There is a really good reason. Take a look here:
**broken link removed** which has some typical wiring diagrams of telephone sets.
Inside the phone the quad wire colors are used for TIP and Ring which are the same colors used everywhere else.
Older phones had jumperable options especially for "party lines". My grandparents had them.
So, the flip or "reverse" wiring allows you to maintain the tip/ring colors throughout the system EXCEPT for that station to wall cord. So, it's pretty slick.
With direct wiring and 4-prong wiring (one end fixed) it was still possible to maintain the color coding within the phone, not the pin numbers of the cable. Reverse wiring does the same thing.
It also means that there is only one style "pigtail" (modular to wire),
"propreitary" digital phones require straight-thru cables. I don't know about VoIP phones.
Telephone patch cables need to be straight-thru wiring.
I will be doing some re-wiring of the house phones. there is like 3 demark points:
1) The NID
2) At the carbon surge protector inside the house
3) Junction box - center of the house
The mix of (2) and (3) and #1 for that matter was done by the phone company.
The house, (1960's) came with one hardwired desk phone. Later, 2 phones and three 4-prong jacks and an external bell were added by the phone company. Ringers were disconnected so the phone company didn't know of other phones. The 2 phones were "rented" and later purchased.
A "ringer" was installed in the cellar.
When modular was introduced, a lot of the locations have both modular and 4-prong.
Some alternate issues were in no particular order were:
1) Support a modem in the recreation room (modular)
2) Support a phone on the porch. 4-prong+modular (now a 4-prong to modular pig-tail)
with a 4-prong phone)
3) Support a 802.11b PPP over modem router.
4) Support a modem/phone in my "shop"
5) Support a phone in another bedroom
(I think support is removed right now. Low voltage plate installed - unconnected)
6) Modular support a PERS alarm and 4-station cordless phone and ANS machine.
This is now on a UPS. So, bedlamp, base station and PERS are on a UPS)
7) Support a wired phone in bedroom as well as cordless.
8) Support a ringer in the laundry room.
9) Support DSL
10) Support a big button touch-tone phone for hard of hearing in kitchen.
11) TV needed a phone jack. (now used by phone line monitor) it's also CAT3 - not good.
There was a "force" to support touch-tone because of banking. Then a force to go to a speakerphone because of the long wait times and everyone being hearing impaired a bit.
Either old age or in my case tinnitus at 2600 Hz.
The need for separate ringers has largely been replaced because 4 cordless phones is the basic need. Basement, bedroom #1, Bedroom #2 and Living rm.
A 2-parent "baby monitor" was added with the child monitor in the basement that amplifies the cordless phone ringing. The laundry and my bedroom get the parental units and the paging function is used extensively since mom is bed bound. The UPS was a big addition because you never lost the time or messages on the answering machine. Ni-mH batteries increased talk ans standby time tremendously. The second parental baby monitor is in my bedroom.
The "latest" addition was an "off hook-solid", "ringing-some cadence" and "disconnected-fast cadence LED. I'm still trying to find the best LED to use at the top of the flat screen TV.
What I was really looking for was "off hook and not talking for say 15 minutes" as well as ringing.
It's now easy to put the phone off hook, so the light has been invaluable. Might really want something like: 1) Steady RED off hook for some time; 2) Fast blink RED disconnected; 3) Green blink (some cadence) - phone ringing; 4 Yellow - optional (off hook - short delay (like 10s).
Making the PERS to do line siezure would be nice. The base needs to be moved too or a remote mic added. Two pendants should really be used where the monitoring service either 1) Calls hospice; 2) calls 911 medical depending on which is pressed.
Missing pieces to the entire need includes: 1) Remote door unlocking; 2) Video doorbell and 3) Vertical blind control.
Aside: I really want to do put in place a comprehensive sensor monitoring system. This
http://www.monnit.com/ is so far the coolest, but it has issues too. In some cases, it might take 10 minutes to know about a flood. I have lots of questions. Water, refrigerator, freezer, door prop, smoke fire etc.
I have a 12 port RJ45 panel for phone where everything will be bridged and a 48 CAT6 RJ45 port to premise wiring panel in place. I have a 24 port POE switch that I need to install.
Any new premise connections will be CAT6 RJ45. If they are phone, the wall jacks will get inserts.
http://www.l-com.com/ethernet-modular-8x8-insert-adapter-pkg-10. Not sure how to handle the patch section. RJ45 cable color and labels or inserts and RJ11 cords. That will help bunches.
Sorry for the rambing. Again, thanks for responding.