Always record GLOBAL phone numbers, COMPLETE from COUNTRY CODE to eventual extension
Always record GLOBAL phone numbers, COMPLETE from COUNTRY CODE to eventual extension
(Fri 16 Nov 2012 10:37)
I always format the US numbers in my phone with a +1 777-777-777...
I second you "
gafly" Fri 16 Nov 2012 10:37, and I add: this is better for ALL numbers, not just US ones. Explanations:
A - Until the 1990s, global phone numbers were quite well implemented, known, understood and used by persons, communication programs, machines, organisations world-wide, because phone numbers being dialed by hand on wheels, it was important to make easy to dial them shortened:
- Inside your office, you just dialed the EXTENSION
- In your own local area, you just dialed the LOCAL digits
- In your own country you added the AREA code when it was different from yours (i.e. for "long distance" calls)
- In international, you added the OUTGOING command then the COUNTRY code (See Wikipedia List of country calling codes, which explains the scheme)
- To call out of your office or your country, you had to dial first an OUTGOING COMMAND (usually and formerly it was "0" to call out of office, "00" in the USA to call out of country; so to make an international call from inside an USA office, your total dialing started with "000").
B - This is why Numbers were (and still are theoretically) cut with signs showing which parts were the country code, area code, local number, extension. The Outgoing commands, being NOT parts of numbers, were NOT included. For instance, your number could be:
+1 (456) 789 1234 x9876
- the "+" sign at beginning means "this is a complete number, hence including country, area, local"
- the parentheses show the COUNTRY CODE (which is before the parentheses, here "1" for "North America") AND the AREA CODE (inside the parentheses, here "456")
- the "x" shows the extension (this number part is a private one, theoretically defined, known and used inside a company or organisation)
- the eventual spaces and dashes are only for human visibility; ideally they are ignored by programs and machines.
C - In the example above, to call you:
- your buddy in the next room dials "9876"
- your wife, calling from home, dials "789 1234 9876"
- your mother, from the other end of the country, dials "456 789 1234 9876"
- your cousin, calling from Paris, dials "00 1 456 789 1234 9876"
- your buddy, wife, mother, cousin can have your number recorded COMPLETE in their device; that device and any other node in the total and global communication system will automatically shorten it if necessary.
D - In small countries people are accustomed to international exchanges and communication; but in the largest country people rarely need or use them hence often forget how it works. In addition, the "country" code for North America, "1", being very short, is often overlooked, triggering misunderstanding of the whole number. In France we suffer both (small country vs the world, relatively large vs Europe) but fortunately our country code, "33", is more visible.
E -
Conclusion: In 2015 when calling a number, you have very rarely to dial it by hand; and all devices and programs are able to quickly and reliably handle COMPLETE numbers; so the best solution,
on your phone or PC, is to
record ALL your numbers COMPLETE, from "+" to eventual extension, including COUNTRY and LOCAL parts. This will get you rid of all the problems as the one that hits many of us on earth and that "
surebuttercringe" reported in the initial post of this thread.
Versailles, Thu 22 Jan 2015 15:04:00 +0100