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Autocensoring the "N" Word


Quest Master

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Oh, and the the site won't let you send pictures of Llamas either. Really! Go try it and see!

I was laughing at the silliness of this whole thread until I reached this. Now, shock and outrage don't even begin to describe how I feel about this particular travesty. I never thought I would experience any situation so bad that geocide was the only option to me . . . . until now.

 

Goodbye. Forever. :(

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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :(

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :(

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :(

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

 

You assumed the worse from the beginning:

 

"Did you know that the geocaching.com email has an auto-censorship feature? Did you know that they read your email and simply fail to deliver it if it contains something that they don't like? Neither did I..."

 

Until someone from Groundspeak comes out and says, "We censor emails" (which isn't a bad thing), I'm going to assume that they don't. And if they did and turned it off, they probably weren't aware that it was still occuring. Either way, the tone of your email implies all the Groundspeak people are sitting in their offices with big satan horns purposely destroying emails while laughing in a sinister manner. Or maybe I was the only one with that picture.. Oh boy, where's my medication..

 

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Lot's of angst.

 

yes it's a private site. But yes at one time you Navicache was censored in the forums. My guess and it's a guess was that about the same time it was censored in the email system. Later Navicache was uncensored in the forums and they probably forgot about the email censor until it was brought up. In the forums you can see your post change D-A-M-N to dadgum, but you can't see the email get through so it was a valid issue having caused a valid problem to point them at a clue to find a cache on this site even if the clue was on another site.

 

If they do decide to censor (or what ever it is) some emails it would be nice to know it's happenying so you actually could comply with some of the advice given above. You have to know what not to do to not do it.

 

I'm suprised at all the automatic and uneeded angst.

Frankly, the tone of the first post set the stage. Instead of a rational, well thought out post like yours, the original post paints it as a conspiracy. Now, the person he is trying to talk to comes in here and equates Groundspeak to Nazi Germany.

 

Who is the one with the angst here RK?

 

I think your post is probably exactly what happened. I would also prefer that the site administrators keep working on getting site performance levels increased than coming in and defending posts accusing them of being like the people that ran Nazi Germany.

 

I'm sorry that you didn't like the tone of my OP. If you had been victimized by the conduct of this website you might not think that it was so irrational. I didn't ask Team Baker to participate in this discussion but I'm glad that he chimed in. I think that comparisons to Nazi Germany are a little over the top but that's what it felt like when we finally figured out what was going on.

 

I'm still waiting and hoping that the TPTB will be forthcoming with an explanation for why my emails were not going through. If there was a filter (and I'm just about certain that there was), I'm pleased that they turned it off so that this doesn't happen again but I still think that they own an explanation. If they could make time to turn off the filter, they should be able to make time to explain.

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...Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

When I arranged for an experiment I never received the email. Both the word and the link were provided. I requested another cacher I know send separate emails. One with the word and one with the link, but have not confirmed that they were sent at this point in time to verify they were not received. Quest Master did his homework before posting. He got independent verification. Then he posted.

 

People are assuming he didn't. While drama may be involved it's only coming as a result of a valid question. Most of what I'm seeing in this thread is the usual suspects choosing to doubt someone’s integrity and cast dispersions with no proof.

 

Your own experiment only verifies what Quest Master has already confirmed. That now they are getting through for some reason. Unless you did your own experiment before the change that has been noted in this thread.

 

TPTB can end speculation and answer the question easy enough.

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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :)

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

 

You assumed the worse from the beginning:

 

"Did you know that the geocaching.com email has an auto-censorship feature? Did you know that they read your email and simply fail to deliver it if it contains something that they don't like? Neither did I..."

 

Until someone from Groundspeak comes out and says, "We censor emails" (which isn't a bad thing), I'm going to assume that they don't. And if they did and turned it off, they probably weren't aware that it was still occuring. Either way, the tone of your email implies all the Groundspeak people are sitting in their offices with big satan horns purposely destroying emails while laughing in a sinister manner. Or maybe I was the only one with that picture.. Oh boy, where's my medication..

 

.

 

No, I didn't. I assumed at first that there was a spam filtering problem. I did a lot of testing before I determined that there must be an autocensoring . I described exactly what happened in the OP. I didn't think that it was particulary sinister but I do think that it's improper to handle emails in this manner. It caused me a great deal of confusion.

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You know, I will give this "conspiracy" a rating of "SO WHAT!". Last I heard, this is a privately owned site.
I still don't understand why they can't do this. I still give this a "so what". Let's say they did censor emails with the word navicache in them. So what?

 

Did you know that the geocaching.com email has an auto-censorship feature? Did you know that they read your email and simply fail to deliver it if it contains something that they don't like? Neither did I...
The accusation is that they read everyone's email. This sounds like a robotic function to me. I see no reason why a privately held company should not be able to restrict the usage of their system in any way they want to. If you don't like the restrictions, don't use the system.
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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :rolleyes:

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

 

Being as there was confirmed proof (as stated by multiple posters) of a Navicache filter in these forums (which was later removed), I don't understand all the carp the OP is getting over this, including pictures of tin-foil hats, and a scanned newspaper article, which I have to admit, is funnier every time I look at it. :) I stand by the filter being removed from the forums, and being "forgot about" for the emails. And it seems to be fixed right about now, doesn't it?

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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :)

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

 

Being as there was confirmed proof (as stated by multiple posters) of a Navicache filter in these forums (which was later removed), I don't understand all the carp the OP is getting over this, including pictures of tin-foil hats, and a scanned newspaper article, which I have to admit, is funnier every time I look at it. :rolleyes: I stand by the filter being removed from the forums, and being "forgot about" for the emails. And it seems to be fixed right about now, doesn't it?

Because the OP came in with cries of "Conspiracy", rather than just asking what was up. Yes, there was a forum filter. Perhaps there was an email filter at the same time. One got pulled when TPTB decided to allow competitors a mention on THEIR site. IF there was an email filter, it probably just got lost in all the things they had to do. Perhaps this (supposed) email filter was implemented by a different person than the one who did the forums. If teh forum 'fixer' didn't know about teh email filter, and the email programmer didn't get the message, then obviously one filter was left by accident.

 

Miscommunication happens all the time at teh best of businesses. Is it a conspiracy? No, it is just part of life. I take a bit of offense when people come in and start throwing accusations around rather than just stating the facts they have observed. What would have been a better approach? The original post, or:

 

Hi. I've noticed a problem when sending an email referencing Navicache. I was explaining to a cacher that more clues were available for my cache at that site, as the cache description there is slightly different. The email (via website) says it was sent out, but the recipient informed me that they never got it.

 

Is it policy to to halt such emails, or is there some sort of other problem? If it is policy, could it either be changed, or at least described in the TOS so that users do not get wires crossed? Looking forward to hearing from you soon...

 

No previous baggage there. No jimmy-kicking. Deals with this incident, and this incident only. IMO, Jeremy or some other PTB slapped their forehead and said 'DOH!' and fixed an oversight. Had the OP treated them with respect at teh get go, then I would imagine a response would have been more forthcoming. It may still, but why be a jerk about it at the outset, without even giving the Frogs a chance?

Edited by New England n00b
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You know, I will give this "conspiracy" a rating of "SO WHAT!". Last I heard, this is a privately owned site.
I still don't understand why they can't do this. I still give this a "so what". Let's say they did censor emails with the word navicache in them. So what?

 

Did you know that the geocaching.com email has an auto-censorship feature? Did you know that they read your email and simply fail to deliver it if it contains something that they don't like? Neither did I...
The accusation is that they read everyone's email. This sounds like a robotic function to me. I see no reason why a privately held company should not be able to restrict the usage of their system in any way they want to. If you don't like the restrictions, don't use the system.

 

It's not an issue of what they can do. It's their company and their programming. They can do whatever they want. It's an issue of whether or not they should be doing it and in the manner that they were doing it. I explained in my original post what happened to me and how it was a disservice to the users of this website. It caused this paying customer a great deal of confusion and some of my fellow geocachers never got emails that might have been important to them. I had every reason to expect that these emails would go through, and that they did go through, and that I wasn't doing anything wrong by including navicache links in them. This is the souce of my outrage which has never been called a"conspiracy" by me. I think that TPTB got the message and agreed that it was not good policy because the filter was turned off.

 

The tired old refrain of "If you don't like it, don't <blah><blah><blah>" does not apply here. I would have been content to use the system with all of its restrictions if I knew what they were. If I had been informed that I was doing something that I wasn't supposed to be doing instead of having my emails vanish into cyberspace, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

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I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :rolleyes:

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

I beg to differ. It happened and I shared this information with a handful of persons who tried it and confirmed that it was happening to them too. We know that there was a navicache filter and that it was turned off shortly after I started this topic. If you tried it after that, you were late to the party.

 

What would be my motivation for creating this drama? Talk about a conspiracy theory!

 

Being as there was confirmed proof (as stated by multiple posters) of a Navicache filter in these forums (which was later removed), I don't understand all the carp the OP is getting over this, including pictures of tin-foil hats, and a scanned newspaper article, which I have to admit, is funnier every time I look at it. :) I stand by the filter being removed from the forums, and being "forgot about" for the emails. And it seems to be fixed right about now, doesn't it?

Because the OP came in with cries of "Conspiracy", rather than just asking what was up. Yes, there was a forum filter. Perhaps there was an email filter at the same time. One got pulled when TPTB decided to allow competitors a mention on THEIR site. IF there was an email filter, it probably just got lost in all the things they had to do. Perhaps this (supposed) email filter was implemented by a different person than the one who did the forums. If teh forum 'fixer' didn't know about teh email filter, and the email programmer didn't get the message, then obviously one filter was left by accident.

 

Miscommunication happens all the time at teh best of businesses. Is it a conspiracy? No, it is just part of life. I take a bit of offense when people come in and start throwing accusations around rather than just stating the facts they have observed. What would have been a better approach? The original post, or:

 

Hi. I've noticed a problem when sending an email referencing Navicache. I was explaining to a cacher that more clues were available for my cache at that site, as the cache description there is slightly different. The email (via website) says it was sent out, but the recipient informed me that they never got it.

 

Is it policy to to halt such emails, or is there some sort of other problem? If it is policy, could it either be changed, or at least described in the TOS so that users do not get wires crossed? Looking forward to hearing from you soon...

 

No previous baggage there. No jimmy-kicking. Deals with this incident, and this incident only. IMO, Jeremy or some other PTB slapped their forehead and said 'DOH!' and fixed an oversight. Had the OP treated them with respect at teh get go, then I would imagine a response would have been more forthcoming. It may still, but why be a jerk about it at the outset, without even giving the Frogs a chance?

 

Please show me where I said "conspiracy".

 

Point taken that I could have presented this differently and that I probably should have. I was angry and I still resent what happened to me. I'm bothered by the fact that TPTB have not come forward to explain why my emails did not go through. I'm waiting (impatiently) for the Frogs to come clean on this.

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Being as there was confirmed proof (as stated by multiple posters) of a Navicache filter in these forums (which was later removed), I don't understand all the carp the OP is getting over this, including pictures of tin-foil hats, and a scanned newspaper article, which I have to admit, is funnier every time I look at it. :rolleyes: I stand by the filter being removed from the forums, and being "forgot about" for the emails. And it seems to be fixed right about now, doesn't it?

 

I think the first reason is that there is no confirmed proof that it happened, in fact, some of the posts indicate that they had no issue getting the emails through which would mean the reasonable explanation of either ISP or individual spam filters (my belief) or just a plain "glitch" is more likely. As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

I have always thought that not being able to say certain things in the forums was somewhat silly, however the right of those that hold the keys. I also don't understand why, as mentioned earlier, this venue was used rather than the one that was the subject of the email anyway.

 

If as mentioned earlier it was posed as a "What is causing this?" type question rather than an accusatory assumption based on a limited experience, even if the assumptions were correct, this thread would probably have been much shorter.

 

GC may prove me wrong, although I see no reason for them to comment at all. My "limited" experience in the forums has shown that it would be unlikely the filters were shut-off based solely on this thread. Fear of ruffling some feathers with changes or policies has not been an issue to this point. :)

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Point taken that I could have presented this differently and that I probably should have. I was angry and I still resent what happened to me. I'm bothered by the fact that TPTB have not come forward to explain why my emails did not go through. I'm waiting (impatiently) for the Frogs to come clean on this.

 

Inflamatory comments will probably result in your impatience increasing due to a lack of response.

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Please show me where I said "conspiracy".

 

Come on now... You make it sound like they are hiding in the shadows victimizing hapless good citizens like yourself, then wonder why they are silent after you've called them out (on an assumption). "Cries of 'conspiracy'" referred to your actions. That you didn't actually USE the word doesn't change the WAY you put it out there. :)

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I think the first reason is that there is no confirmed proof that it happened, in fact, some of the posts indicate that they had no issue getting the emails through which would mean the reasonable explanation of either ISP or individual spam filters (my belief) or just a plain "glitch" is more likely. As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

A week or so ago QM asked me to test this out and see if there was a problem. I did confirm multiple times that when I placed a link to the navicache site it did get eaten. When I didn't place a link to that site the email ended up in the mailbox. Multiple times, same results...

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I think the first reason is that there is no confirmed proof that it happened, in fact, some of the posts indicate that they had no issue getting the emails through which would mean the reasonable explanation of either ISP or individual spam filters (my belief) or just a plain "glitch" is more likely. As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

A week or so ago QM asked me to test this out and see if there was a problem. I did confirm multiple times that when I placed a link to the navicache site it did get eaten. When I didn't place a link to that site the email ended up in the mailbox. Multiple times, same results...

 

Easier than repeating;

 

As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :(

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

Doing a quick search of the forums, in all this time, this appears to be the first issue of this type with email.

 

Why not just accept the simplest theory rather than going all "grassy knoll" about it?

Edited by baloo&bd
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I think the first reason is that there is no confirmed proof that it happened, in fact, some of the posts indicate that they had no issue getting the emails through which would mean the reasonable explanation of either ISP or individual spam filters (my belief) or just a plain "glitch" is more likely. As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

A week or so ago QM asked me to test this out and see if there was a problem. I did confirm multiple times that when I placed a link to the navicache site it did get eaten. When I didn't place a link to that site the email ended up in the mailbox. Multiple times, same results...

 

Easier than repeating;

 

As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

I just used the GC email system to send an email to my second account. I used the word "navicache" several times and the email did, in fact, get delivered.

 

Edit to add I just tried a link also and it was delivered too.

 

I think the OP is on drugs :(

Yes, same here. Geocachers have sent me emails via the geocaching.com email system that contain mention of the N word and also contain link to caches at that N site, and the posts have arrived in fine shape. I suspect that the OP may be creating a story and a drama where there is none, simply due to the occurrence of some coincidental accidental events.

 

As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

Doing a quick search of the forums, in all this time, this appears to be the first issue of this type with email.

 

Why not just accept the simplest theory rather than going all "grassy knoll" about it?

 

Because the simplest theory does not expain what was observed. I was a computer programmer once upon a time. I know how to diagnose and isolate inconsistancies such as this. I conducted several different experiments over a period of two weeks before I was convinced that there was a filter in the geocaching.com email. I asked others to try their own experiments and the same thing happened to them. The filter was quite obviously turned off shortly after I brought this to light so that the experiment can no longer be repeated.

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Please show me where I said "conspiracy".

 

Come on now... You make it sound like they are hiding in the shadows victimizing hapless good citizens like yourself, then wonder why they are silent after you've called them out (on an assumption). "Cries of 'conspiracy'" referred to your actions. That you didn't actually USE the word doesn't change the WAY you put it out there. :(

 

The thing is that I never thought of it as a "conspiracy". I just thought that it was a really, really dumb thing to do and dadgum annoying to find out that my emails never went through on account of this. The only hint of "conspiracy" is the sad fact that the website hasn't owned up to this.

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...

As to it happening to some and not others, go read one of the "server busy" threads to see how things do not consistently happen to every user.

 

Doing a quick search of the forums, in all this time, this appears to be the first issue of this type with email.

...

 

First reported issue. First you have to notice the problem. If you sent random emails saying "Hey join Navicache it's better over there" you would probably assume that people are ignoring your email if it wasn't delivered. You certainly don't have much incentive to figure it out.

 

But if you send a clue saying "check the clue on the Navicache version of this cache" and then get an email saying "why didn't you send me a clue" and you know you did. Now you know something is up.

 

I will repeat. Quest Master did his homework. The problem existed. It was apprently fixed per reports in this thread soon after the thread was posted. I have not seen someone who represents the site weigh in on the issue and they are the only ones who can shed light. Everone else is speculating.

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... The only hint of "conspiracy" is the sad fact that the website hasn't owned up to this.

I'm actually suprised. They have said that they did censor Navicache in the forums in the past. If as Mtn-man and I suspect (aka more speculation) it's an artifact of that era that was just turned off it's suprising they haven't just said so.

I'm not surprised actually. Usually, they don't say much. You know how Jeremy likes to keep us guessing sometimes. They just fix things and move on. We have seen that before. That is a double edged sword, but there are much bigger issues to be dealing with right now. I would bet that is where the focus is. That's why I keep saying this is a "so what" issue. OK, the old filter was still on. OK, it appears to be fixed. OK, TPTB have moved on days ago.

 

I would rather have Jeremy on the edge of his seat listening to the consulting firm and their recommendations for the web site rather than him sitting on the edge of his seat wondering what Quest Master has to say next.

 

I think that is part of the big picture plan with the world domination thing. B)

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