14 Jun 2004 | kev said...

i usually immediately assume it's their fault. "They put their fax number in for their voice number! How stupid." But then when I look again I realize that once again, I'm the idiot.

14 Jun 2004 | Brad Hurley said...

Even worse is my current pet peeve with Microsoft Outlook 2003: if you compose an e-mail message and try to send it to someone who also happens to have a fax number listed in your address book, Outlook prompts you to decide whether you want to send the message to that person's e-mail address or to their fax number. Really. You would think Outlook would be smart enough to know that if you've just composed an e-mail message, you're not trying to send a fax. I've actually started deleting people's fax numbers from my address book to avoid bumping into this bug.

14 Jun 2004 | Mark said...

What really gets me is those fax numbers that are essentially the same number as the phone, with only a couple of digits different, or in a different order.

Tha fax tone has a way of piercing straight through my brain as well...

14 Jun 2004 | One of several Steves said...

I'm not sure which is worse. Inadvertently calling up a fax, or having a fax call you, every two minutes, five or six times in a row, because someone dialed your voice number instead of your fax number.

Honestly, I'd say that unless someone is putting their fax number as the first number on their business card, it's operator error, not the business card design's.

14 Jun 2004 | pb said...

Brad, I've never seen that behavior in Outlook 2003. Is there some sort of preference that causes it?

I can't even recall the last time that went to someone's business card to find their fax number. I rarely fax and when I do, I've usually just been in contact with whoever I'm faxing to.

14 Jun 2004 | Justin said...

Jim:
I actually expect the phone number to be on top. Do most people expect otherwise? Still... what a pain. So foolish to create a memorable experience that no one would want to remember.

Brad:
You mean they've never done anything about that??? Including the fax # has existed since Outlook 97. Not that it surprises me that it still does that. For all the market research they claim to do, Microsoft seems to miss obvious opportunities to innovate.

pb:
If memory serves me (been a while since I've used Outlook, since switching to Mandrake) the easiest way to see this by composing a new message. Then, somewhere on the toolbar (Standard, I think) you'll find a button called "Address Book". The icon looks very similar, or identical, to the Windows Address Book that been a Windows component since at least 98. That list should offer both email addresses and fax numbers, although it's difficult to tell them apart since the dialog box is designed so badly. There's a technical reason for it doing this, but it reminds me of the really old MS joke that ends: "I knew that had to be the Microsoft building," the pilot said, "because they gave me a technically correct, but completely useless answer." ( Joke #31)

14 Jun 2004 | Brad Hurley said...

Brad, I've never seen that behavior in Outlook 2003. Is there some sort of preference that causes it?

If there is, I've never been able to find it, nor have I found any useful advice in Outlook Help. It did it from the day I installed Outlook 2003. The earlier versions of Outlook didn't have that problem.

14 Jun 2004 | Michael Spina said...

I actually called a sex line at work once because I dialed the first six digits of the phone number, but the last four of the fax. The two numbers were above and below each other, and just glancing back at the letterhead mid-dial it was easy to switch them. Is there a category for that in DNF?

It's a tough call. Usually letterhead contact info has all type the same weight and size, so how do you elegantly give emphasis to the phone number? Bold or italic type? Opposite sides of the page?

14 Jun 2004 | Brad Hurley said...

For a while, my business card used to say "Faxes by Appointment."

That avoided any confusion, and also meant that I would be alerted most times when someone was about to send me a fax. Although I did once get a sarcastic call from someone who said, "Hello, I'd like to make an appointment to send a fax, please."

Really, though, unless you're in the habit of sending and receiving faxes pretty regularly, I don't see any reason to list fax numbers anymore. If someone really needs to send you a fax, they can call or e-mail you to get your fax number.

15 Jun 2004 | Tom said...

Quite. I left the fax number completely off our business cards, partly because nobody remembered the last time we used the fax machine.

"Fax by appointment" does sound a little bit pretentious...

15 Jun 2004 | Bill Brown said...

There's a nifty little convention to indicate fax machines that is nearly ubiquitous: in front of the fax machine, they'll put the label "Fax:". Sometimes it's after the number and in parentheses, but I've never encountered a site, business card, or stationery that listed a fax number without any indication that it was one.

Maybe you should slow down a bit and read more carefully.

15 Jun 2004 | Coudal said...

Slow down a bit and read more carefully.

Words to live by.

15 Jun 2004 | Silus Grok said...

I'm with Jim on this: I encourage my clients to drop their fax numbers altogether. If they insist, then I encourage them to demote the fax number...

15 Jun 2004 | waylman said...

I have that problem too. However, some people seem to be missing the point so I'll help them out. An example listing might look like this:

p: 555-1234
f: 555-1235

I'll look at it, read it correctly and start to dial the phone number. As I get to the last couple digits I glance back at the listing and unintentionaly look at the fax number. As I am looking at the last few digits of the number I don't see the label up front and ... schreeeeeeech ... next thing I know my ear is ringing and my brain hurts. Ouch! If only they had differentiated the difference more visably, or not listed them together like that.

True, I could slow down a bit and read more carefully, but the foolish digital phone system here at work hangs up on you if you take to long of a pause while dialing. True, it should give me enough time to find that last 2 digits of the phone number, but I always feel pressured to hurry and that, I suppose is where I make the mistake.

16 Jun 2004 | Michael Spina said...

I agree. When you need the phone number for someone you usually have the upcoming conversation on your mind, you're in the middle of dialling the phone, pulling up a related email, and those 7 point labels become less prominent.