Seriously guys, stop it with the repetitive small talk when calling in.

[Auslandia]

How many times do we need to hear people say the following?

"I just wanted to ask a question."   NO SHIT
"It's go great to hear your voice." NO SHIT
"First time caller, long time listener." YOU WASTED 5 SECONDS
"I've been listening to you since 19..." UH HUH, GREAT SO YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF HOW ANNOYING YOU SOUND
"Uh...uh...uh..." THERE GOES 3 MORE SECONDS
"I can't believe I'm talking to you." YOU DIALED ART'S NUMBER.  WHO WERE YOU EXPECTING?
"I'm a time traveler."  YOU ARE LYING

[Paradox]

"I'm a time traveler."  YOU ARE LYING

This one cracked me up.   
The rest?  Totally agree.  It is beginning to get annoying.

[wr250]

This one cracked me up.   
The rest?  Totally agree.  It is beginning to get annoying.

i signed up to arts podcast. that makes me a time traveler. so there

[onan]

Annoyed about a phone call, on a call in show, after midnight, I'm more annoyed reading this thread.

[ziznak]

Annoyed about a phone call, on a call in show, after midnight, I'm more annoyed reading this thread.

I hear you but I do get what's being said here... Most callers get on and before we get to the meat of their question/observation more times than not we have to hear the welcome back blah blah blah I've listened to you for blah blah... now I totally get why callers want to say these things... BUT I'm pretty sure Art is tired of it. 

Say yer name... where you are calling from... ask yer damn question... gtfo the line!!! 

open lines nights it kinda makes sense to hear a lot of that but some guests are too good to waste time!!

[Paradox]

i signed up to arts podcast. that makes me a time traveler. so there

Hmmm. You have a point there. 

Wondering if we can't shorten first time caller, long time listener/longtime listener, first time caller to: LTLFTC or FTCLTL. 

[Ms. C]

How many times do we need to hear people say the following?

"I just wanted to ask a question."   NO SHIT
"It's go great to hear your voice." NO SHIT
"First time caller, long time listener." YOU WASTED 5 SECONDS
"I've been listening to you since 19..." UH HUH, GREAT SO YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF HOW ANNOYING YOU SOUND
"Uh...uh...uh..." THERE GOES 3 MORE SECONDS
"I can't believe I'm talking to you." YOU DIALED ART'S NUMBER.  WHO WERE YOU EXPECTING?
"I'm a time traveler."  YOU ARE LYING

I'm wondering if we are preaching to the choir here?  Its my opinion that many of these calls are from folks who do not participate or read BellGab.  They won't see these comments ... so, of course, they won't change what they are saying --

Also, perhaps it is the first time they are calling in and they are excited as can be ... want to acknowledge Art's return and relay a story of how long they've been listening etc.  (Can we not say that perhaps we were there at one point also).

*Note:  I do find this thread amusing though to read .. gives me quite a giggle ...

[BellBoy]

...Say yer name... where you are calling from... ask yer damn question... gtfo the line!!!

[Paradox]

Gave me a giggle too.  Perhaps it belongs in the things that annoy me thread.

And maybe it should be copied to that People Who Love Art Bell page on FB. 

[Paradox]

lol Loving the gif! 

[AppealPlay]

Hmmm. You have a point there. 

Wondering if we can't shorten first time caller, long time listener/longtime listener, first time caller to: LTLFTC or FTCLTL.

All you need to say is "Roswells, Art, Good morning..." and then go on with your comment or question.  No need for the other stuff.  You could even leave out the greeting if you're an an impolite ass.

[Paradox]

All you need to say is "Roswells, Art, Good morning..." and then go on with your comment or question.  No need for the other stuff.  You could even leave out the greeting if you're an an impolite ass.

It was an attempt at humor.  Guess it was a fail. 
If I were to call I'd just say Hello or Hi Art and ____ (guest), ask my question and get off.
Thought he had asked for people not to say Roswells?  Not criticizing, just wondering.

[AppealPlay]

It was an attempt at humor.  Guess it was a fail. 
If I were to call I'd just say Hello or Hi Art and ____ (guest), ask my question and get off.
Thought he had asked for people not to say Roswells?  Not criticizing, just wondering.

For real?  That's a bummer.  I liked the Roswells thing.

[Auslandia]

 The whole thing was a joke but it's coming  from truth .... And the truth is, a good 15 minutes of any given show is wasted on bullshit small talk. It might even be longer. I'm not sure what the result would be if you distilled it down to actual minutes.

If I were Art, after about the first week of coming back to his show I would be tired of everyone  saying the same thing over and over again. Just call the fuck in,  say your first name & city then then ask your god damn question  or tell your dumb UFO  story.

Just listen tonight… Art will inevitably say something like "caller we don't have much time do you have a question"  and the dumb caller will still be sitting there going "uh uh  I have a question I would just like to ask your guest a question… I'm sorry what was your name?  Uh uh mega roswells,  i've been trying to call in for so long and the lines are so busy... Oh sorry let me turn off the radio in the background .   Wait, am I on the air with Art? "

[AppealPlay]

If I were Art, after about the first week of coming back to his show I would be tired of everyone  saying the same thing over and over again. Just call the fuck in,  say your first name & city then then ask your god damn question  or tell your dumb UFO  story.

Also, if you're listening on terrestrial radio be sure to include the station letters.  I find it interesting knowing there are people listening on real radio.

[FightTheFuture]

I recall a similar complaint years ago regarding callers to the Rush Limbaugh show. Valuable airtime being wasted with repetitive laudation. The solution was to abbreviate all greetings to...ditto. Thus, the rise of the "dittoheads"

[Uncle Duke]

My favorite are the callers who remind the host of previous calls they've made to the show. 

"I'll talked to you in 1998 and told you the story of my sister seeing something in the pantry".

[FallenSeraph]

My favorite are the callers who remind the host of previous calls they've made to the show. 

"I'll talked to you in 1998 and told you the story of my sister seeing something in the pantry".

YES! They always think Art is going to remember them out of his tens of thousands of previous calls, which makes me chuckle.

[Auslandia]

My favorite are the callers who remind the host of previous calls they've made to the show. 

"I'll talked to you in 1998 and told you the story of my sister seeing something in the pantry".

Lol yes.  I forgot that one

[Oculary]

Instead of Roswells - we should just call and as a way of greeting say "Young Filipinas"...Hit him where he lives...Hey! Just because he's the best doesn't mean he's not human!

[Demontooth]

The whole thing was a joke but it's coming  from truth .... And the truth is, a good 15 minutes of any given show is wasted on bullshit small talk. It might even be longer. I'm not sure what the result would be if you distilled it down to actual minutes.

If I were Art, after about the first week of coming back to his show I would be tired of everyone  saying the same thing over and over again. Just call the fuck in,  say your first name & city then then ask your god damn question  or tell your dumb UFO  story.

Just listen tonight… Art will inevitably say something like "caller we don't have much time do you have a question"  and the dumb caller will still be sitting there going "uh uh  I have a question I would just like to ask your guest a question… I'm sorry what was your name?  Uh uh mega roswells,  i've been trying to call in for so long and the lines are so busy... Oh sorry let me turn off the radio in the background .   Wait, am I on the air with Art? "

I wish he would stop taking calls.  Just get questions through the wormhole.  People are annoying.

[PB the Deplorable]

How many times do we need to hear people say the following?

"I just wanted to ask a question."   NO SHIT
"It's go great to hear your voice." NO SHIT
"First time caller, long time listener." YOU WASTED 5 SECONDS
"I've been listening to you since 19..." UH HUH, GREAT SO YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF HOW ANNOYING YOU SOUND
"Uh...uh...uh..." THERE GOES 3 MORE SECONDS
"I can't believe I'm talking to you." YOU DIALED ART'S NUMBER.  WHO WERE YOU EXPECTING?
"I'm a time traveler."  YOU ARE LYING

I've never understood the need to take calls at all, unless he was out of questions for the guest.  A clear majority of calls are lousy and a complete waste of time even after they get past the usual commentary you mention above.  I seldom listened to the open lines shows.

Others say those are their favorite parts of the program, I guess there's something for everyone.

[onan]

I've never understood the need to take calls at all, unless he was out of questions for the guest.  A clear majority of calls are lousy and a complete waste of time even after they get past the usual commentary you mention above.  I seldom listened to the open lines shows.

Others say those are their favorite parts of the program, I guess there's something for everyone.

Most calls are less than stellar. But some are part of the Art Bell world. What fan doesn't have a JC memory. One of the reasons Art "hooked" me was how he handled a particular call. I was leaning toward thinking Art was a staunch conservative; but how he handled that caller helped me to see him as someone who thinks through his politics on every issue.

To add, Fidget guy and I don't see eye to eye, but it was fun radio.

[AppealPlay]

Most calls are less than stellar. But some are part of the Art Bell world. What fan doesn't have a JC memory. One of the reasons Art "hooked" me was how he handled a particular call. I was leaning toward thinking Art was a staunch conservative; but how he handled that caller helped me to see him as someone who thinks through his politics on every issue.

To add, Fidget guy and I don't see eye to eye, but it was fun radio.

JC calls rule.  I miss that guy.  I hope he isn't dead.

[Astrid Galactic]

Agree with most of these posts.

While Art was on C2C, he use to have a protocol (for lack of a better word) that he would read on occasion for callers. He addressed many of these issues and more. The whole thing was about what made for good and bad radio on the callers' part and he requested what to do and not to do. From what I remember, all or at least most, of the above issues were listed and then some.

Wish Art would break that out again and maybe even post it in here.

One of several reasons I never listen on Open Lines nights anymore. Though I've heard some good calls over the years, there's just way too much garbage.

[cweb]

I'm just not a fan of the crazies. Not the normal crazies, mind you. The long-winded ones that might be the slightest bit interesting except they take forever to say something, while sprinkling in details that nobody else gives even the remotest fuck about.

Just get on, tell us your cat got abducted by aliens and then returned to you in a state where he stands upright and thinks he's William Henry Harrison, and get off. Dammit.

[aldousburbank]

I've never understood the need to take calls at all, unless he was out of questions for the guest.  A clear majority of calls are lousy and a complete waste of time even after they get past the usual commentary you mention above.  I seldom listened to the open lines shows.

Others say those are their favorite parts of the program, I guess there's something for everyone.

Open lines are my favorite Art part. Then again, I also really enjoy dropping acid and riding NYC subways. Good stuff!

[albrecht]

Most calls are less than stellar. But some are part of the Art Bell world. What fan doesn't have a JC memory. One of the reasons Art "hooked" me was how he handled a particular call. I was leaning toward thinking Art was a staunch conservative; but how he handled that caller helped me to see him as someone who thinks through his politics on every issue.

To add, Fidget guy and I don't see eye to eye, but it was fun radio.

Yeah, I encouraged Mr.Fidget to call in but he still holds a grudge. That was awesome radio. Bizarre Fidget stuff and Art's incredulity when Fidget proved he could game the phone system and get in at will- and they had passers-by (and some who later came by hearing him on the radio) confirm he was at a payphone at a certain place! One of the best callers ever. (Though his posts here a while back got too much.)

[PB the Deplorable]

Most calls are less than stellar. But some are part of the Art Bell world. What fan doesn't have a JC memory. One of the reasons Art "hooked" me was how he handled a particular call. I was leaning toward thinking Art was a staunch conservative; but how he handled that caller helped me to see him as someone who thinks through his politics on every issue.

To add, Fidget guy and I don't see eye to eye, but it was fun radio.

I agree about the way he handled calls - one of Art's greatest skills is to take an awful, rambling call and summarize it and make something relevant and thought-provoking out of it after hanging up.

[zeebo]

Hi thanks for taking my post.  I can't believe you're really reading it!  I'm a first-time poster but long-time reader of this thread.  Just wanted to say what a great job you're doing with this thread.  I work late and read this thread to help pass the time.  I've told all my friends about it, even my friend back in Albuquerque.  He loves it there.  Oh, can I give a shout out?  Hey Jimbo!  He's a great guy.  Actually he's got a story about bigfoot - well I'll tell you that one some other time.  Anyway thanks for doing all you do to give us such a great thread!