"Mark Williamson" <node.ue(a)gmail.com>
wrote in
message news:849f98ed0804281327h3c1f2e07w612a3c37ce32024c@mail.gmail.com...
Well, I think there's a point where it goes
from being a dick to just
not bending over backwards to comply with unreasonable requests. I
think this is a case of the latter.
Mark
2008/4/28 Brion Vibber <brion(a)wikimedia.org>rg>:
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>
> David Gerard wrote:
> > 2008/4/28 Mark Williamson
<node.ue(a)gmail.com>om>:
> >
> >> My general view on this is that if somebody sends an e-mail, that is
> >> their problem. If they don't want their employer to find it, they
> >> should have thought of that before they sent it.
> >
> >
> > People occasionally slip up horribly. But almost all requests for
> > message removal I've *ever* seen are specious.
>
> Most requests go like this:
>
> "I sent a mail to the list (accidentally instead of offlist /
forgetting
> about my default work email signature) and
it includes my (real name /
> private phone number / address) which I don't want on the internet, can
> you please remove it from the archives so it's not the top Google hit
> forever?"
>
> We may scoff and roll our eyes and say "If you don't want it on Google,
> don't post it on a public list!" but the point is they *didn't* intend
> to publish it. Refusing to remove them on principle violates the "don't
> be a dick" rule, from which all other ethical principles can be
> logically derived.
>
> So, I'm stuck at refusing to remove them most of the time because it's
a
> very disruptive operation, and doing
annoying things to the search to
> reduce the "Google signature" of the mails still floating in the
archive.
>
"Hello - you're through to Royal Mail, Elizabeth speaking. How may I
help?"
"I've just posted a letter, can I have it back please?"
"No. I'm sorry, that's not possible."
"I include something I shouldn't have done - and it's really important that
the recipient doesn't see it!"
"I'm sorry, you should have thought of that before you posted it."
"I didn't realise! You see, the thing is I wrote it on the back of some
scrap paper and I've just realised that there was some highly confidential
information on the other side. It's vital that it doesn't get delivered."
"Oh well, if it was just a mistake then that's a different story. Of course
we'll be happy to drop everything else we're doing and look through the 80
MILLION items of mail that we deliver every single day in order to retrieve
your letter. It will take a week or so, but I'm sure it doesn't matter if
it inconveniences EVERYONE else."
Hmmm... I think not... :-)
- Mark Clements (HappyDog)
My husband, who work in a lab of about 100 people, still has a very fond
memory.
It was early afternoon when one of the last year PhD student, a friend
of my husband, sent a desperate love letter to one of the permanent
researcher, who was leaving the lab for 6 months or so. She had no idea
he was in love with her. Nor did anyone actually.
With a click, the email left for the general mailing list. The student
realized immediately the error and called the IT admin on the spot.
The IT admin succeeded to clean the mailboxes of about 1/3 of the list
who had their computer shut off (no automatic delivery), but about 60
people read the message within the next 5 mn. Several of them rushed to
the IT admin to inform him of the mess. But too late.
I read the message. It was fabulously romantic and quite hot. The lady
fortunately had left the lab, but the student spent the next 6 months
hiding himself in corners.
(lucky enough that he did not earn a lawsuit for sexual harassment on top)
Ant