RE: Privacy

[Chad Cooper]

I can tell you an interesting story related to this.   About 4 years ago, I was doing some research for a friend on some Macintosh software from Adobe. I work with PC's and have had no other contact with Mac's for years Previously (since College). So In order for me to get some technical documents from the site, they required me to register on the site. I used a similar but bogus name. I use the name of Jack Cooper, vs. Chad Cooper.   Well, 4 years later, I get Mac Catalogs, Ultra-Liberal magazine subscription requests, Credit card applications and regular junk mail addressed to Jack Cooper. I actually had to fight a creditor over the fact that Jack Cooper did not live at my house. This means that Jack Cooper, who does not exist, has a credit rating.    I got from someone wanting to poll me regarding something, which lasted 20 minutes before I rudely (I had to be rude) stopped the interview. I then decided that this intrusion would not go away, even with having an unlisted number. So, I have now instituted a policy that I will gladly offer my opinion, or listen to any pitch, if they will pay me an hourly rate of 50$ per hour. I tell them this, and it stops the call cold.   I also hang up on some of them. They will be in mid-sentence, and I will hang up on them. I am not comfortable with this, but one I realized that that I feel less bad doing this, than politely listening to the pitch, knocking down their objection reversals, then feeling like crap when I let this person down. I save them the hassle, and I feel better about a crappy situation.   I found a web site that had a number of ways to get back at them. My favorite, was, you interrupt them, and say "Does this sound like someone hanging up the phone?", then you hang up.   So Go ahead... Hang up on them. Its your right!. Chadster