--- Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:27:11 -0800 To: declanat_private From: Ron Avitzur <avitzurat_private> Subject: risks of automated email filtering I saw this on Neil Gaiman's online journal. It's a well-known old RISK, but I found the particular context rather funny: http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp >For several months e-mails to DC Comics would randomly not get >there. There seemed to be no unifying factor -- I'd send them from >different e-mail accounts, to different editors and to other >staffers, at different times. Some of the e-mails would simply never >get there. Recently Dave McKean sent a cover sketch to me and to the >DC folk and copied it to me. I got it, they didn't. This was way >beyond bizarre, and very discouraging. I mean, if all of the e-mails >didn't get through, one wouldn't care, but randomly not knowing why >an e-mail would arrive at the other end or not... it made one want >to bang one's head against a wall. And AOLTimeWarner's computer >people were no help at all. > >Tonight, an editor at DC copied me on an e-mail she'd received from >their computer people (about why an email took a very long time to >get to her) that may go some way to explaining the problem.... >And I quote: > >>I've been informed that the reason why there was a delay in the >>delivery of this message was because one of several keywords were >>found within the message. In particular, the word "SANDMAN" was >>found several times. This has been a telltale sign of one or more >>computer viruses, so the message was set aside to be investigated by >>a WB security person. > >I'd be willing to bet that every message I sent them that didn't get >through had the word SANDMAN in it. And that instead of reviewing >them, the emails were simply automatically deleted as probable >viruses. SANDMAN.... found several times... dead giveaway really.... > >Amused sigh. Good night. >posted by Neil Gaiman 12:57 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH evening reception in New York City at 7 pm, April 1, 2003 at CFP: http://www.politechbot.com/events/cfp2003/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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