🚀 go-pugleaf

Once again, the sky is falling.

Somehow, somebody got the notion that someone who is calling _in_ to 
a BBS is "using" the phone line, and therefore it isn't "residential".
Tell me, (no that's rhetorical only) is your line no longer residential
when you get solicited by insurance agents, newspapers, and other
businesses?  They're "using" your line!

The mere fact that there's a BBS on it doesn't prove diddly.  If the BBS
is in fact a business (you get money for it) or is used in the regular
transaction of business, then of course it's a business line.  But if it's
a hacker BBS used for personal messages, freeware and other stuff, 
then it can be viewed as incidental to your residence.  ALL phone calls
are bidirectional -- I hear you talk, you hear me, right?  The fact that
the "resident" is a computer doesn't mean that the call is suddenly
different.  (Unless the computer is business.)

Likewise, calling work from home is a Residence usage.  Even if I call
up my office computer to do "work at home", it's still Residential.
I've been on the front lines of that one, too.

If, however, you call up the low-level clerk who answers the phone at the
Telco business office and say, "isn't my computer bulletin board at home
a business service?" or some other dorky thing like that, they'll
be sure to agree!  They usually don't want trouble.  If you give them
a hard time, though, they'll give you one right back!

My advice:  Don't stir up sh*t.  Order a plain old residence line and
don't say "BBS".  If you're not running a business, you're okay.  People
are just calling you up and talking to your electronic answering machine.
The tariffs are ancient, and you don't want to reopen the political wars
that surround the residential discounts and business overcharges.
      fred