My Diatribe on Spam

I’ll keep this short. 

 There is NO current solution for spam emails that works.  None at all.  Zippo.  Zilch.  Nada.

Here’s the thing:  while all these programs, and even the expensive network appliances tell you they are SO effective on spam, they are not.  Oh, they boast effectiveness percentage ranges in the high 90s.   So that means what?

I’ll tell you what it means.  It means that if even 1/2 of one percent of good emails are marked as spam (and summarily dumps them into your spam folder), YOU STILL HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE EMAIL to see what’s legitimate and what’s not.  And that’s with a 99.5% effectiveness!!!  (And if it deletes the email instead, you’ll never even know – THAT is bad news.)

Since the idea behind spam filters is to filter the good from the bad, if they miss even one, they are 100% useless and ineffective in my book.

One thing is for sure – the person who finds a way to build a truly 100% effective spam filter that people can afford and that’s easy to use – well, they’ll be the next Bill Gates.

100% or Nothing!  Thanks for reading.  Whew!

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Email Ettiquette

One thing that drives me nuts is when someone who emails me regularly has the ‘request read receipt’ turned on for all messages they send.  That means I have to click a button to either send or not send a return receipt so they will know exactly when I read it, or if I don’t click ‘Yes’, assume I didn’t read it.

Now, while this aggravates me to no end, I know where they’re coming from.  Oh yes. 

It’s almost like people on the highway who drive right up close behind you as if their car were of the opposite polar orientation and simply coming near you would push you ahead, faster.  So many people do that!  And I am not a slow driver.  (If you are one of those people, you should beware – I am seriously considering installing a James Bond-like oil slick gizmo on my car)

And so it’s the same with email recipients.  So many people NEVER RESPOND to emails they are sent.  Why is that?  Who knows, but it sure is annoying!  If someone sends an email asking a question, or in any way starts a new line of thought, it is your OBLIGATION to respond to them.  It’s only polite.  Like if someone asks ‘How are you?’, and you don’t answer – hey it’s the same thing!  It’s rude to ignore people, no matter how they communicate!  Just don’t do it!

Sure, if you get a message just saying ‘Thanks’ or ‘OK, see you then’ or something that confirms what you said in a previous email, no response is necessary.  But when someone sends you a message with a question, or something of importance (such as an invoice for money due) you need to respond that you received it.  Even if you can’t complete the transaction or fully answer the question – answer the stupid email!  Don’t let it sit for days, weeks without a response.

Even if you do not wish to correspond with the person anymore, let them know!

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