A humorous look at the Dove Foundation's entertainment rating system, and the movie/music/television rating business in general.
Just the other day, I received a phone call from the Dove D-O-V-E Foundation. That’s the way the caller announced himself. “Hi. I’m calling from the Dove D-O-V-E foundation. May I speak with the lady of the house?” After confirming that he was not calling to sell something or steal my identity, I refused to identify myself as the lady of anything. He finally got to the point: Do I think television programming is a problem? Do I agree it is an even larger problem that parents can’t do anything about it? I agreed that television programming is embarrassingly pathetic, but I most certainly did not think that parents are powerless to do anything about it. After all, it’s their choice to have television in their homes and to subscribe to cable, or satellite, or whatever. For example, I don’t like TV, so I don’t have TV in my home. How simple is that? It’s a choice…and just as I paused for a quick breath, he thanked me and hung up.…
Article comments
26 - J-rod
AND JUST BECAUSE YOUR ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST DOSENT MEAN YOU WONT GET ANY SOLICITING CALLS. DUH FOLKS THE GOVERNMENT GAVE THE DO NOT CALL LIST TO US PEOPLE IS BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT UNWANTED CALLS THEY DID THAT TO SHUT UP THE PEOPLE. THEY GAVE THE DO NOT CALL LIST TO US TO SHUT US UP IT DOSENT WORK SO NO MATTER WHAT YOU'LL GET CALLS DEAL WITH IT. IM ALL FOR AMERICA BUT F*** THE GOVERNMENT SCREW BUSH TOO
27 - Dove Investigator
J-Rod's comments are interesting because he lets drop the information that the calls were conducted by employees of FFF and not by the Dove Foundation or a third party telemarketing firm. I am really surprised to learn there was a live person listening to the calls. I think there are fully computerized systems today that could do just as well. Just look at some of those telephone directory assistance systems. They get my number for me about 60% of the time. Now, no offense to J-Rod, but if I had a job like that to make money for partying, I wouldn't put a lot of effort into the job. After all, it was party time from the get-go! If I came in with half a bag on, I might not bother taking people off the their calling list if asked (which is actionable by law.) The description of the call center seems to indicate why Introoder (post of July 17th) had that interesting call with the Dove Foundation.
28 - Kathe X
I received a call this morning at 8:15 am. Yessss! I thought I had been scammed. I researched snopes.com, the fcc website and even called the FCC to find out if people were being scammed. Because, I too, could not get a word in edgewise after I told them my name.
I emailed them and told them to contact me at work and I had a list of question for them. Including, how did they get my number?; Why did the person not let me ask a questions? (Now I know its a Bot)
I then googled DOVE foundation and viola.... I say the website w/ the Donate Now! on top.
Further on the google search I see the Blogcritics link and I find the 'fortunate' many who encounter these calls from these bots.
Interesting how they get our numbers and interesting the people they hire.
No offense J-rod, but your values were not in line with those of the Dove Foundation or the FFFF. Not that they will never be in line but you just a partying type of guy now and you probably enjoy all types of movies not just family movies.
Further, at least they paid you a lot of money!!! I wonder if I can get my four year old a job there to push buttons. She is really good at that. How much did you say they paid?
29 - Tricia
THE PHONE RANG, AND MY MOTHER AND I PICKED UP SIMUTANIOUSLY. AFTER A QUICK INTRO,DOVE GOT RIGHT DOWN TO IT. MY ELDERLY MOM REPLIED YES,MOST OF THE SELECTIONS/MOVIES ARE DISTASTEFUL FOR CHILDREN. DOVE(FROM RETURN CALL SERVICE #800-679-0336) PROCEEDED ON, HOWEVER MY MOTHER INTERJECTED, INFORMING THE WOMAN (DOVE) ON THE OTHER END OF THE LINE SHE (MOM) HAS NO CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN AND THEREFORE WOULD LIKE TO END THE SURVEY...AND HUNG UP. I ON THE OTHER HAND SPOKE UP ANSWERING DOVES REMAING QUESTION..I TOLD HER KIDS NOW ADAYS HAVE A GREAT SELECTION OF MOVIES TO CHOOSE FROM, I THINK THE RATING SYSTEM IS CLEARLY UNDERSTANDABLE, AND AT HOME ITS UP TO THE PARENT/GUARDIAN TO USE THE SENSORSHIP-BLOCKERS-PASSWORD CONTROLLED FEATURES AS THEY SEE FIT FOR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. SHE(DOVE) SAID OUT OF HOLLYWOODS LAST NEWLY RELEASED MOVIES TWELVE (12) WERE RATED "R". I TOLD HER I'M 40YRS. OLD AND TWO OF THE LAST FIVE MOVIES I SAW WERE RATED G AND I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. I THEN REMINDED HER GROWING UP HAVING TO SIT ON THE END OF THE COUCH TO REACH THE CHANNEL CHANGER BECAUSE I AS A KID DIDNT HAVE THE "CLICKER" (REMOTE CONTROL) OR CABLE TV.(NICKELODEON, WALT DISNEY, FAMILY,OR CARTOON CHANNELS) SHE WAS REFERRING TO KIDS NOT HAVING ENOUGH GOOD FAMILY VALUES INTERTAINMENT. GIVE ME A BREAK! THEY HAVE TONS, AND PARENTS NOW HAVE HELP CONTROLLING WHAT THE CHILDREN ARE EXPOSED TO BY USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY...TV TIMERS, CHANNELS & PROGRAM BLOCKERS. AND ALL THESE AIDS APPLY IN THE SAME WAY TO COMPUTERS TOO. ALLOW THE FAMILY VALUES, BLOCK THE "DISTASTEFUL" DOVE(THE LADY- LISTENING TO MY LAST ANSWER TO HER LAST QUESTION) SAID, "THANK YOU" AND HUNG UP.
30 - Hans
Just back from vacation (camping) so did not get chance to post this earlier: The Missouri AG's office got a settlement agreement with Dove And FFFF. The "fine" is $70,000 and, in Missouri at least, they will have to abide by the "Do Not Call" list.
It would be nice to see how many people in Missouri receive calls from Dove due to "server hacked", "database corruption", "DDOS Attacks", "clerical mistakes", etc.
I hope a few Assistant District Attorneys read this blog. Low hanging fruit.
31 - Hans
For those of you who feel there should be a law against these types of robotic phone calls, there is:
TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
SUBCHAPTER II--COMMON CARRIERS
Part I--Common Carrier Regulation
Sec. 227. Restrictions on use of telephone equipment
You can read the code on the GPO's website.
Now this is one of those laws that is just not enforced very strictly. Lord knows the FCC has a huge challenge on their hands just shutting down the pirates on the FM radio band, with their limited funding. I was wondering from the comments above why Dove Foundation or FFFF was using people to make the calls. I now see that if it were fully automated, they would run afoul of this law. So they skirt the issue and cut costs by having an operator handle more than one call at once. But, have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with several persons at the same time?
Note this law does not talk about for profit versus non profit. It just outlaws what we all know: that this technology is a nuisance. Note the Congressional Statement of Findings at the bottom of the regulation.
32 - me
Give.org
33 - Me
I had gotten a call from this company today. Luckily, I was not available to answer it. I attempted to pull the number that had shown on caller I.D [800-679-0336] on anywho.com/reverse look-up, but it not listed.
I found really interesting information on wikipedia about it,though. If you have not read it yet, it verifies everything [negative] stated above.
34 - PO'd
Dove has been harassing me for weeks now. I have asked them (6 times now)to take me off their call list and not call me anymore. Every other day they call again. Today I threatened them with reporting them to the police for phone harassment. We'll see if that stops them- I doubt it. A note on the "lady of the house". When I demanded to speak with a supervisor- 3 times before they let me- I was interrupted with a very rude "Is the MAN of the house there?". Obviously they do not recognize the fact that a "lady" can make a decision for herself, and felt it necessary to check in with a man before doing anything. The supervisor ended up being a man who barked "Who is this?" and then proceeded to record my instructions not to call again lest they would like to be reported for phone harassment. Seems like a "nonprofit" out to make a profit at the expense of "ladies" who don't know how to stand up for themselves. Sick.
35 - Joni
I, like many of you, have gotten that call from "Dove..D-O-V-E". I answered the phone last night only because it keeps showing up on the Caller ID and wanted it to stop. Why are they targeting the "Lady of the House"? I guess we are the main caregivers but get with the times! Anyway, when I said I disagreed with what they said, they kept stumbling and only asking about my Judeo-Christian family values. I said I didn't know how they could determine I was Christian over the phone but I am an American and I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I also love film, especially independent films and yes, I agree most tv/movies out of the Hollywood cookie cutter are crap. But it is my choice to not to view them. I don't believe in censorship.
When I commented I don't let my children watch more than 1 hour of tv a day because I believe in expanding their minds through reading, playing and in general being kids, they hang up on me. So much for freedom of speech.
36 - Tammy Serata
These comments are incredible.
It is good news to read that there is some positive (meaning anti-Dove) activity from some of the state AG Offices.
What do you all think this is really about? What possible reason could people have for forming such an organization? I figure their calls must be worthwhile if they are still continuing a year later. Are they getting donations from these calls? It would be interesting to know what they do with their money - other than hire poor J-rod and others like him/her. (Personally, if I had that job to support my partying I'd give up partying and the job, too.) Are they making political donations? Is someone collecting a fat paycheck?
37 - Dove Investigator
What do I think this is really about? A few people in Michigan who are a few bricks short of a load. It reminds me of a guy named Anthony Conrad, who was chairman of the old RCA Corporation in the mid 70's. He resigned after admitting not filing income tax returns for six years. It came out that RCA took out more witholding that Conrad had to pay in taxes. Before the fines, anyway.
As Deep Throat said, follow the money. They must be getting an income stream from either lining up customers for Feature Films for Families, getting called persons to donate, or have some rich person giving them money. However, we need an insider to get this information.
Only one state, Missouri, has so far gone after them (successfully) publicly. I was never able to find out what caused the Missouri AG to go after Dove. I suspect the Do Not Call law just does not get a high priority from most states. And, Utah, where FFFF is located, does not seem to have a reputation for forceful consumer protection. Reports to the Do Not Call complaint centers are no doubt processed by telephone-company type software. These systems rely heavily on statical principles and are notorious for being unable to catch the really difficult problems. By Dove blowing that non-profit smoke, they are helping avoiding prosecution.
But even if Dove was not doing what the Missouri AG nailed them for, they still call people back even after being ordered not to, and as reports on the whocalled.us website indicate, the call center initiates many calls to people, only to abort them. Thus, these are nuisance calls. I paraphrase a saying I have had for years: to get results, you have to go after the people reading those Do Not Call complaint readouts with a meat cleaver and make them manually analyze how get Dove Foundation to stop making these nuisance calls.
38 - Leslie Riggs
I am fortunate in that I am deaf, so I do not immediately answer calls on our telephone. I have Caller ID, and I do return calls on occasion using a relay service, but folks at the "Dove, D-O-V-E, Foundation" are incredibly obtuse. I have been called numerous times. I never, ever call back. I never, ever pick up the phone when their name and number show up on the Caller ID. I have no interest in encouraging any one group to censor entertainment media. People can make those decisions for themselves. How? They can get up out of their seats and leave the theaters, change the TV channel (Or even turn the thing off! What a concept!), change the radio station, etc. etc. Ordinary people are incredibly powerful all by themselves. Wonder why D-O-V-E folks don't get it?
39 - Hollywood MoD
My experience this morning was the first I'd heard of this organization. Glad I found this blog to get better informed. The whole stepford wife voice was just plain creepy. When I disagreeed with every point, Cammy did a fast, "well I don't want to take up anymore of your time", to which I kept saying (like 5 times), "Who are you with?", but Cammy just hung up. My husband came out of the bathroom saying, "Who was that?, to which I answered, "The Stepford-wife Christian Society, telling me that they feel Hollywood isn't making enough good movies for kids!" I live in LA, husband's in the industry & have kids too. In my opinion there ARE more veiwing choices for children than ever today! Like Tammy, I feel like the technologies available put the power in the hands of the parents, if they choose to use it. Truthfully, most are just too lazy or unwilling to take the responsiblity for themselves. It's easier to pass the buck to "Hollywood". I think Tammy's idea is great! Throw out the TV!
BTW-when I called back to ask them who they are affiliated with, I got the same creepy voice telling me that they were a non-profit with no other affiliations. Yah-right! So am I the only one who hears the Neo-Con catch-phrase, "Family Values?" I can bet that some of thier funds come from Neo-Con sources, the great distructors of our constitutional rights & advocates for censorship of just about everything-including the internet. Also, remember that "Family Values" means anything that isn't the Nuclear family is to be snuffed out & regarded as "anti-family". Homophobics & single mom haters is what they represent!
I also said that I had been hung up on when asking who the were. The bot told me it was not their intention to hang up on people, but the prissy, patronizing voice said, "The survey is intended for people who have children in the home" I was so outraged! I told "it" I not only have children, but work with children. Just because I don't agree on their positions, doesn't mean I have no children!
Lastly, I told "it" I was on the DoNoCall registry & I wanted to be removed from the list. They said they would remove it. I reported them anyway, after finding out on the BBB that they don't qualify as a non-profit. If enough of us do, the FCC will have to respond at some point with more fines, which could result in a change.
On a side note, whoever was listening & responding might just be doing a job, as J-rod says he did, but if your gonna work for someone, you should be aware of your contribution to this farce. You do have some responsibility whether you believe it or not, even if your a party boy.
40 - XXODLDSA
I to work for Feature Films..
"it" is US.. We moniter the calls. We press the buttons and listen to what you say.. Its not just a "Robot" its a script.. Yes it's pre recorded.. WHO CARES?!
Why make a big deal out of that.. ha..
Just ask for a "live agent" when they call..
41 - CloudyOne
Personally i think the lot of you are a bunch of morons.
Tammy, makes many unfactual "points" by twisting words of the DOVE foundation, all of this based off of ONE call. Good job sherlock.
A few of you stated that you don't know how they got your number...did you not read their a "nonprofit" organization? That means they can call WHOEVER they want, and being it's an automated dialing system, they call EVERY number at random. Which means, they Didn't get your number from ANYONE.
Their system, as criticized as it might be, is one of the intelligible systems out there. They can contact over 200,000 homes in a matter of minutes. And fortunately for everyone else, they've used that ability for things like warning about hurricanes and Amber alerts.
Now a little tidbit that might help ease the mind of all you low iq'd nitwits who continue to complain about anything, even a non profit organization has to put you on their do not call list if you ask. So INSTEAD of asking "how'd you get my number" or "do you realize your violating the DNC?" try saying "put me on YOUR DNC".
Unless..your one of those retarded "sue happy" americans who use your DNC status as a way to get a quick buck. And if you are one of those people, shame on you.
42 - k
they keep leaving that annoying message on my machine. It looks like the only thing they will understand is the same annoyance. find pcplus or procomm bbs software and set it up to dial their 1 800 number (be sure you have unlimited calling - don't do it at work) and set it for 1 sec repeat (999 times default). "set it and forget it" while you step out, for each time they call.
43 - cold called
i got called yesterday and guess what the persons name was -- tammie or tammy ha
44 - Tammy Serata
Okay, I admit it. The article is a farce. I am really an undercover D-O-V-E agent trying to pick your brains. If we can better understand how our enemies resist us, we can do a better job in the future at brainwashing our prey.
Resistance is futile.
You WILL be assimilated.
Signed,
3349
(aka Tammy)
45 - Garry
I jsut told the woman on the other end of the line that I hoped her children were gang raped while she was made to watch and that calls like this are the reason planes were flown into the WTC, it's a national holiday fr christ sakes piss off, how's that for family values? and hing up in her
46 - banana
i've been getting these calls almost every other day for the past few weeks. i've just emailed the dove foundation asking them to remove me from their call list and let them know that if i receive another phonecall, i will file official complaints with the Attorney General, FCC, Do Not Call Registry, and in Canada, the CRTC and Phonebusters.
i urge everyone to contact the company and do the same. each of our actions will add up and make a difference. please take a moment to do this! thanks!
1) Attorney General of Michigan (Dove is a Michigan organization based in Grand Rapids)
2) FCC
3) Do Not Call Registry
"The National Do Not Call Registry applies to any plan, program, or campaign to sell goods or services through interstate phone calls. This includes telemarketers who solicit consumers, often on behalf of third party sellers."
4) CRTC
5) Phonebusters
47 - banana
update on july 19/07 comment:
since my email to dove requesting removal from their telemarketing call list, i have not received one call from them!