How to email me - FAQ
The password
Why do I need a password?
Basically, so I know your message is not junk email ("spam")
generated by a program.
A standard junk mailing program will not be able to read
my instructions
and will not send me the password.
What happens if I don't use the password?
Your message will end up in a spam folder
with the
300 spams I get every
day.
I am highly unlikely to ever see it.
If you use the password, your message is filtered
straight to my
"Real Email" folder,
where it is immediately prominent.
Can I have extra text in the subject?
Yes. The password only needs to be
part of it.
Will the password ever change?
It may.
In the (unlikely) event of spam programs
ever starting to read
the web page
to use the password,
I will change the password and page
to make it harder for a program to follow
(while keeping it easy for a human to follow).
There are so many ways of doing this
I don't think a spam program will ever be able to keep up.
A similar idea is behind:
Always consult
the web page
for the current password.
The accept-list
But Mark,
you know me!
You and I correspond all the time.
Do I have to use this system?
No.
People I am already in back-and-forth
correspondence with
do not have to use the password.
They get automatically compiled
(by a program) into
a special "accept-list"
of people who don't need to use the password.
Though the compilation is periodic and not perfect,
so if we have talked only 1 or 2 times before, say,
you may want to use the password to be sure.
If we've talked more than 2 times before
then you should be on the "accept-list" by now.
How can I get myself onto the accept-list?
You can't.
You can't control it.
For example, you can't get onto the accept-list yourself
by just sending me
messages.
I need to take some action to
put you onto the accept-list
- e.g.,
file your message in non-trash folders,
send
you some email,
etc.
Will you publish your accept-list?
No.
Will you tell me if I am on your accept-list?
No.
No such queries will be answered.
There's
about 1500 people
on my accept-list, if that helps get an idea.
What if I change my email address?
Then (obviously) your new address won't be on the accept-list,
so you better use the password until such time
as your new address gets compiled into the accept-list.
If in doubt, always use the password.
On Internet since 1987.
