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DW

Editor, Desert Dial

Dana Whitlock

Dana edits Desert Dial from Las Vegas and checks every claim against the original FTC, FCC or phone-maker page.

What I do here

I write and edit everything on Desert Dial, which is a smaller job than it sounds, because the site is small on purpose. I pick the questions that Las Vegas and Nevada phone owners seem to ask most, find the original rule or official help page behind each one, and write the answer in plain language. Then I reread the finished page against the source, add the date, and leave it alone until something changes.

How I work

My routine is the same every time. Open the primary source, copy the exact wording of the rule into my notes, write the guide without looking at the notes, and then check each sentence against them. If a sentence says more than the source does, it gets cut or softened. I test menu paths on a real phone when I can, because settings move around after updates. I do not invent statistics, quote made-up readers, or promise results a tool cannot deliver. When I do not know something, I say so.

I live in Las Vegas, and my phone is a decent test bed. Unknown 702 and 725 numbers show up at dinner, at the gym and at six in the morning, and I keep a rough list of the ones that left a message and the ones that did not. It is not data, just a reminder that most of them do not matter.

What I will not do

I will not name the owner of a number, and I will not tell you a number is a scam on the strength of its digits. I will not recommend a paid lookup service. If you write to me about a specific dispute with a company, I can point you to the right official page, but I cannot give legal advice.

You can reach me through the contact page. Corrections are the most welcome mail I get.

Everything Dana has written here