Known simply as “The Ones,” they have been one of the most distinctive — and peculiar — features of working at The New York Times.

Anytime someone inside The Times’s Manhattan headquarters makes a phone call, the number that appears on caller ID displays is listed as 111-111-1111.

Over the years, this has resulted in a lot of confusion and plenty of curiosity, from people on the other end of the phone who wonder why such an odd-looking succession of digits had flashed up. “Do you realize your phone number comes up as all 1’s?” some would ask.

Others, fearing a telemarketer or bill collector or other unsolicited caller, were more blunt: “I almost didn’t pick up.” Some of those who didn’t pick up included Times employees who didn’t know if they were being called by a friend at the paper — or boss about to ruin their weekend.

As of Aug. 15, “The Ones” will be no more. The Times is opting instead for a far less conspicuous 212-556-1234 — the paper’s main number — to appear as its caller ID.

The company said the reason for the change is an expected change to federal law that will require legitimate caller ID signatures. And evidently, enough people inside The Times were having a difficult time getting through because companies have started to block calls from 111-111-1111.

The origin of “The Ones” is something of a folklore inside The Times. There were rumors that it was meant to mimic the caller ID at government agencies like Central Intelligence Agency. But according to Lorraine Bellagamba, telecommunications manager for The Times, the number dates to 1999 and was intended to help the newsroom protect its sources. Calls were routed through a central system with the 111-111-1111 ID. That way it would be impossible for anyone who subpoenaed phone records to know precisely from which extension a call originated.

Why all 1’s? Ms. Bellagamba said it was chosen because combinations of other numbers were either being used by other companies or were actual working numbers; 111-111-111, she said, was a guaranteed nonworking number.