Do You Answer Your Phone?

I don't answer unless I know the number. They can leave a message! sometimes I don't even answer when friends call. If I'm in the middle of something I let it ring and get back to them later. works for me.

Of course I answer my phone. People over here do not leave messages, so I have no machine, because it would be useless and if it's someone I don't wanna talk with, I'll hang up again

Call display is a wonderful thing. If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. Depending on my mood, I don't even answer if I do recognize the number.

I always answer, especially unrecognized numbers. Hoping it's a publisher or record label or long lost uncle who wants to pass me millions of dollars. Something.

The telephone is an evil entity, put here on this planet to torment and confuse.

Somebody called a few years ago with some good news (they said), but it turned out to be a false alarm—I had to help them move some old furniture out to make room for some (slightly) newer furniture someone had given them.

If it's a local call I answer it. If it's a long distance number that I don't recognize, I don't answer it. If it's one of my husband's relatives I don't answer it.

I kept missing my sister's calls because she started going through a system where her number shows up as a 1-888 number, but I know what it is now.

I only answer if I recognize the number. Otherwise it goes to the answering machine. We used to be on the Do Not Call list, but guess what? If you move, you're fair game until the renewal period for the list comes up.

Nobody calls my home phone anymore except family, wrong numbers and the occasional business that I've given my home number to. It's very peaceful to be on the do not call list.

Except around election time. I keep getting calls from the party I'm not registered with - I wonder how I got on their list. I think Mac gave them my number.

People I know call me on my cell, and I have special rings for them. If something is calling my home phone, it's mostly telemarketers or some others and I just let voicemail pick up.

rhymegirl said:

Oh you mean Caller ID? See, I don't have that. That might come in handy. Although I wouldn't necessarily recognize an editor's phone number and that would be a call I'd want to take.

Sometimes I just get friends or relatives who think I'm not doing anything so they call up to chit-chat. My sister calls to ask me trivia questions!!

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Caller ID doesn't just show the number, it also shows names of businesses or the person the phone is listed under. Not all calls, but most have a name with it. It could really come in handy. Highly recommend!

rhymegirl said:

Sometimes I just get friends or relatives who think I'm not doing anything so they call up to chit-chat. My sister calls to ask me trivia questions!!

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I am so tired of all my family who thinks I sit around and do nothing all day! Seriously! No matter how often I tell them that I am on a deadline or tied up writing - they call for the stupidest things.

So, no, I do not answer my phone. I look at the caller ID and if it is my Mom, I answer - otherwise - the phone rings and rings. (I refuse to get an a/m - because then I have to return the calls. Anyway, I don't give my home phone out.)

Anybody that REALLY needs to talk to me (four newspapers I write for, my children, husband, etc...they all call my cell phone)

The cell phone, I see the I.D. and if it's a sister (who talks nonstop) or friends, and I am busy, I let it go to voicemail and check it later.

Caller ID, then answering machine. Blocked numbers are always screened through the answering machine, which has a hilarious, if I do say so myself, greeting.

Kathy, you have broadband Internet connection, right? I highly recommend Internet phones like AT&T or Vonage. They're cheaper than regular land line, and Caller ID, etc. are all included.

So that was you? I didn't recognize you without the heavy breathing...

Yup. Caller I.D. is my savior.

I let voicemail grab it if I don't know the number. If it's my husband I always pick it up. Anyone else I know...well it depends on my mood.

The only thing that really bothers me is when someone calls and I'm at work. Unless it's something urgent, you shouldn't be calling my cell from 8am-5pm. Mother***ker I'm at work.

I love my Caller ID feature. My thing is not so much that I don't like to answer the phone, but mostly that I don't like to spend time on idle chit chat. If it's someone who's calling for a purpose, or that I haven't spoken to in a while, I'll answer it. On the other hand, if my stepdaughter finally saved up enough money for a new cell phone and wants to use all her minutes the first week, calling us SEVEN TIMES IN ONE DAY from South Carolina to talk about NOTHING, well... you can see why Caller ID might come in handy.

People I really like, or people I come into contact for business always get my cell phone number.

TrickyFiction said:

Yup. Caller I.D. is my savior.

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Mine, too! Especially since I've been getting bill collector calls for someone named Deborah and someone else named Pete . . . irritates the sh*t out of me.

I have no caller I.D. and a voice mail through the phone company, so there is no way I could screen my calls; besides, I have a 21 year old and a 15 year old, so how often do you think the calls are actually for me or my wife?

When the phone rings I check the caller ID. If I don't recognize the number I let it go to the answering machine and 99 times out of 100 whoever is calling doesn't leave a message. We wanted to just use our cellphones but there's no real coverage in the house and then we learned that you want a landline for emergencies. 911 can associate a phone number with an address so we got the landline when we moved into the house.

No one calls me anyway. Anyone I want to talk to has my e-mail address and my IM contact information.