atw: OT: Sig files, gee I love that kind of talk.
- From: "Reginald Hardman" <cleardoc@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "austechwriter list" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:09:05 +0200
Sig files (Gee I love that kind of talk)
----------------------------------------
I may be the only person that reads them, but many of the corporate sig
files I see at the end of messages posted to public news groups and
email lists range from amusing to downright offensive. Here is an
example:
"This e-mail and any attachments may contain information which is
confidential, proprietary, privileged or otherwise protected by
law. The information is solely intended for the named addressee (or a
person responsible for delivering it to the addressee). If you are not
the intended recipient of this message, you are not authorized to
read, print, retain, copy or disseminate this message or any part of
it. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the
sender immediately by return e-mail and delete it from your computer."
Some questions and comments:
"This e-mail and any attachments may contain information which is
confidential, proprietary, privileged..."
What the fresh hell is "privileged information"? What kinds of
privileges can information have?
"...or otherwise protected by law."
Whose law, what law? Some law in your country? Do you know the laws in
my country, which may say something like "You can read anything you
damn-well please, and no ratbag is allowed to tell you that you cannot
read it." Your sig statement may be in breach of that law, watch out! In
addition, I have seen the same sig file under emails from other
companies. It is possible that you have plagiarised it and breached
copyright!
"If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are not
authorized to read..."
No unarmed person is going to tell me not to read something. If you do
not want me to read it, then do not show it to me, that is your
responsibility, not mine.
"If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender
immediately..."
What, you made a mistake and now I have to spend my time fixing it,
"immediately"? You are joking, why did you bother writing this? On the
other hand, my fee for composing and sending an email to correct your
error is 120.00 EUR, payable in advance on account. Your email was
sent to an email list with about 2000 addressees, what will you do
when you suddenly receive 1999 emails telling you how stupid you are?
"...and delete it from your computer."
Clearly, this does not go far enough. I would add:
"Please also reformat or destroy your hard disk, and that of your email
server, to ensure complete erasure of the message we sent you in error.
Following this, we require that you cut off both hands and have your
tongue surgically removed so as not to inadvertantly re-transmit the
confidential information and thus breach information privilege
(whatever that is) as a result of our stupid error."
This was a Friday rant. If you read it on any other day, by law you must
immediately wipe it from your memory and store it in a secure place
until your calendar indicates that it is a Friday.
That's the LAW, so do it immediately. And sit up straight while you are
doing it.
Cheers,
Reg
=0D
=0D
--=0D
R=E9ginald Hardman=0D
R=E9dacteur Technique=0D
Paris, France =0D
=0D
Reginald Hardman=0D
Technical writer=0D
Paris, France
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