Do any other GTDer's use Fax Machines. . . .

[gtdstudente]

Do any other GTDer's use Fax Machines' as a handy-dandy time-saving communication device/technology/tool?

Would you deem Fax communications as being more secure/private than electronic, i.e., email?

Thank you for your GTD consideration

 

[DKPhoto]

Do any other GTDer's use Fax Machines' as a handy-dandy time-saving communication device/technology/tool?

Would you deem Fax communications as being more secure/private than electronic, i.e., email?

Thank you for your GTD consideration

I’m replying only because of the lack of replies, and because I’ve also used fax machines. But not for 25 years…

I did have a computer that was capable of sending faxes, but again that was only used during the early noughties.

I have no idea about security other than telephone lines could be bugged, so I guess that a fax message could be interrupted? Whether it could be decoded, I don’t know.

Also, you never know who is stood at the other end when the fax arrives, although I guess it could be a finite number of people, so possibly more private than email?

 

[Matt_M]

Simply put, no. I don't use fax machines. I cannot remember ever running into a business or situation where they have been in use or even existed, in past 15 years or so. As much as I might get flak for saying this: they're another ancient piece of technology that went the way of the dodo.

 

[gtdstudente]

I’m replying only because of the lack of replies, and because I’ve also used fax machines. But not for 25 years…

I did have a computer that was capable of sending faxes, but again that was only used during the early noughties.

I have no idea about security other than telephone lines could be bugged, so I guess that a fax message could be interrupted? Whether it could be decoded, I don’t know.

Also, you never know who is stood at the other end when the fax arrives, although I guess it could be a finite number of people, so possibly more private than email?

Thank you very GTD much

 

[gtdstudente]

Simply put, no. I don't use fax machines. I cannot remember ever running into a business or situation where they have been in use or even existed, in past 15 years or so. As much as I might get flake for saying this: they're another ancient piece of technology that went the way of the dodo.

All good on this end . . . thank you very GTD much

 

[Oogiem]

Do any other GTDer's use Fax Machines' as a handy-dandy time-saving communication device/technology/tool?

Not for over 25 years

Would you deem Fax communications as being more secure/private than electronic, i.e., email?

NO.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Faxes are uncommon today, but they haven't gone "the way of the dodo." Lots of companies list fax numbers on their web site, including my employer. They're used quite a bit in health care. You can still buy dedicated fax machines, or multifunction devices with fax capability.

Do I use fax machines as a "time-saving device"? No. I only send faxes if I have to, because they're time-consuming and cumbersome.

Are they more secure than email? I wouldn't say so. If someone is using a fax machine that outputs hardcopies, anyone who has access to the fax machine can view a document; that's not particularly secure. If the recipient is using a fax-to-email system, then faxes are as secure as their email and their network.

I don't see any advantages to faxing from a GTD perspective.

 

[Sandhi Mishra]

No not really.

 

[cfoley]

I've only used a fax machine once or twice in my first couple of jobs.

Here is some food for thought... Would it be better if email was slightly more difficult to send? Maybe if there was a small delay or a small cost for each email. There are so many emails that have been written carelessly or sent needlessly that something to give the sender a moment to pause might make office life more pleasant for everyone.

 

[dtj]

Any security of a fax line would be more security by obscurity. I'd imagine that most phone lines are digital and somewhat secure, compared to POTS.

 

[bcmyers2112]

When I say I only send a fax "when I have to," I think it's been over ten years since I last sent or received one of the darn things. And I have unhappy memories of the fax machine we had in the radio newsroom back when I was a radio newscaster/reporter in the early 90s, because the paper came in rolls. And faxes came out curled up, and we often found them all over the floor. I'm pretty sure that at least once we missed going to an important news conference because the curled-up fax paper fell on the floor and rolled underneath something.

Those were the days. Much in the same way that the Middle Ages were "the days."

 

[RuthMcT]

In the dim distant days before the UK National Health Service had email, faxes were not considered secure for confidential patient information unless a strict protocol was followed. We were only allowed to send and receive from fax machines on NHS premises. The sender had to telephone the receiver and confirm that the latter would be standing by the fax machine when the fax was received, so that no-one else could read it. Since email was introduced, we have been required to use specially secured email addresses for confidential patient information. Even my ordinary work email address would not be considered secure enough for this purpose.

And I never found fax machines time-saving; there was always a risk it wouldn't feed through the pages of the document singly, so it had to be stood over to keep an eye on it (not funny with a 20+ page document), and the fax paper was not suitable for long term storage of documents, so the received fax would have to be photocopied to go in the patient record. Thank heavens the fax machines have gone is all I can say.

 

[TesTeq]

Fax machines are striking back in Poland. You have to send faxes to the registration court when you want to register a family foundation (trust).

 

[bcmyers2112]

Fax machines are striking back in Poland.

Sounds to me like the fax-industrial complex is influencing Polish registration court procedures in order to keep fax machines in use.

 

[TesTeq]

Sounds to me like the fax-industrial complex is influencing Polish registration court procedures in order to keep fax machines in use.

@bcmyers2112 Yes, probably. This court is their last stand! Why? Because Poland is highly digitized. In our smartphones we have not only all the banking bells and whistles that Elon Musk promises on X/Twitter but also many online services.