[GPSCC-chat] Google Voice for 408-22-EARTH?

[Spencer B Graves]

Hi, Drew et al.:  


	  What do you suggest we do to keep our phone number, 408-22-EARTH, without paying $40 per month?  Or do you think Google is so evil, we should give up our cute phone number to avoid using Google?  


	  I think people die every day to keep the price of gasoline below $5 per gallon in the US.  I can’t think of one thing I’ve obtained in my life to date that came to me without benefit of fossil fuels.  The oranges from the tree in my side yard involve only small amounts of fossil fuels.  However, it was almost certainly carried to this location as a seedling on a truck burning some fossil fuel, and it has occasionally received water transported here by pumps using electricity generated by burning fossil fuels.  Google may be evil, but not as evil as other things I do.  I eat those oranges, buy gasoline for my car, and use Google.  To do otherwise would make me much less effective in trying to make the world a better place.   


	  Best Wishes, 
	  Spencer


> On Jan 26, 2015, at 10:21 PM, Drew <jamboi at riseup.net> wrote:
> 
> Do we really want to have any / all of our phone traffic run directly to the NSA (in case anyone is unaware thanks to Manning and Snowden we know for a fact that the N/A had a direct tap into Google, Apple, Yahoo, AT&T, Microsoft/Hotmail, AOL, Facebook, etc. ). There are other entities that are not so directly partnering with the NSA to betray activists. Why would we want to feed the monster of Google?
> 
> Greenvolution is NOW!
> 
> Drew
> 
> On January 26, 2015 9:42:12 PM PST, Spencer B Graves <spencer.graves at effectivedefense.org> wrote:
>    I believe that phone numbers (in California?) acquired after a certain date belong to the person, not the phone company.  I was told that when we changed phone companies a few years ago:  If we had acquired our phone number before that date, we might not be allowed to keep the number we had.  Fortunately, we were allowed to keep our number, which we had acquired in 1982 or 1984.  This law may not apply to transfers from a land line to Google Voice — or I may have heard incorrectly.  However, Pablo Ghenis said that Occupy San José (OSJ) used Google Voice when they had a camp (and I think he had previously used it personally).  OSJ used it with Google Groups and had the OSJ number forwarded to multiple phones and to different people at different times of day.  
> 
> 
>    Step one is to create a gmail account for the Green Party of Santa Clara County.  
> 
> 
> QUESTIONS:  
> 
> 
>    1.  What name should we try to use for a gmail account?  How about santaClaraGreens at gmail.com <mailto:santaClaraGreens at gmail.com>?  
> 
> 
>    2.  How should we decide to whom to forward this phone number?  We can have it go to multiple people, presumably some of our most active Greens.  Any nominations and / or volunteers?  
> 
> 
>    Spencer 
> 
> 
>> On Jan 24, 2015, at 10:32 PM, Gerry Gras <gerrygras at earthlink.net <mailto:gerrygras at earthlink.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> What would stop the phone company from reassigning
>> that number to someone else after some time?
>> (Probably 6 months or a year.)
>> 
>> Gerry
>> 
>> 
>> Spencer B Graves wrote:
>>>   Thursday evening we voted to terminate the $40 per month we’ve been
>>> paying for 408-22-EARTH (408-223-2784).
>>> 
>>> 
>>>   Fortunately, with Google Voice (and perhaps other similar services),
>>> we can retain that phone number for free.  The following outlines the
>>> process I’m told works:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>     1.  Create a gmail account for the Green Party of Santa Clara
>>> County, CA.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> *** DO WE ALREADY HAVE ONE?  IF YES, WHO CURRENTLY MANAGES IT?  ASSUMING
>>> WE DON’T WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST WE CALL IT?  Something like
>>> santaClaraGreens at gmail.com <mailto:santaClaraGreens at gmail.com> <mailto:santaClaraGreens at gmail.com <mailto:santaClaraGreens at gmail.com>>?  [I
>>> haven’t tried this, but I might unless I hear a better idea.]
>>> 
>>> 
>>>     2.  Log into our Greens gmail account, then in the same browser, go
>>> to "google.com/voice <http://google.com/voice> <http://google.com/voice <http://google.com/voice>>”.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>     3.  Click “Get a voice number”.  This will open a window with
>>> buttons for “I want a new number”, and “I want to use my mobile number”.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> *** THIS MAY NOT WORK FOR 408-22-EARTH, but I think it’s worth a try.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>   If this doesn’t work, we might find something different that will
>>> work — at something substantially less than $40 per month if not for
>>> free.  Google Voice wants to charge for this, but I think we can get it
>>> for free.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>   Might anyone care to help make this transition?
>>> 
>>> 
>>>   Thanks,
>>>   Spencer
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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> 
> 
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> -- 
> Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

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