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In The Idea Factory (about Bell Labs) they describe another common method being to shout "Ahoy!" into the phone and hope that this gets the attention of someone near the receiving telephone. I just love the mental picture I get from that.

On the other hand, this forced people to make written appointments for calls. Sometimes I wish that happened more often.



Me and my closest friend stay in near constant touch through text messages (whatsapp).

We know we can call each other on phone any time of any day and the other would nt mind one bit about their routine or focus being disturbed.

Still we plan our calls a week in advance and only have calls once every few months.

Part of the reason must be that async but near-instant communication afforded by messaging apps is enough for 90% of the needs.

Of course this reduces the intimacy of having a real conversation but we are introverts anyway.


Great point! I will add that to the pages on Annunciators. Thanks for the idea!


Me and everyone I know in a professional setting makes written appointments for calls. We write it down in Google Calendar or similar, with a link to where the call is taking place.

You don't?


I text the person to ask if I can call them.




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