What would you say to: "People can find the telephone numbers on the internet"?

A more relevant question is, “Why do we still have phone books?”.

I don’t have an 8-track player, nor a VCR. Certain things are obsolete. Phone books are one of those things. Lacking internet access these days is like lacking electricity or indoor plumbing.

Even having a phone that can’t access the internet is seen as quaint. Hell, even many landline phones (especially in businesses) are actually VoIP phones; they use the internet instead of phone lines to transmit voice and thus must have internet access to work at all!

If it makes no sense to you, then just look at the calender and notice that it’s 2015, technology has advanced since 1985, and society has changed as a result before responding.

@jerv All you ‘re doing is changing the subject.

1)This is not about you. The world is not only about people who can afford x,y,z. It is not only about people who live in big cities. It is not just about people with a brain for x or y, or z. You must have relatives whether they live in big or small cities, who don’t know how to turn on the computer, or who just want different options, not just one option. There should be no candles (or whatever else in case of power outage) for example, just because there is electricity? Should we not have the analog alarm clocks or wrist watches, etc.

2)Are you saying you would give that answer?: “We removed it because people can find those tel. numbers on the internet.” Why does answer make no sense? You can do it.

Even I have a free information number to call on my Razor/cell.
Would that help?

If I was trying to persuade the publisher, I would say, “I don’t always have access to the internet”. And then expound to not having internet at home, or out shopping, or when the power is out.

I find it harder and harder to find people’s phone numbers on the ‘net. People freaked out about it being easy to google, now it seems difficult and laborious.

It doesn’t make sense, but I doubt you could say anything helpful.

Yellow pages publishers are experiencing very rapid declines in ad revenues. Their monopoly is over, and they’re scrambling to stay alive.

How I wish I hadn’t flagged @jerv‘s post, as “unhelpful” even though it is a fact that it didn’t answer the question. It said that it is 2015, so it is obsolete, just like the VCR etc. are. I posted a response somthing like: “It is not about people who can afford the latest things, people who live in big/big enough cities, or people who have a brain for x or y or z. I’m sure you have relatives who don’t know how to use the computer whether they live in a big city or not, ......”
@jerv please re-post it if you want.

So, @ibstubro it is not about who has what, it is about the big picture.
@zenvelo Good points.
@bossob But it wouldn’t be a purposeful act (if it happened), it would just be an error.

….I mean that phone books are obsolete according to @jerv.

landlines and telephone books are not obsolete for many reasons including what @zenvelo listed.
Here is another reason.

I’m old school, and even I find that telephone books are obsolete, @flo. My point was that anyone that has a phone can access the information contained in a phone book. Once upon a time, when you couldn’t find a business, you hunted up a pay phone to look it up in the phone book. Good luck with that today.

Your question, as written, is about the Yellow Pages. Listings that businesses pay for. Obsolete because:
1.) Even though I live in a rural area I get at least 3 phone books a year, from 3 different companies. Only the biggest (chain) businesses can afford to advertise in all the versions. So every book gives you a different list of, say, plumbers.
2.) Because they can’t afford to advertise in all the available phone books, many small businesses opt out, and advertise in none.
3.) Because the business listings are unreliable, customers stop using them I have looked in the (not Y) yellow pages for a business I visited that day, and found no listing.
4.) Voice enabled, call 800–373-3411. Short commercial and you can find any business, in any town, irregardless of if they have subscribed or not. Or you can say a category, like “plumbers”.

My cell phone is around 10 years old. No internet. No texting.
I have no use for the Yellow pages, and they are the ‘profit’ that makes the white pages available.

Over the course of a year a business can open, or close, or change its number, or stop servicing an area. From practically the moment the phone book hits your doorstep it is out of date.

And now with so few people keeping land line numbers, and those that have them overcome with terror at the idea of someone calling them (horrors!) that they opt out, there’s basically no use for the white pages.

No one needs the white pages, so there’s no driving force to sell the yellow pages’ ad sections.

The printed phone book is probably more expensive to manufacture already than it brings in in ad revenue. Let it die.

@ibstubro and @Uasal Your posts read like you didn’t read my posts, and @zenvelo‘s post.

@ibstubro “My point was that anyone that has a phone can access the information contained in a phone book.”
“People who don’t smoke wouldn’t smoke so there is no need for no smoking signs or smoking bans in public areas.”?
@Uasal same as above.

That doesn’t even make sense.

The point is, the phone book costs money to print. It’s becoming less fiscally sound as an investment, so they are cutting back on the pages they print.

I’m sure you’re a resourceful lady, and can figure out some other way to find your county courthouse’s phone number.

@Uasal Re. @zenvelo‘s post?

-The OP says imagine but you just assumed it happened. That response hypothetical response was just that. And if it did happen it would be like saying “Yes I did trip and fall, I did it on purpose.”

-“you are a resourseful lady,...” It is not about you or me or your friends.

@flo I am not surprised that you had my post flaggged as you do seem to have an inability to realize/remember that I often do play “Devil’s Advocate” for the sake of prompting discussion, and also tend assume that the reader can make certain connections and thus only “tip the first domino” by bringing up the other end of the chain of logical progression. Sometimes what is clear to me isn’t clear to others though, and I occasionally forget that.

I said what I said about this being 2015 with the (apparently false) assumption that you would already know that the majority of adults in the US have a smartphone and thus no need for a phonebook. Now, I didn’t expect you to know the exact statistics as you don’t seem like the type of person who would even want to know that, but I thought you could at least take an informed guess based on the number of people you see every day who whip out a smartphone.

Now, the publishing and distribution of hardcopy books is far more expensive than posting on the internet, and that’s especially true of a thick tome like a phonebook. And since there are only so many pages, metropolitan areas would require literally an entire shelf to have the white pages for an entire metropolitan area. Seems kind of wasteful, which is why you rarely see white pages any more.

As for the Yellow Pages, well, you might want to read a little about their recent history before we get into that. But if you don’t feel like following that link, but the TL:DR version is that the Return On Investment of advertising in the Yellow Pages has declined to the point where fewer businesses even bother.

Why did the ROI decline? Fewer people were using the Yellow Pages.

Why were fewer people using the Yellow Pages? People were looking up businesses onthe internet instead.

Why were they using the internet instead of the phonebook? Because technology has advanced to where the internet is nearly ubuquitous; the majority of Americans carry it (or rather, a device that can access it wirelessly from nearly anywhere) in their pocket.

Why are people carrying the internet in their pocket? Because they can.

How can they? Technology has advanced to where that is possible, and society has taken advantage of that.

How did technology advance? It evolved over time. It’s now 2015, so technology will be more advanced than it was years ago.

Final question; does my original answer make sense now that I connected the dots?

“People who don’t smoke wouldn’t smoke so there is no need for no smoking signs or smoking bans in public areas?”
Huh?
You ignored my perfectly valid points I am not talking about the internet. Once again, I do not have internet on my phone. You call the number I provided, you say the city and state into the phone, then the name of the business or individual and are given the number, free of charge.

If you don’t have a phone, why do you need a phone book?
If you have a phone, why do you need a phone book?

Finally, I agree with @zenvelo‘s post, “I find it harder and harder to find people’s phone numbers on the ‘net” and don’t remember the last time I tried it.

If I never received another phone book, it would likely be a number of years before I noticed.

I got a phone book the other day. Tossed it right into the recycling bin.

@ibstubro “Finally, I agree with @zenvelo‘s post “I find it harder and harder to find people’s phone numbers on the ‘net” and don’t remember the last time I tried it.” Why aren’t you addressing @jerv and @Uasal about it then?

2) “Huh?” is that all you have to respond with to my *“People who don’t smoke wouldn’t smoke so there is no need for no smoking signs or smoking bans in public areas.”? (by the way, my question mark is outside the quote, you quote me with it inside.) I have a cellphone that allows… means everyone in the world has to have that as well?

@jerv “that you would already know that the majority of adults in the US have a smartphone” .....”....the majority of Americans carry it” There is only America. Which part of my posts indicate that I’m referring to America?

@Uasal “that doesn’t even make sense” of course not, that is the point.

@ibstubro and @jerv and @Uasal
“I slipped and fell down on purpose” Thant makes no sense, that is why it can’t be that it would occur to anyone with any sense that the Supermarkets the Plumbers, the Municipality sections (as opposed to let’s say “Escorts” segment) of all the segments, be removed. Again it is a hypothetical story not a real one.

You’re ranting.

Look, it’s a free service. You get what you pay for. Deal with it.

Sigh

In the United States of America, Canada, and other North American Numbering Plan countries, a toll-free telephone number is any number in these area codes:

+1–800
+1–844
+1–855
+1–866
+1–877
+1–888

You can dial 800–373–3411 from any phone with service within the United States, tell them the city and state, then say a category. If you choose “Business” you can then either hear the list of business’ in a category (say, plumbers), or search for a specific business. All free for first listening to a short commercial.

Q. “What would you say to: “People can find the telephone numbers on the internet”?”
A. You don’t need the bother of a phone book or the internet. All you need is a phone.

I’m not addressing @Uasal & @jerv because I agree that phone books are obsolete, and because I acknowledge that most people’s use of, and familiarity with, the internet are much greater than mine. I know for a fact that @jerv‘s is, so I’m guessing that there are tricks to finding numbers on the internet that I don’t know.

I have a phone.
I need a number.
I find the number with the phone.
Foolproof.

None of you are addressing the OP, and I’ve tried to get you all to.

To answer the OP directly, I would say nothing, as there is no universe I’m aware of in which that phone call would have taken place between myself and the producers of the phone book.

Q. “What would you say to: “People can find the telephone numbers on the internet”?”
A. You don’t need the bother of a phone book or the internet. All you need is a phone. Dial 800–373–3411.

This is a General question. Realistically you – or someone – will have to start flagging your own responses.

@ibstubro You are changing the subject, though. And repeating yourself.
Look at the last paragraph of my last post.

Your last post, @flo:
“None of you are addressing the OP, and I’ve tried to get you all to.”

Q. “What would you say to: “People can find the telephone numbers on the internet”?”
A. You don’t need the bother of a phone book or the internet. All you need is a phone. Dial 800–373–3411.

Unless you were referring to the nonsensical post ”“I slipped and fell down on purpose” Thant makes no sense”

@ibstubro thought: ’‘There is one line in her last post, she must have meant the post before last.’