The party lines I’m talking about are shared loops between a group of residents in a rural area.
Some of the first-hand accounts I’ve read talked about neighbours listening in on conversations. People could tell a snooper was on the line because the volume of the other caller would drop. There was a social aspect to the whole enterprise because you could tell the one nosy neighbour to get off the line and the volume would magically raise.
Re:ADSL works over wet string (2017)
by Eelongate on Saturday December 04, 2021 @10:57PM
(#29446580)
Front door etiquette still works basically the same way. A doorbell rings and the whole house hears it. Once person goes to answer it, then passes off the conversation to whoever it's actually for.
Re:ADSL works over wet string (2017)
by kube-system on Saturday December 04, 2021 @04:16PM
(#29444384)
A party line is not when "a" whole family shares a line, it's when several separate houses share a line.
My daughter is gonna grow up not knowing any of the “shared phone line” etiquette because it is largely obsolete.