[CII] terms and conditions

[Dotzero]

On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 3:18 PM, John Osmon <josmon at rigozsaurus.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Dec 01, 2009 at 11:00:35AM -0600, Paul Schmehl wrote:
> [...]
>> So...no need for 911 then?
>
> In actuality -- no.  No need for 911 as such.
>
> 911 (and other equivalents) are just "shortcuts" across another
> infrastructure.  The end application is a voice channel into
> a centralized dispatch center.
>
> In my hometown, there are several numbers to call that get you
> to the same dispatch center.  911 is just one that is easy
> to recall.  The dispatch center has redundancy/resilancy on
> the telephony infrastructure -- so I'm reasonably assured
> that I can get and "open channel" to the dispath center if/when
> I need to do so.
>
> It's likely that I'm rare -- a citizen that is willing to ensure that
> they know how to get a hold of the dispatch center by dialing something
> other than '911'.
>

The fact that you know a number does not mean that the dispatch center
has redundancy/resilancy. Are you sure that the multiple numbers run
over different infrastructure? Would you bet your life? Never mind,
you ARE betting your life that they designed it right.

> Is 911 critical?  No, not in my personal view.  It's a helpful layer,
> but in a genuine emergency, I can function fine without it.
>

I admire confidence in a person.