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		<header>
			<h1>Filing taxes</h1>
			<p>Day 00333: Wednesday, 2016 February 03</p>
		</header>
<p>
	I found a couple interesting facts about <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s today.
	First, <abbr title="Internet Protocol version Six">IPv6</abbr> addresses uses as hosts in <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s are <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-3.2.2">not normalized</a>.
	There are several valid ways to write an <abbr title="Internet Protocol version Six">IPv6</abbr> address, depending on which zeros you want to omit.
	You could leave out all the zeros that you can, you could explicitly include every zero, or anything in between.
	However, <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s that differ only in which zeros are omitted are not defined as being equivalent.
	The second thing that I learned has to do with <abbr title="Internet Protocol version Four">IPv4</abbr> addresses that are written in their single-decimal form.
	<abbr title="The Onion Router">Tor</abbr> does not handles these <abbr title="Internet Protocol">IP</abbr> addresses correctly, or so I thought.
	It turns out that this <abbr title="Internet Protocol">IP</abbr> address format is <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-7.4">not valid in <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s</a>, and should not work when using any <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr> resolver.
	Systems tend not to be as strict as they should be when resolving <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s though, and sometimes bad <abbr title="Uniform Resource Identifier">URI</abbr>s will be resolved in platform-dependent ways.
</p>
<p>
	I spoke with Jackson Hewitt&apos;s tech support about the telephone number issue, explaining that the tax preparation form was not allowing me to leave this field blank and that I have no telephone service.
	First, they tried to justify it, saying that the telephone number is needed in case the <abbr title="Internal Revenue Service">IRS</abbr> needs to contact me.
	I assume the implication was that Jackson Hewitt does not use this number and that I would be okay with the <abbr title="Internal Revenue Service">IRS</abbr> calling me, which makes no sense seeing as I said that I have no telephone service, not that I did not want to give out my existing number.
	After explaining that again, the support representative said that she would check for a way to bypass the requirement, and came back with the answer of using the telephone number <a href="tel:+18005551212"><code>800 555 1212</code></a>.
	<del>I assume based on the format that that is intended to be a dead number, but it is not.</del> Dead numbers are in the &quot;XXX 555 01XX&quot; ranges excluding the &quot;800 555 01XX&quot; range, in which only one of those numbers (<code>800 555 0199</code>) is actually dead.
	In any case, I now have explicit permission to use this number for this tax preparation service, so if I need to come back here, I can move on.
	However, I would rather not use any telephone number, be it one that leads to me or not.
	I do not like the telephone number system and do not want to be associated with a telephone number.
	<ins>I did some research, and it turns out that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_%28telephone_number%29#Real_usage"><code>800 555 1212</code> is the number to call to reach directory assistance for telephone numbers within the 800 area code</a>.</ins>
</p>
<p>
	The next service that I tried was H&amp;R block.
	When I got to the telephone number field, it had the description text <q>The IRS requires a valid daytime phone number.</q>, but still allowed me to leave it blank.
	Later on in the process though, their system did go back and require this information, information that I do not even have.
	I suppose that their system is more honest than TurboTax&apos;s system, as TurboTax&apos;s system silently allows you to continue without a telephone number, then after you enter all your information, they demand the telephone number.
	Still, if they are going to require this, they should not allow you to continue without filling the field, as that just causes frustration after you have entered all your tax information.
	That sentence though, <q>The IRS requires a valid daytime phone number.</q>, makes me think that maybe it does not matter which tax preparation service I use.
	Perhaps they are only conforming to some idiotic requirement imposed by the <abbr title="Internal Revenue Service">IRS</abbr>.
</p>
<p>
	Next, I tried eSmart.
	They asked for both a telephone number and email address, asking which I preferred to be contacted by.
	I thought that this was finally my chance to avoid specifying a telephone number! However, though they allowed me to leave that field blank at first, they did go back after I had entered all my information and demand a telephone number.
	I contacted live support, who said that I had to enter a telephone number to move on.
	Once more, I explained that I do not have telephone service and asked if that meant that I needed to find a different tax preparation service.
	She said that that was something that I needed to decide, as if I could choose to use this service without a telephone number.
	I clarified the situation, laying out the two options: using the service without a telephone number or using a different service.
	I explained that if I really do get to choose, I would prefer to use the service, then, I asked once more if I had to choose a different service.
	She asked if she could have her supervisor call me, again, seeming to not comprehend the fact that I have no telephone service.
	I said that that would be fine as long as she did not mean call me on the telephone, again explaining that I do not have telephone service, and she offered to have her supervisor email me instead.
	People without telephone service still need to file tax returns and there needs to be a way for us to do so.
</p>
<p>
	At this point, I think that I want to try as many of the services as I can in order to let as many of them know as I can that not everyone has telephone service and that the telephone number requirement is ridiculous.
	That said, I was tired of insecure &quot;security&quot; questions.
	As such, I do not want to file my state and federal tax returns with two separate services, so I ruled out any option that did not provide an all-in-one service.
	Likewise, I do not <strong>*want*</strong> to pay taxes to my country&apos;s evil government, I just have to, so I refuse to pay for the privilege of filing taxes that I do not even want to pay, so I ruled out any services that cost money.
	Besides, I am short on funds and every saved dime helps right now.
	I found one service that will be gratis on February 15, but I would like to have my taxes filed by then, so I ruled it out as well.
</p>
<p>
	Lastly, I tried filing my taxes through TaxAct.
	Their telephone number field had the explanation text <q>Providing the IRS with your daytime phone number may help speed the processing of your return.</q>, which implied that the telephone number was not necessary if speed was not necessary.
	Likewise, TaxAct accepted my legal first and last name as my signature.
	Later on in the process, they pestered me again for a telephone number, but once more, they allowed me to leave it blank and they submitted my tax forms on my behalf without it.
	In future years, if I want to avoid issues, I should remember to try TaxAct first.
</p>
<p>
	I received an answer on the <a href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3009659-turbotax-is-refusing-to-file-my-tax-return-or-allow-me-to-print-it-without-a-telephone-number-but-i-have-no-telephone-service">TurboTax forum</a> about my issues with their service and being unable to move on without entering a telephone number that I do not have.
	However, the person that answered the question just told me that I should enter a messaging number if I do not have a telephone number.
	That makes no sense, assuming that by a &quot;messaging number&quot; they actually mean an <abbr title="Short Message Service">SMS</abbr>-enabled telephone number, as that is still a telephone number, which I made clear that I do not have.
</p>
<p>
	I forgot to comment on something that i saw at my mother&apos;s school the other day.
	Someone there was helping her set up dynamic message templates that would add specific sentences to her students&apos; grade reports to explain how they were doing.
	These templates would automatically change the pronoun to either &quot;he&quot; or &quot;she&quot;, depending on the sex of the child.
	I remember thinking that this sort of hacky workaround would not be needed if our language did not foolishly include sex/gender-based pronouns.
	There is no good reason for them.
</p>
<p>
	I have never looked into what generation I am a member of because I simply do not care.
	It is just a label, after all.
	However, my brother informed me that I am a member of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials">Generation Y</a>.
	That is awesome! Out of all the letters I could have ended up with as my second-level domain, I ended up with wye, and I also am a member of Generation Y.
	The coincidence is of course meaningless, but I still find it to be a fun fact.
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