>We all use "twit filters" all the time. At work, telephone receptionists and IVRs provide exactly that service so that other staff can structure their day. Even at home people routinely rely on twit filters- more commonly known as Caller-Id.
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>To look at it from the other angle: what gives a caller the right to force somebody else to take a call? People can leave voicemail or in the UT they can respond to somebody else, meaning the message is there if people decide they are interested.

These are all arguments that make no sense, because each of them differs in essential ways from what we're discussing here.

This is a forum for professional software developers. There are two sections, the technical section and the chatter section. Let's compare it with a software company.

We all work there and there are places and ways we can ask colleagues for advice. Would you approve that someone would refuse to even listen to someone else's question or answer? Would you approve it if someone would not show up in a meeting because someone else is invited there too?

Suppose we also have a company pub, for the after hours, where some of the employees hang around for an extra hour. Would you approve it that one colleague doesn't want to talk to another colleague? Perhaps. But would you approve it in every case, no matter for what reasons given or not given? I doubt.