that horrible BEEP

[Shawn Mamros]

>Do any of you nice folks recall when a phone call used to be put on 
>the air, how you'd hear a really annoying beep every few seconds?  I 
>am trying to find out when the FCC said you didn't have to do that 
>anymore... and why they made radio stations do it in the first 
>place... My vague recollection is that it was done because the caller 
>was being warned that his/her call was going out over the air-- but 
>that seems like a silly reason, given that callers to talk shows 
>WANTED their call to be put on the air...  

I think the regulation required the beep anytime a phone conversation
was recorded.  The intention was to warn the caller of said recording.
It applied to more than just radio talk shows, but they were probably
the most well-known case where the caller was recorded (for seven-second
delay and/or archival purposes).

Nowadays, a message stating "this call may be recorded" is considered
sufficient.  I don't know when that regulation changed.

-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu