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Feb 17, 2023 at 18:37 comment added Davislor Another aspect was that anyone who called you would get a “busy signal.” Voice mail did not exist. Even when answering machines were invented, they could only pick up and take a message if the line were not already in use. Neither could the modem disconnect and let the call through. In practice, if you were going to use a modem at a time of day when people would be trying to call you, you needed to pay the phone company for a second line.
Feb 16, 2023 at 18:13 comment added RonJohn @Schezuk there’s telephone time, and then there’s machine time. Even with unlimited local calling, it cost a lot to rent time on the remote machine.
Feb 16, 2023 at 5:52 comment added dave If dialed-up to a bureau, you can bet you're paying for connect time, since you're tying up real equipment: a modem port in a finite number of modems.
Feb 16, 2023 at 0:26 comment added Schezuk In some areas in the US, unlimited local calling was available. If someone managed to get a shell, communication costs sometimes might not have to be worried about.
Feb 15, 2023 at 20:21 history answered chthon CC BY-SA 4.0