I will serve no whine before its time

[pbray]

(rant on)
If you send me an e-mail asking me to respond, and I take time out of my day to craft a thoughtful response to your question, I do not expect to receive a canned message from your mailbot saying that in order to get past your spam filters I must click on a special link and fill out a form to validate my e-mail address, otherwise my message can't be delivered to your inbox.

"LISTEN UP YOU MORON. I DON'T CARE IF YOU EVER GET MY REPLY. I WAS DOING YOU A FAVOR, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. FIX YOUR SPAM FILTERS OR GET A DIFFERENT EMAIL ACCOUNT."
(rant off)


Some days, it's the little things that launch me into orbit.

Also received in the inbox was an extremely belated thank you from a library director who had sent me a letter begging for copies of my books to add to the collection of his small library. The letter is nearly a year late. A simple email acknowledgment at the time would have been appreciated, but as it is, even the most flowery letter can't make up for the delay.

Comments

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

Amen to your rant. I've run into more and more of those spam filters lately, and they're just a pain. Obviously, no solution is perfect, but I'd rather delete a few unwanted spam than have friends, acquaintances and business associates too irritated to contact me.

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

How rude!
Definitely, the spam filters should be set so that if that person initiates email contact, the emails contacted will be allowed to respond.

Pwincess Fwowah Beah calls the protocol police on them all!

[larryhammer]

The protocol police is too kind. *ZOT* 'em all.

---L.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

When I come into my power, they will be first against the wall.

Or maybe second. It's a pretty long list.

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

I'd be tempted, just once, to get through the spam filter long enough to say, "I had a real reply, but you and your spambot just aggravated it right out of me. So there. Neener."

On the other hand, why piss off a fan who might not buy the next book? Tough choice.

And in the back of my head is my mother, telling me to be nice. *grits teeth*

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Well it wasn't a fan-- it was an industry professional who had written to me requesting my opinion. Crafting a reply took time and consideration on my part, and then as soon as I pressed send I received the spambot message, which is when I went over the edge.

I did fill out the "please let me send you email" begging form, but put in a comment letting the sender know that I found the form discourteous.

I understand that people need spam filters, but as a courtesy the filter should work with their email, so that if the sender has sent me a note I should be prequalified to reply.