a 900 number. The person calling a 900 number has to pay, usually by minute, and most of that money goes to the owner of the 900 number. Famously used for phone sex lines.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Are long-distance charges a thing anymore? I haven't paid any fees for domestic long distance in over a decade - I thought they were extinct.

800 is really just an easy-to-remember area code for businesses now, aren't they? Like .com.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The 1- portion of a 1-800 number means that it’s a long distance call

The 1 is the Country Code for the US. If you are dialing outside the US, you would start with the Country Code for the country you are calling. If you are outside the US dialing a US number, you start with a 1 to designate that the number is within the US.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

The 1 is the Country Code for the US.

for North America and some island countries/territories*

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_calling_codes

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To add to this, the 800 part is effectively an international convention for toll free numbers at this point. Most countries use either "800", "0800", or "1800". On top of that the +800 country code is used for international toll-free numbers, but AFAIK it only works in a few countries.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

To add further more: often also 810 or 820 numbers exist, where a phone call might have a toll up to 10 or 20 cents per minute respectively. With 900 numbers you usually dont know, how expensive they are, when only looking at the number.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So it's a really expensive phone number to own? I would sell or delist it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

But you get it for free, I assume the costs are covered

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Fart sounds

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Play music over it, mostly metal.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Never answer it unless they texted me first.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Just use it as my phone number.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I would set up a BBS with lots of text based games on it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

But who has a modem to dial it these days?

I probably have an old laptop somewhere with a modem on it, but then my next impediment is I don't have a landline any more.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Two chicks at the same time.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I get what kind of chicks would double-up on a dude with a million dollars, but I'm suddenly VERY curious about the kind of chicks that would do that for a dude with a 1-800 number.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Fuckin' A.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

My cousin broke, don't do shit.

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