In message <00e101c68f91$eeba1440$548f8151@Nick>, at 10:07:16 on Wed, 14
Jun 2006, Nick Landau <[log in to unmask]> writes
>Yes, but the Human Rights question has been cited and the use by work
>email of staff for private reasons. Someone spoke of being adults and I
>was addressing the use of emails for personal reasons - and why
>shouldn't we be allowed to use any language we choose in the work
>emails that we send.
If we are sending emails from work, then I agree it is important to use
appropriate language. Whether that includes using a crystal ball to
avoid [otherwise innocuous] words that the recipient might be filtering
out is another matter altogether.
>I wasn't addressing the filtering of emails and rejecting of words such
>as "erection" which have various meanings - including in construction
>and sexual.
>
>I might add that to prevent spam I reject the word "adult" from coming
>through to Outlook Express but instead going to my Bulk folder.
A very brave decision. Many people find unintended consequences creep up
and bite them. I get emails from my Train Company that describe the
tickets as either CHILD or <That word you are filtering out>.
I quoted another example the other day, important emails saying that
things were going to be sent "via Grahame" being binned.
^^^^^^^
>If I do that personally I am not clear why a public authority should
>not take similar precautions.
The unintended consequences make it a very tricky policy to get right.
Companies whose entire job is filtering emails get it spectacularly
wrong from time to time, so there's not much hope for people making up
rules as they go along :(
>Having said that clearly thought needs to be given to this area - but a
>lot of the postings seem to question the right of a sensible authority
>to protect themselves - it would come under the general heading of Risk
>Management.
I wonder if organisations are still deploying filters that sideline
emails containing attached pictures which are largely a pink colour?
Real life can be tricky, too. I still recall the reaction of a lady
friend of mine approached by an enthusiastic young American with the
words "Hi, I'm Randy". And in the opposite direction across the cultural
divide, a young lady surprised at the reaction on asking an American
colleague if he had a spare rubber.
--
Roland Perry
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