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A simple annoyance that can be remedied by hanging up, using caller ID or an answering machine

That does not make sense. It's not a simple annoyance. Why should I be troubled in my own home by some idiotic voice? You say hang up? Well, that means I've wasted my time running to the phone and picking it up and slamming it down. Caller ID? Well, what if someone who's number I don't have is calling? Or, if I let the telemarketer keep ringing and holding up my line? Answering machine? You mean I have to delay important calls just for these jokers??

That does not make sense. It's not a simple annoyance. Why should I be troubled in my own home by some idiotic voice? You say hang up? Well, that means I've wasted my time running to the phone and picking it up and slamming it down. Caller ID? Well, what if someone who's number I don't have is calling? Or, if I let the telemarketer keep ringing and holding up my line? Answering machine? You mean I have to delay important calls just for these jokers??

Give me a break. The "...my own home" statement is invalid. You do not have to have a phone. You do not have to answer the phone. You can turn the ringer off and you'll never even know that people have called. You can make outgoing calls only.

If taking the .37 seconds to hang up the phone is wasting your time then you certainly are anal. If you have someone calling whose number you don't have then they can hit the answering machine and you can call them back. Or if the telemarketer keeps ringing and holding up the line, well that is harrassment for which you can file charges. I'd be pretty entertained, though, if you could actually produce an example of a telemarketer constantly dialing your phone # during even a half hour period. You don't have to delay important calls, just hang up on the previous caller, wait for dial tone and dial. Using the phone is hard isn't it? Here's a hint, if you have the phone off the hook preparing to dial, someone can't connect an incoming call to you. AMAZING isn't it?

I agree completely with your assessment. It brings to mind a description of the intrusion of the unsolicited telemarketing call by Brian Daugherty in the current issue of Reason as:
"(the) privacy-shattering powers of the telephone, a device that allows strangers to set off alarms in your house simply by punching a few numbers on a remote keypad."