FAQs

I suggest asking stupid questions, so why not answer a few?

This FAQ page relates to the editorial content of the web pages; not to the subject matter. For "FAQs" on the subject matter, see the main page. There's also a separate links page.

I'm a telemarketer. Why do you call us scum?

It's mostly on one page. (The links are to different parts of the same page.)

1. There's a reason people consider telemarketers to be the scum of the earth.
2. Charities (actually their contractors)
3. Legitimate Users of Telemarketing
4. Excuses for Telemarketing

How can I ____?

The technical questions are mostly at

How I defeated their "Call Progress Detection"!

Dry Technical Data

Zapper and Other Electronic Anti-Telemarketing Devices

Don't you have a life?

I have no life. I've been sitting behind this computer since 1996 writing stuff about telemarketers. I do this about 14 hours a day, with some time off for eating (especially at dinnertime), sleeping and scheduled bathroom breaks. Sometimes I beigebox the neighbours' phones to eavesdrop on their calls from telemarketers.
My house (actually a cave with an outhouse) and my computer afford me everything I need in life.

What did a telemarketer do to you?

(see previous question.)

Well why did you take to trouble to write this website?

My interests are in technology, as well as taking a mild offense to commercial exploitation. I pretty much wrote it on a whim.

Where can I find out more?

If it's not on this website, it probably isn't worth reading. There are links at.. let's see... the links page.

Where can I find out more about a telemarketing law?

links page.

How did this get started?

It went up on personal webspace in 1996. In 1997 SCN started providing webspace for individual users. This was one of those early webpages. Nellie (the operator in the "No Parking Sign" logo) was part of the original page. Before taking a job in a boiler room, she was a drawing of a flight attendant yelling at a passenger in an IEEE magazine. (All airborne telemarketers wear Dave Clark headsets.)

Why is it called "The Telemarketing Scum Page" when it is really several pages?

It always had several pages. I think the original site had the links page, and used the title, Telemarketing Slime as well as Telemarketing Scum Page. The answer is... There is no answer.

what do you think of...

politics of telemarketing at telemarketing_economics.html

international telemarketing info in the middle of the t_links.html page.

"pro-active" issues at naming_individuals.html>naming_individuals.html and a lunchtime project

no, I mean what has this page done for anybody?

The major impact is in ident.html which set forth the telemarketers' "no identity tactic. As a result, both the FTC and FCC hold the client primarily liable for violations. More to the point, when they call someone who previously asked to not be called, they are also liable. If the sponsor company had kept proper company-specific "do not call" lists, they'd have no problem. It seems that many hadn't, and simply abandoned telemarketing instead.

There have been several other ideas which are now in fairly common use, most prevalent of which is "Don't Hang Up". Telemarketers are much more circumspect about troublesome marks.

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site first posted November 3, 1996 ~~ this page (faqs.html) Sept 29, 2002 ~~ rev October 9, 2007 ~~ written in WordPerfect 5.1