WHO STEALS MY PURSE…
August 17th, 2005
…steals trash; ’tis something, nothing. ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. Iago, Othello The Moore Of Venice, Act III Scene iii. I got iagoed last week by Sonic Wall. Here’s what happened.
On Thursday, 11 August I read about the company on I See Invisible People. I typed in the URL for Have Coffee Will Write and got back the image you see on the left, above. I was branded as a source of Internet violence, hate and racism.
I immediately sent off the following email to Sonic Wall:
Dear Sirs,
I discovered disturbing news this morning.
Your company has misbranded my website havecoffeewillwrite.com as one promoting: violence/hate/racism. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Since I can only assume that this rating is the result a computer algorithm gone awry, please visit my site so that you can correct the error.
Thank you in advance for you assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hess
hess@havecoffeewillwrite.com
http://www.havecoffeewillwrite.com
In a matter of minutes I received this automated reply:
Thank you for contacting SonicWALL Sales.
We will respond to you within 8 business hours, Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time.
Sincerely,
SonicWALL Sales
sales@sonicwall.com
1-888-557-6642
There was no response by the end of the workday, Friday, 12 August. On Sunday, 14 August I sent this second letter:
Shalom Y’all,
More than 8 business hours have passed and I still await the removal of havecoffeewillwrite.com from the Category I: Violence/Hate/Racism category.
This is my good name you’re dealing with here. To quote the Bard:
He who steals my purse, steals trash. But he who steals my good name, steals all that I have.
I look forward to your quick response to my concern.
B’shalom,
Jeff Hess
hess@havecoffeewillwrite.com
http://www.havecoffeewillwrite.com
On Monday evening, 15 August, I got some good news:
Dear Customer:
You submitted the following rating request to Sonicwall CFS Support: Rate “havecoffeewillwrite.com” as “41.Society and Lifestyle” at 2005-08-15 15:25:02.063
The request has been reviewed and rated as: “31.Web communications” at 2005-08-15 16:28:02.430
You should see this rating change reflected within 1 to 3 business days.
Thank you for your request.
Sonicwall CFS Support
I didn’t request a change to Society and Lifestyle, I just requested a change to something as benign as my website. Being in category 31: Web communications seems benign enough.
But now, here’s the thing. If I had not read the post on I See Invisible People, I might have gone weeks, months or forever without knowing that Sonic Wall had filched my good name.
Imagine now if one of my student’s parents had stumbled upon this rating. Or if another journalist, writing about hate groups on the Internet, had included Have Coffee Will Write in a story.
As I noted in my first email, I know that no human is dutifully examining websites, reporting to a committee that then make judicious decisions. No. This is being done by bots and algorithms. And who knows what criteria they’re using.
How many other companies are out there providing these kinds of ratings? How many letters am I going to have to write to get my name cleared? I can’t accept that the burden to correct this injustice rests with the individual.
It seems to me, at a minimum, that any company creating these ratings is obligated to notify everyone it tags with the label it is applying. If such action is not forthcoming, perhaps it would be a good idea to look into a class-action lawsuit?
Any attorneys out there interested?
My Soundtrack: Chicago Seemed Tired by The Hold Steady on WOXY.
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I am glad, then, your website was done at least some justice. Too am I glad to see mine favourite saying of Roderigo’s.
I just realised that was Iago’s quote, not Roderigo’s >.
Shalom Xin,
First, thank you for stopping in, for reading and, most importantly, for taking the time to write a comment. It’s all about the conversation.
I find that I have to periodically check in with my site through a number of nannyware filters to make sure that someone else hasn’t again iagoed me.
B’shalom,
Jeff
[...] as a blogger who’s been Iagoed by slimy, bottom feeding wastes of human genome, I have to say that feeding on the irrational fears [...]