In article , Wolf K
wrote:

Not too long ago, we took it for granted that our names, addresses, and
phone numbers would be published every year in the phone book. We
_wanted_ it that way. We wanted people to be able to reach us by phone
or mail, and the phone book was a handy public repository of the
necessary information. Some people had unlisted numbers. We accepted
that a few few needed those because of harassment or other personal
danger, but there was always the suspicion, occasionally voiced in a
near sneer for example, that most unlisted numbers were just attempts at
generating importance that the facts didn't warrant. But now, people try
to conceal their phone numbers, don't want there addresses to be public
knowledge, etc.

the world is different now.

back then, there weren't automated data mining bots scraping every bit
of public information and cross-correlating it all to build incredibly
detailed profiles about people, which can easily be accessed with a
couple of keystrokes at any time, by anybody, from anywhere, providing
a *lot* of detailed information, often with just a name.

In the specialty magazines, I see more and more print
ads that list only a website, no phone number, no physical address. Same
on more and more product packaging. What are they trying to hide?

they're not hiding anything.

a web site is the most common and most efficient method to contact and
hopefully order whatever it is, so that's what they provide.

they don't need a store front or a staff answering phones anymore.