Conference turris::womannotes-v3

    re .0, oh, I think the 1-900 numbers are much worse than drug money. 
    I'm sure drugs have made a lot more people feel good than a
    conversation with some stranger on a telephone ever could!
    
    Lorna
    

Hey, who cares?  If someone wants to pay $2/minute to temporarily escape
lonliness, let 'em!  What's it to you?  You'd prefer that they not have that
escape available to them?  The numbers don't hurt you, no one's forcing you
to call them, so if people *want* to call 900 numbers, what right do you have
to say they shouldn't??

Sheesh, first they take away drugs, now they try to take away party lines.

D!

I like the 900 number that don't have anything to do with sex. Like getting an
application for a credit card you almost certainly won't get turned down for,
or the guy in the suit with the American flag in the background saying "Every
year the gov't hires quadrillions of people, some without a high school
education. Call and we'll send you a packet on how you can get those jobs."

	Mez

    Jessica Hahn has a 900 number now:  we can pay her to tell us how she
    was entirely innocent in the Jim Bakker matter.  Anyone interested?
    
    Briana

    
    
    	My husband and I had a, *ahem*, friend staying with us one
    	weekend. He was in the middle of divorcing. He was lonely and
    	needed someone to talk to. We wound up with over $40 of 900
    	calls made from 1:37 to 2:14 AM on our phone to such things
    	as the ROMANCELINE, yiippee....guess we were lucky, he didn't
    	call one of those Vegas hooker lines that cost $200 a minute.
    	Yes, that's TWO HUNDRED BUCKS PER MINUTE. That's what the
    	woman at the phone company told me when I called to have 1-900
    	disabled on my phone (it's a free service).
    
    
    	That guy hasn't been to mt house since...
    
    
    	Sherry
    

    Who needs to talk to strangers on the phone, when I can do it right here
    on my terminal?
    
    It's free, too.
    
    I think.
    
    -roger
    

    I remember reading in Newsweek (within the year, I think) that many parents
    of handicapped teenagers/young people expressed gratitude for the 900
    numbers.  These provide a social outlet in which the person's handicap
    (in some cases) is not apparent.
    
    How do I feel about 900 numbers?  Indifferent, I guess.  ;)  I was a
    tad miffed when my youngest daughter made several calls to vote on
    "Smash or Trash" on MTV.  She doesn't do it now, although she has the
    option of making the calls and paying for them.
    
    aq                                                         
    

For those who aren't aware, the Boston area provides services similar to the
900 numbers except they are cheaper (10 cents/minute) and the people on
them are local.  The Phoenix lists sex-oriented ones, but I know there are
also just chat lines, and special interest lines, like the 900 numbers.

[Should this be in the "sexism is alive and well..." topic?  Most het-oriented
Boston based sex chat lines will let women on free.  You talk to the moderator
and if s/he likes you, she'll give you a number and a password you can call
to get on the line for free.  The idea, I guess, is that the numbers tend to
be about 10:1 male:female, or worse.  And since it is the females who draw
the male [paying] audience, they want to get as many women as possible.]

If for one support chat lines.  When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time
on public computer bulletin boards.  This was great to me because I could
make friends and talk with people I wouldn't normally meet, without the
burden of prejudgements about looks, gender, race, handicap, etc, etc. It
made my teenage years worthwhile.  For kids who don't have a computer, I think
chat lines can perform a similar function.

D!

Somebody earlier made what I think is a valid point (that is, it agrees with
the way I view the situation).

These 900 numbers are no different from notesfiles.  Well, the only difference
is that you have to pay the bill yourself rather than having your friendly
employer cover the cost... (-:

					Nigel

    Also, there are some lines that give you the latest results on sports
    events that aren't in your area and the papers don't cover, and related
    information like who is retiring or going to another place.
    
    Deb 

    I wouldn't mind if they just didn't put those ditsy commercials on for
    them 10 times an hour.
    
    It gets annoying and frustrating.
    
    s.