Phone conversations and meetings with strangers
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
February 6, 2013 3:42pm CST
Many years ago there was a phonenumber in my country that people could call if they wanted to chat to strangers or if they wanted to find a date with a stranger. I have never called that number, but some of my friends have done it in the past.
This was before the internet but it was sort of similar to a chat site. It was possible to have a group discussion and it was also possible to talk in private. Of course there was one big difference: The people who used this meeting place talked instead of writing their sentences like you do on the internet and it wasn't possible to see a picture of the person that you talked to. Since you weren't able to see the person you had to base your impression on the voice and things that the person said.
Did that kind of meeting place on the phone also exist in your country in the past? What do you think about the meetings that people arranged through the phone? Do you think that the phone conversations and the sound of the voice would be enough to get a good impression of a person before you arrange a meeting?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
7 Feb 13
We had Phone numbers like that also, might be they are still there. Also it is (was?) possible to put an add in the (local) newspaper, magazines, teletext on tv, etc etc. I think this exists already since many years (way more as 40 years). Also asking for pen palls was possible (mostly it started with that). We still have a lot of Phone numbers adults but also children can call if they want to chat, clear their heart, feel lonesome, are abused, raped, violence by partner, teacher, etc etc.
1 person likes this
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
7 Feb 13
P.s. I do believe the sound of the voice is very important. At least it is for me. A warm voice is more interesting, also you can hear someone's feelings in the voice as well plus the way someone is talking says a lot about education, not to forget to mention the way someone is laughing.
1 person likes this
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
7 Feb 13
I am not aware if that kind of set up did exist here. But I guess, that just like chatting, the perception we have of the person on the other end can be the exact opposite. It could still pose some danger as well. Phone conversations, okay. But if they would want to meet personally, well, that is something that one should be more cautious about.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
14 Feb 13
I think that there is big difference between phone conversations and face-to-face meetings. Phone conversation are not a big risk, but a face-to-face meetings could be risky since it is meeting between two strangers. I don't think that I would be willing to meet someone if we had only had a short phone conversation because I would be afraid that they had hidden their real identity or real intentions. I know that some people had a different opinion and they met many people from that chatline in the past. Sometimes bad things happened, but of course there were also happy stories about people who met via the chatline and later became a couple.
@mods196621 (3652)
• Philippines
6 Feb 13
I am not sure if such kind of number talking with strangers or arrange date are existing here. To share my thoughts about your question regarding this matter is just slightly and only according to what i am already know. We cannot totally know who and what is their character only on voice and some words. We will know some impressions for them according to what we hear and some words they deliver to us. Also we can base some to know what kind of person they are but never trust unless we know them so well in person. Some are good speakers and they can pretend, hide and tell all good words through phone. There are some expert people on that field then after they got the trust from the pal next is asking for eyeball, then risks may rise. Only we can do is be careful and wise. Have a happy day!
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
11 Feb 13
I agree with that. I think that is hard to know who people really are when we are only able to base our impression on the sound of their voice and the things that they say during the conversation. Of course we can get a kind of impression of them, but it is different from knowing them in person, and some people are different when you meet them in person. I know that some people did choose to meet people from the chat lines in my country while they still existed. I think that I would have been too worried to do that. I have met people from the internet, but I think that is a little different because we have been in touch online for a long time before we plan a meeting. A single phone conversation wouldn't be enough for me I think.
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
6 Feb 13
Well, I remember in the early 90's there was just a telephone service for a fee, then ended up in the dock, as many people were reduced to poverty by the economic point of view. I also remember the first digits 144 ...
The newspapers depopulated phone numbers with live chat, but, meetings, frankly speaking, I do not remember if it was spoken already then.
All in all it was a big scam!
By the way, for those who do not know, I'm Italian. Maybe someone my compatriot, will remember!
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
7 Feb 13
I haven't heard about that phone service, I think that it must have been before the time that I lived in Italy. I have worked in Italy in the past, but I am back in Denmark now. I remember a similar scam from my own country where people had to pay a huge fee and some people lost a lot of money. The other chat line that I mentioned when I started the discussion was not a scam. You had to pay for the phonecalls of course and that could get very expensive if you were lonely and used the chat line very often, but there were no hidden fees or things like that. I have never used those chat lines, but I know that other people have spent a huge amount of money on those phone services.
