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To: Tired of Taxes
How does junkmail cost you any any time? You're going out to check the mail anyway, whether you have real mail, junk mail or no mail the trip from door to mailbox and back again is the same distance and time. The most it's costing you is a couple of second of sorting (which I generally do on the way back from the mail box), and if you have a fire place you're getting free kindling.

You pay for the mailbox, you do not pay to receive mail. If you never send a piece of mail in your life, thus never giving USPS any money, you will still be able to receive mail. Telephones aren't like that, you don't just pay for the phone, you pay for the actual service itself, if you never make a single phonecall you'll still need to pay your regional Bell to get phonecalls.

We already have a "do-no-knock" list, it's called a No Solicistors sign, if you have that posted somewhere easily visible you can have any violators charged with trespassing.

This isn't a law that intrudes on the business of private companies. All the DNC list did was centralize the process. For many years now telemarketers have had to give people a way to get off their list and could be heavily fined for continuing to call. The difference is that it was done company by company and the management of the list was left primarily up to them. Telemarketers abused the freedom they were given by making it incredibly difficult to get on the list (going so far as to instruct their employees to hangup on people that request to be on the list) and forced more drastic meassures to be taken. Had the telemarketers acted in good faith when they were given the opportunity to police themselves the DNC list never would have happened, instead they chose to abuse the system, I'm shedding no tears.

It's not an inconvenience on people's time. It's theft of service. This was already determined for cellphones where people directly pay for receiving phonecalls, it is more losely defined for landlines where people simply pay for the general service, but the basic principle holds. You pay for the service, if you don't want these people taking up your time and intruding on your ability to receive wanted phonecalls they should comply with your wishes.
183 posted on 08/12/2003 1:02:29 PM PDT by discostu (the train that won't stop going, no way to slow down)
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To: discostu
But, the federal gov't isn't maintaining a list of people who don't want door-to-door solicitors. And, aren't the no-solicitation laws state laws?

I would never argue against a law restricting companies from calling someone who has told them specifically never to call again - that should fall under "harrassment". But, with the DNC list, companies are restricted from even making the first call.

Those telemarketers are salespeople, and the sales staff is the heart of every company. Behind a great many products and services is an obnoxious salesman in a bad suit. They may be annoying people, but they're necessary for many businesses to survive.

BTW, opening the mail and looking at it, then having to keep it around like clutter until recycling day is what I consider a hassle, especially with all the junk mail we receive. It's endless.
186 posted on 08/12/2003 1:24:48 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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