"Please leave a message after the toneBEEEEEP" doesn't give me enough time to think. I'd prefer "Please leave a message after the tone; Press 1 now to delay for five seconds".-- hippo, Jan 22 2009 You could always just press the button again. Care would have to be taken that the number of delays wasn't stored somehow in the message metadata: "Caller took - 25 - seconds to think of this message".-- hippo, Jan 22 2009 I thought this would be the other way around - a button I could press when I was talking to one person but got a "call waiting" beep. I could press a button to give a beep (or even a recorded message) saying "Don't go away, I'll be there in just a moment" to the waiting caller, without having to switch calls.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 22 2009 Good idea.-- Custardguts, Jan 22 2009 Good idea.-- Custardguts, Jan 22 2009 Good idea.-- Custardguts, Jan 22 2009 Must be a fault on the line line. Actually, I've noticed that my annos often seem to vanish (ie, not appear after I've clicked 'OK') or appear in duplicate despite (I think) a single click. Maybe my browser (Safari 3.1 on MacOSX) is a bad choice?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 22 2009 Is the purpose of the button to avoid those obligatory "Oh, erm, ahh, hello" moments that ensue whenever one is confronted with an unexpected machine?-- zen_tom, Jan 22 2009 Yes, exactly.-- hippo, Jan 22 2009 [MB] for me this is one of those sites that occasionally has a lag problem.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 22 2009 I can see the value in this idea. I'll add this to my list of desired features for the machine I'm taking the wife to buy this weekend (main desired feature so far is that it stops the phone ringing and takes calls silently).-- vincevincevince, Jan 22 2009 Excellent, I wish phones had this.-- phundug, Jan 22 2009 Umm sorry but after you have left the message you can press a key to listen to it and press another to change it...-- madness, Jan 22 2009 after thinking for about 5 secs, I decided to bun.+ I'd like to see the option to press the actual numbers to give that allotted amount of time to think- like 1 + 0 gives ten secs, etc.-- xandram, Jan 22 2009 Geez, presumably you had something in mind to say to the actual person. Just say *that* to the machine. What is the point of the extra time?-- Texticle, Jan 22 2009 b/c with a person you can go "hi" "how are you" "may I ask you a question", etc. to buy time before you get to the point. But a machine is inflexible and no hemming or hawing is allowed.
Plus, we've all been annoyed by friends leaving non-fluent messages that we're trying to get through listening to while desperately having to go to the bathroom. An extra 5 seconds can reduce the message length by 20 seconds.-- phundug, Jan 23 2009 At first I was thinking the same thing as [texticle], but the extra time gives one a chance to be more *creative* with the message! ;)-- xandram, Jan 23 2009 This is exactly the point - when I phone someone I am prepared for a few seconds of smalltalk and will then come to the point of the call. I'm not always prepared for that straightaway.-- hippo, Jan 23 2009 "Hello, you have reached my phone, but I am out right now. I hope you are having a good day? Press 1 for Yes, press 2 for No."
BEEP
"Well, that's too bad, but did you hear a about Sarah? She broke up with Jason and stole his car. Press 1 for What a bitch!, Press 2 for That's great man, but hey I really got to tell you something."
"Yeah, the police found the car stuck in the salt flats in Nevada with a bag of coke and pair of leather chaps in the passenger's seat. They've been searching for her since Tuesday but they haven't found her yet! Press 1 for Leather chaps? Press 2 for Everyone knew Sarah mixed with the wrong crowd, but hey, I've got something to tell you"
"Yes, a pair of man's black leather chaps. How can you explain that? And the coke? They have been questioning Jason as well, but he has no idea where the chaps came from, or the coke. Press 1 for Everyone knows Jason did blow, Press 2 for Leather chaps aside, I need to leave you a message"
BEEP...-- mylodon, Jan 23 2009 /when I phone someone I am prepared for a few seconds of smalltalk and will then come to the point of the call. I'm not always prepared for that straightaway./
Surely the small talk and the actual point are two distinct items. Machine answers, abort Phase 1, engage Phase 2.-- Texticle, Jan 24 2009 in the email version, you may be allowed to recall the screwup emails you sent within 10 mins-- xkuntay, Jan 24 2009 I'm all for it. I often hang up when I get the recording, think up what message I want to leave, and then call back.
'course, then the person answers the phone and messes me up again...-- lurch, Jan 25 2009 random, halfbakery