First of all, to back Mary Anne’s assumption, the most basic telemarketer system relies on a computer calling system, which merely dials working numbers. They pick an exchange, say 123, and start dialing. The first number will be 123-0000, and the last will be 123-9999. It may take a month for a particular “team” to work their way through the exchange, but they will pick it clean -- as would locust. There are other devices that will skip the unlisted numbers, but there is no requirement to use them, and they are more expensive to operate.

A man making a speech outside your house (not on your property) or god forbid, the door to door salespersons that were replaced by telemarketers, might annoy you but if he is breaking no disturbance or zoning laws, he is free to make his pitch.

For a couple bucks, I can buy a “NO SOLICITATION” sign and hang it forever at my front door. This is to deter ALL door-to-door salesmen.

For the same price, or less, I should have the same convenience “inside my home” with my “private telephone”. The telephone book is a public listing of numbers, which is, at this moment, being corrupted my the telemarketing community. They have no business randomly coming into “my” home and ringing “my” bell.

You can request to be put on their no call list under existing laws.

For every selling company in the nation.

Unacceptable.

You can use caller ID and not answer calls from "unknown".

I would have to staple my caller ID to my arm -- or stop whatever it is I am doing to find out if the call is a nuisance call or not.

Unacceptable.

The phone company will even filter those calls if you wish.

For a rebillable price I should not have to pay. This is not the internet where the spamming criminals are international (yet).

Unacceptable.

You can hang up immediately, they don't usually call back.

I would still have to stop whatever it is I am doing.

Unacceptable.

NO SOLICITATION should be enough, and the do-not-call list is a very reasonable answer to a “growing” problem.

You can be sure, whatever happens the inventive human mind will come up with new ways to annoy us.

A given.

There will be a dramatic increase in junk mail (good for the paper industry, bad for the tree huggers) and thousands of tricks to legally infer your permission to call.

I get up to check the mail anyway, and junk mail is easily handled via my recycle bin, which is located next to my front door. As for future “tricks to legally infer permission to call”, it’s a bridge for future crossing, and not a very good argument to give up the fight now.

Dan