Editing Hotline (section)

== For crises and service ==
True hotlines cannot be used to originate calls other than to preselected destinations.  However, in common or colloquial usage, a "hotline" often refers to a [[call center]] reachable by dialing a standard telephone number, or sometimes the phone numbers themselves.

This is especially the case with 24-hour, noncommercial numbers, such as police tip hotlines or suicide [[crisis hotline]]s, which are staffed around the clock and thereby give the appearance of real hotlines.  Increasingly, however, the term is found being applied to any customer service telephone number.