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How to use "Summon a Pirate

For mobile phones (iPhone/Android), the "Summon a Pirate" Subscription provides a faster, easier way to get a robot to do the talking.  HOWEVER - please be aware that there is a $0.04 per minute charge to cover the cost of the outbound call (our robot calls your phone).     Click here to purchase 200 minutes of "Summon a Pirate" time.

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You "summon a pirate" by sending a text message to one of two numbers:

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214-666-4321 - the default robot for this number is FEMALE

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214-666-4327 - the default robot for this number is MALE

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*** BUT NOT ALL CARRIERS SUPPORT THIS:  To use "Summoning" you must be able to merge two separate calls into one (a 3 party conference).   Some carriers use a type of network (CDMA) in some parts of the country that does not support merging calls.  Here's a non-techy way to check if this will work on your phone:    just have two friends call you at roughly the same time.  If you can answer both and merge them together, then you can use "Summon a Pirate".   

 

Want more info?   It gets kind of technical, but the problem is that merging only works on GSM networks, not CDMA networks.   You can figure out which one you're using by reading up on this topic at this link:  wikiHow

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Setup:

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To simplify the usage of this feature, create a new contact on your phone corresponding to one of these numbers.   For example, setup a contact called "Summon MyPirate" with a number of 214-666-4321.

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iPhone - When you receive an unsolicted call - 

  1. When a call is received just listen, or keep them talking….but don’t say "hold on" because some telemarketers will hang up
  2. Press the “home” button to exit phone display
  3. Touch "Messages" to bring up the message app
  4. Send a text message (see below) to the contact you created for summoning pirates (e.g. the "Summon MyPirate" contact we created above). For example, to summon Whitey Whitebeard, just text "ww."  Don't worry about auto-correct; we will accept anything close. 
  5. When the call arrives, press "Hold and Accept"
  6. The display will change immediately; press "Merge"
  7. The telemarketer is now on with you and the robot, so be silent! (MUTE YOURSELF)
  8. Listen for as long as you like.  When you hang up, the robot hangs up too
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What do I text to the "Summon a Pirate" number?
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If you text anything to the "Summon a Pirate" number you will get a call back from a randomly selected robot of the appropriate gender for that number.
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If you want a particular robot, use their two character code (upper or lower case):

  • "ww" or "we"  - Whitey Whitebeard

  • "ss"– Salty Sally

  • "jr"," jr.", "he" – Jolly Roger

  • "jj", "just", "ki", "U.K." – Jolly Jenny

  • "dd", "did" – Debbie Doldrums

  • "wj", "wh" – Whiskey Jack

  • "md" – moby dick

  • "rf" – random female robot

  • "rm" – random male robot

  • "rb" – for random robot

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If the two character code is not found/doesn’t match, you will get the equivalent of a random robot.

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UH OH:    The call from the robot rolled over to my voicemail.  How do I tell it to hang up?  Just text the word "hang up" to our "Summon a Pirate" number.

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VERY COOL TRICK:   I want to summon a pirate to my landline.   Can I do this?  YES!!!!   Just follow the two character code with the last couple of unique digits of the phone you want them to call in on.  The digits you are passing must be for one of your 3 subscribing phone numbers.      

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Here is an example:  Let's say I have three phone numbers listed for my "Summon a Pirate" subscription as follows:

  • 212-555-1212  (mobile phone)

  • 212-555-3318 (home landline)

  • 212-555-6718 (office landline)

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At any time I can use my mobile phone (212-555-1212) to summon a pirate.   To summon a pirate to my mobile phone I just send anything, or the two character code.  Here are three examples:

  • "hello" - will summon a randomly selected pirate 

  • "jj" - will summon Jolly Jenny

  • "ki" - whoops...I typed "jj" but auto-correct sent "ki" instead; no problem, I still got a call from Jolly Jenny

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To summon a pirate to another one of my phones that has a scammer on it, I do the same thing but specify a number:

  • "hello 318" will summon a randomly selected robot to my home landline

  • "jj 718" will summon Jolly Jenny to my office landline

 

Please note that "jj 18" will NOT WORK because the last two digits are NOT unique: both landlines end in the same last two digits ("18") so we need the last three digits to make a match.

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