San Francisco may be 1st city to cut Yellow Pages

[garbon]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_yellow_pages_ban

"Let your fingers do the walking" could be replaced with "let your finger do the clicking" in San Francisco. It's poised to become the first U.S. city to restrict delivery of Yellow Pages business directories.

The Board of Supervisors cast a 10-1 first vote on Tuesday to ban unrequested home and business delivery of the hefty telephone directories. There will be a second reading and final vote next week.

The idea is to protect the environment, fight neighborhood blight and help the economy. And advocates say the Internet makes the directories unnecessary.

The Los Angeles Times reports nearly 1.6 million Yellow Pages directories are dropped on San Francisco doorsteps each year. The city says they generate 7 million pounds of paper waste and clog recycling equipment, leading to costly repairs.

Ouch...although fair as they serve little purpose for most residents.

[The Brain]

Wow, that's a blast from the past.

[Josquius]

What will strongmen tear in half now?

[derspiess]

What will strongmen tear in half now?

A stack of 5 iPads.

I'm by no means a greenie-weenie, but I cringe every time I come home & see where they've delivered an updated phone book on my doorstep.  It goes right into the recycle bin.

[KRonn]

What will strongmen tear in half now?

A stack of 5 iPads.

I'm by no means a greenie-weenie, but I cringe every time I come home & see where they've delivered an updated phone book on my doorstep.  It goes right into the recycle bin.

Yeah, I rarely need a new book. I keep the new phone books and recycle last year's.  I look up most phone numbers on the internet. 

[Grey Fox]

It's a waste of everything, time, ressources. I still can't believe that the Yellow Pages & the like actually still spend money on printing those thing. I believe even less that people still buy ads in those things.

[KRonn]

It's a waste of everything, time, ressources. I still can't believe that the Yellow Pages & the like actually still spend money on printing those thing. I believe even less that people still buy ads in those things.

I assume that money is made off the advertisements in the phone books, so that's one incentive to keep printing them.

[derspiess]

I think this is one of those things that will require a generation or two to die out before we see the end of it. 

[garbon]

It's a waste of everything, time, ressources. I still can't believe that the Yellow Pages & the like actually still spend money on printing those thing. I believe even less that people still buy ads in those things.

I assume that money is made off the advertisements in the phone books, so that's one incentive to keep printing them.

However, things are getting tight on the ad side. My aunt and cousin until recently were working sell ads in phonebooks. Shit was getting hard.

[Richard Hakluyt]

We got our new phone directory and yellow pages a few weeks back. The directory was 25% smaller and the yellow pages about 50% smaller. Looks like they will die soon without the local council making a fuss.

[DontSayBanana]

Good riddance.  I worked for a company that printed phone books two years ago, and I can safely say the only way they serve anyone is the way the advertising revenue lines the book company's pocket.  Non-phone companies just copy the listings out of telephone company phonebooks, anyway, and it's still "legal" because they're considered a compilation of public records (I was in charge of record-checking for about 8 months- I only stayed for one book once I found out how they handled listings).

[Monoriu]

I think they stopped delivering phone books to individual households ages ago.  Instead, they just make a few copies for each building, and residents can take free copies if they so desire. 

[garbon]

I think they stopped delivering phone books to individual households ages ago.  Instead, they just make a few copies for each building, and residents can take free copies if they so desire. 

Oh that's what happens in San Francisco. They would leave a pallet of them in the lobby that would then sit there a few months (with one or two being taken) and then wait to be disposed of by property management.

[DontSayBanana]

Oh that's what happens in San Francisco. They would leave a pallet of them in the lobby that would then sit there a few months (with one or two being taken) and then wait to be disposed of by property management.

Check that off for Philly as well.  So many show up at S' dorms that she's just started grabbing several and using them as weights for bookmaking projects.

[Ed Anger]

I keep my phone books. When my power was out for 3 days lats winter, I was able to maintain communications with pizza joints.