#payphones — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #payphones, aggregated by home.social.
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Hackaday: Payphone Tag Is Australia’s New National Sport. “Australia’s payphones are an iconic part of the national landscape, even if they’re not as important as they once used to be. However, they’re having a resurgence of late, in part thanks to a new national pastime—the sport of Payphone Tag!”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/29/hackaday-payphone-tag-is-australias-new-national-sport/ -
“ #Australia’s #payphones are an iconic part of the national landscape, even if they’re not as important as they once used to be. However, they’re having a resurgence of late, in part thanks to a new national pastime—the sport of #PayphoneTag!
Created by #AlexAllchin, the game is simple. To play, you first sign up on the website and get your emoji and 5-digit PIN. You then go out and find a payphone, dial the Payphone Tag number, and enter your PIN when prompted. This lets you “capture” the #phone, raising your score in the game. If a phone is already captured, no matter—just head out there, dial the number, and key in your own PIN to steal it. You can also push your score even higher by capturing three #payphones in a triangle on the map to get bonus points.”
#POTS / #payphonetag / #sport / #CTPP / #CaptureThePayphone <https://hackaday.com/2026/04/28/payphone-tag-is-australias-new-national-sport/>
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“ #Australia’s #payphones are an iconic part of the national landscape, even if they’re not as important as they once used to be. However, they’re having a resurgence of late, in part thanks to a new national pastime—the sport of #PayphoneTag!
Created by #AlexAllchin, the game is simple. To play, you first sign up on the website and get your emoji and 5-digit PIN. You then go out and find a payphone, dial the Payphone Tag number, and enter your PIN when prompted. This lets you “capture” the #phone, raising your score in the game. If a phone is already captured, no matter—just head out there, dial the number, and key in your own PIN to steal it. You can also push your score even higher by capturing three #payphones in a triangle on the map to get bonus points.”
#POTS / #payphonetag / #sport / #CTPP / #CaptureThePayphone <https://hackaday.com/2026/04/28/payphone-tag-is-australias-new-national-sport/>
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“ #Australia’s #payphones are an iconic part of the national landscape, even if they’re not as important as they once used to be. However, they’re having a resurgence of late, in part thanks to a new national pastime—the sport of #PayphoneTag!
Created by #AlexAllchin, the game is simple. To play, you first sign up on the website and get your emoji and 5-digit PIN. You then go out and find a payphone, dial the Payphone Tag number, and enter your PIN when prompted. This lets you “capture” the #phone, raising your score in the game. If a phone is already captured, no matter—just head out there, dial the number, and key in your own PIN to steal it. You can also push your score even higher by capturing three #payphones in a triangle on the map to get bonus points.”
#POTS / #payphonetag / #sport / #CTPP / #CaptureThePayphone <https://hackaday.com/2026/04/28/payphone-tag-is-australias-new-national-sport/>
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and mail coaches will soon be back
In Russia It Was Proposed To Revive The Network Of Payphones Because Of Internet Blackouts
" The idea was put forward by an odious State Duma deputy.
In Russia, against the backdrop of mobile Internet shutdowns, Russia should return to installing phone booths in major cities, where "safe" Internet will be connected. This was stated by Igor Antropenko, a member of the State Duma's trade and industry committee, who previously called for reducing working hours for women to increase the birth rate, writes The Moscow Times. "
https://charter97.org/en/news/2026/3/13/676817/
#WarOfAggression #Europa #Ukraine #Payphones #Duma #Internet #Blackouts #army #war #Russia #WarCriminal #invaders #occupiers #defenders
#перемогаYкраїни -
A 'social experiment' lets people from Texas and San Francisco randomly connect on a payphone
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/experiment-connects-texans-and-californians
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I came across this outside the local grocery store. And yes, there was a dial tone, despite the rust!
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Not posted for agreement, if you share from my post please leave my commentary intact, terms and conditions apply, see your local grumpy scientist for details ...
This type of "#humor" is shit.
"#Cardcatalogs were our #Google! #Polaroids were our #Instagram! #Payphones were our #iPhones!"
NO THE FUCK THEY WEREN'T. They were very useful in their time, but the modern versions are *better*. Which is why it's difficult to find a card catalog or a Polaroid camera these days, and a payphone is practically impossible.
Grow the hell up.
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It seems some Australian payphones, like the one down the road from here, have now been updated with USB charging ports (both USB-A and USB-C). Nice idea!
(for several years, all of the 12,000 or so phone booths in Australia have been free to use, with more than 3,000 offering free Wi-Fi as well)
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The provider of public phones in #Australia has, from what I've seen locally, taken a similar tack.
They're free - when you can find one.
National and mobile AFAIK.Thinking it comes down to "It's cheaper and more reliable this way."
I think the provider is #Telstra - the remnant of #Telecom, formerly Post Master General?
#PublicPhones #PayPhones -
🚀 Breaking news: A #rebel #engineer has resurrected #payphones from the dead to provide free calls! 📞 Because nothing screams "cutting-edge technology" like 1990s hardware in 2023! Who needs a smartphone when you have a shiny, old payphone in the rain? 🤣 #InnovationOrInconvenience
https://www.core77.com/posts/137183/Engineer-Fixes-and-Re-Installs-Old-Payphones-Provides-Free-Calls-to-the-Public #Innovation #Revived #FreeCalls #RetroTech #HackerNews #ngated -
I wonder how long these #PayPhones will continue to exist here. By the old Fortis building, #StJohns.
There used to be a bunch of payphones nearby on Water St., which would be used by (international) vessels tied up at the quay, in the days before the harbour fence.
[ #CYYT #YYT #Nfld #Newfoundland ]
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@georgetakei In fact, I want #Payphones to return, but better...
Like add some #privacy, make the #PhoneBooth sound & #RF insulated and have a #Terminal just with #WebCall and #JitsiMeet on and maybe some #IrDA, #Bluetooth and #WiFi as option to transfer files...
https://timur.mobi/webcall/
https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_Data_Association -
Bell and Ontario, let’s talk about how much you profited from prison calls | TVO Today https://bit.ly/43kJxdX #OntarioJails #BellCanada #Profit #PayPhones #onpoli @ontariogreens @onpoli
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Ontario inmate phone calls: Bell, province won't say how much money they made | CP24 https://bit.ly/3O9kZjI #OntarioJails #BellCanada #Inmates #Payphones #OntarioCourts #onpoli @ontariogreens @onpoli
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Any old #phone #phreaks about? I’ve seen a couple of historical references recently to people #phreaking transatlantic calls from the USA to London, terminating the call on a payphone at Waterloo train station because it was in a busy area and was likely to be answered by a passer by.
Most of those #payphones are long gone, but
Does anyone have a record of what the #payphone number was?
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#payphones are vanishingly rare. The gentleman in this article turns them into free #publicphone terminals as a service and hobby.
#payphone #phonebooth
https://wapo.st/3YuFZEeWithin the article is a link to a #GoogleMap someone else made of #workingpayphones around the #UnitedStates.
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"In June Mike Dank & Naveen Albert started #PhilTel — a phone collective that would convert old #donated #Payphones into free working phones using coinless #circuitboards rewired to connect through the #internet. #Libraries, #artspaces, #soupkitchens, #communitycenters — I can think of lots of #publicplaces that would #benefit, Dank said." https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/16/philadelphia-free-pay-phones-dank/