[jlgreco]

I want to know why unknown number, regardless of actual origin (spam or otherwise) is even permitted to go through PBXes or the like. Why isn't everything in the network, including my phone, set to drop "unknown number" calls right on the floor?

My phone should be saying to itself "Hold on a second, am I about to turn on the buzzer and display the text "Unknown caller" to the users? /dev/null it."

[zurn]

Privacy/anonymity is a basic feature of any useful personal communication mechanism as I hope you know. Snailmail supported it before the phone network, and the internet supported it after the phone network. Though maybe people have forgotten now that they've moved en masse to things like facebook (<rant elided>...)

Maybe people don't know how to select this feature when they make calls? At least in GSM based networks you can select it on a per call basis when dialing (#31# prefix).

Eg. calling in anonymous tips to your local newspaper, communicating with an annoying company you don't want calling back, etc.