I've now had my first and second experiences with the obnoxious auto-reply verification system that some people are apparently using to try to prevent spam. For those not familiar with the system, the idea is that only people you have placed on a pre-approved list can actually email you directly, while everyone else gets an automated reply email telling the sender to jump through some hoops to prove they aren't spam. When (if) they do so, then their email shows up in your inbox. In other words, it's a “guilty until proven innocent” approach to email.
The text of the two auto-generated emails is fairly similar. Both start out with “Sorry for the inconvenience”, and a plea for understanding that they just don't want to deal with spam any more. That's nice, but guess what? I get spam too, just like everyone else. Yes, it sucks, but you don't see me making my spam someone else's problem.
Both emails I had challenged where replies to someone who had emailed a list address looking for help. I was willing to spend some time trying to help them, but not if it means having to go to some website and fill out a form to prove that I'm not a spammer. So here's a tip: if you want people to actually reply to emails you send, don't use challenge-response email systems. If you go out of your way to make it hard for me to talk to you, I'm just not going to.
Category: Geek
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