On 2021-06-25 at 14:24:13 UTC-0400 (Fri, 25 Jun 2021 19:24:13 +0100)
RW <rwmaillists@googlemail.com>
is rumored to have said:
> On Fri, 25 Jun 2021 05:51:24 -0700
> Loren Wilton wrote:
>
>> From a fake "subscription" spam:
>>
>> You can reach out
>> to our Customer Support Team+1 (800) 781 - 2511.
>
>
> Is it common in the US to put 800 in brackets like that?
Yes.
> In my
> experience brackets normally go around either country codes or area
> codes, digits that may be optional.
In the US system (NANP) toll-free numbers were initially implemented as
special pseudo-area codes. For many years area codes were strictly
geographic except for 800 and later 888 toll-free numbers, and we had 3
types of dialing: 7-digit "toll-free local," 1+7-digit "local toll," and
1+3-digit-area-code+7-digit "long distance toll." In border areas,
(###) ###-#### was a common format in print. Because toll-free numbers
worked most like long distance toll calls, requiring '1+###' as a
prefix, they got the same punctuation treatment.
Inordinate additional detail:
For some time, we also had "local exchange" dialing, where one could
just dial the last 4 digits for local numbers sharing the same 3-digit
prefix. There was also an old nomenclature system that mapped the local
exchange prefix to 2 letters and a digit, with the 2 letters being an
abbreviation of some word. For example, as a kid I had a "Parkview 1"
number: 721-xxxx. Businesses would often put their numbers in print ads
using those, e.g. PA1-1234. Parkview was not an actual place, but all
the PAx exchanges in St. Louis were within a mile or two of Forest Park,
i.e. people who might be able to have a view of the park from an
adequately tall tree.
--
Bill Cole
bill@scconsult.com or billcole@apache.org
(AKA @grumpybozo and many *@billmail.scconsult.com addresses)
Not Currently Available For Hire