Talk:Bell System

Ma Bell
Why is it called Ma Bell? As I don't live in the USA, I have no idea on the reason.. Is it because it is a "Big Sister" like Big Brother? Fosnez 05:26, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Blest if I know. Why is the BBC called Auntie Beeb, or B of E the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street?  I can only speculate that it originally connoted not nosiness or bossiness but timorous, anile conservatism.  Jim.henderson 00:55, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * "Ma Bell" is the nickname because it was the telephone company - the only one in the majority of America. There was none other until 1984, when the door to competition was opened up. KansasCity 05:39, 23 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Maybe so, evincing an overbearing-nanny sense of motherhood. But we need to formally document this or whatever might be the actual origin of the nickname. Right now, there's no explanation in the article, which is not acceptable. Equally unacceptable would be for us to guess at it, or to include a list of possible/likely/circulated explanations for the nickname. Somebody somewhere has surely published a rigourous explication of the nickname; what we need to do is find it and incorporate its explanation in this article ASAP. —Scheinwerfermann T&middot;C 02:43, 30 March 2009 (UTC)


 * there is no proof that the name comes from Mother Bell. I'd bet Mother Bell (if that is even a nickname for Bell) comes from the term Ma Bell.. and that the Ma is an abbreviation of Massachusetts where Bell originated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.70.6.102 (talk) 02:20, 23 April 2016 (UTC)


 * See Ma Bell. Lexlex (傻) (talk) 20:36, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Pop Culture Section
Is it at all necessary? It's not even interesting as trivia---which is generally discouraged on here anyway. If you have objections to removing it entirely, speak now or forever hold your peace. Tenebrous (talk) 00:22, 23 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Isn't there a song by Electric Light Orchestra entitled "Ma Bell"? I believe it's on their greatest hits album.

NatePhysics (talk) 20:04, 21 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The pop culture section does not belong, per WP:NOT, WP:TRIVIA (and WP:POPCULTURE, though the latter is an essay and not a policy guideline like the first two). I have removed the list of song lyrics and suchlike, renamed the section "Cultural sponsorship", and left in place the lone encyclopædic entry from the deleted list. —Scheinwerfermann T&middot;C 02:43, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Today section (3.3.1)
The final paragraph (I'll paste below here) does not make sense, or is confusing, and un-sourced, so it's hard to make sense of what's trying to be said. I made 2 minor grammatical edits that seemed obvious, but still the way the paragraph reads, especially the last two sentences, is awkward, and there's no source to check against. Anyone have a source for this part?

"Beginning in 1991, the Baby Bells began to consolidate operations or legally rename their Bell Operating Companies according to the parent company name, such as "Bell Atlantic – Delaware, Inc." or "U S WEST Communications, Inc.", to "unify" the corporate image. To this day, the only remaining Baby Bell that has not renamed its operating companies is AT&T, formerly SBC Communications. Since 2001, there have only been 17 of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies, following the mergers of U S WEST's and BellSouth's operating companies and reincorporation of Southwestern Bell. Only 9 of those 19 have retained their original corporate name since their incorporation before 1984." Ditch &#8733; 18:57, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

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