Lucky she didn't live in Sc*nthorpe...

Forums › Spark New Zealand › Lucky she didn't live in Sc*nthorpe...

TinyTim

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Topic # 13243 30-Apr-2007 14:02

...or ask about naked DSL:

'Gay' filtered in Telecom emails

I think she makes the right comments at the end:

But for Hamilton, who happens to be gay, the shock was not isolated to the reply she received but also to the fact that Telecom had spent time and resources deciding that the word "gay" should be audited from staff communications. "If they do have to put content filters on ... then maybe they should ensure that it only gets genuinely abusive words."

[Moderator edit (MF): moved to Telecom New Zealand forum]

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BDFL - Memuneh
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Reply # 68928 30-Apr-2007 14:03

And I think they should have no filters at all. Just shows how insensitive some folks are, when it comes to implementing technology that touches human relations.

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TinyTim

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Reply # 68929 30-Apr-2007 14:05

Mauricio, you wouldn't let me post the place name in the topic name!

freitasm

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Reply # 68932 30-Apr-2007 14:25

Good point... But we filter only words that are clearly out of order, while "gay" is not.

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TinyTim

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Reply # 68935 30-Apr-2007 15:04

...and this forum is, of course, written by the public for the public.

Assuming that the Telecom email filter was supposed to be for email written by staff, it seems odd/sad that they feel they can't trust their staff to not use 'language that may be considered inappropriate for business-like communication'.

In fact, the word 'may' indicates the filter isn't even sure. So if it's not sure why block the email? Sounds to me like someone in the IT department turned the feature on because they could and not because there was a need.

freitasm

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Reply # 68936 30-Apr-2007 15:09

With moderation. As Tony says, this is a family show and better keep things name free, right?

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Jughead

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Reply # 69059 1-May-2007 14:03

*sigh*

looks like there is not enough material for the monthly telecom bashing story...

1. The word gay is commonly used to describe ones sexuality. Discussing ones sexuality hetro or gay is your own business not Telecom's there for it is ENTIERLY appropriate for Telecom to it is not business like communication.

2. While most email from Telecom comes with a name attached to it most people only see the word Telecom at the end and equate anything written from a telecom domain to be from Telecom the company and not the individual. It is ENTIRELY appropriate for Telecom to set it’s own rules when using their email address. You might also have an interest in what people write in their email if your name appeared at the top of every one.

3. I really am amazed at how small minded and petty people are these days.

Any views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer Telecom NZ

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Reply # 69065 1-May-2007 14:21

Did you take the time to read the article?

No one was discussing sexual orientation. Her name is "Gay" and TelecomL filters bounced her e-mail saying her name is inappropriate.

Do you understand the issue now?

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Bung

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Reply # 69068 1-May-2007 14:28

Admirable that your defence is, was a Telecom employee even involved?

The Herald story is about an automated response to the woman's email to Telecom.

stevonz

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Reply # 69069 1-May-2007 14:28

Jughead:
1. The word gay is commonly used to describe ones sexuality. Discussing ones sexuality hetro or gay is your own business not Telecom's there for it is ENTIERLY appropriate for Telecom to it is not business like communication.

I got lost in your response... poor grammar or maybe just my comprehension. Are you saying it's OK for Telecom to reject your email if it contains the word 'Gay' as part of your name as its not appropriate for business like communication?

Jughead:
2. While most email from Telecom comes with a name attached to it most people only see the word Telecom at the end and equate anything written from a telecom domain to be from Telecom the company and not the individual. It is ENTIRELY appropriate for Telecom to set it’s own rules when using their email address. You might also have an interest in what people write in their email if your name appeared at the top of every one.

I got lost here again... how can we determine what some on is going to write before they write it or send it in an email to you??

Jughead:
3. I really am amazed at how small minded and petty people are these days.

Mate. Aren't we all!

Cheers, Stevo

Jughead

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Reply # 69071 1-May-2007 14:29

yes I read the artice (sheeesh!)

I know her name is gay but I think Telecom can be forgiven for enteripting the word in its much much much more common use.

also she belives that the word in the more common meaning should be allowed.

I have no issue with the word at all but it is certaintly not bussiness like communcation which is all that Telecom is trying to say

Any views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer Telecom NZ

TinyTim

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Reply # 69073 1-May-2007 14:35

Jughead:

*sigh*

looks like there is not enough material for the monthly telecom bashing story...

1. The word gay is commonly used to describe ones sexuality. Discussing ones sexuality hetro or gay is your own business not Telecom's there for it is ENTIERLY appropriate for Telecom to it is not business like communication.

2. While most email from Telecom comes with a name attached to it most people only see the word Telecom at the end and equate anything written from a telecom domain to be from Telecom the company and not the individual. It is ENTIRELY appropriate for Telecom to set it’s own rules when using their email address. You might also have an interest in what people write in their email if your name appeared at the top of every one.

3. I really am amazed at how small minded and petty people are these days.

No, this is not Telecom bashing. It could have been anybody. In fact this wasn't even in the Telecom forum orginally. It's describing what happens when you don't trust your staff, and if you don't make sure your accusations are correct by simply filtering on words that *can* be used in a non-business-like way (and any words can be used for non-business purposes). And of course it's also about this filter being applied where it probably shouldn't have been.

It's akin to your IT department or ISP deciding they want to aggressively filter 100% of your spam at the expense of culling a few genuine business emails, rather than acting conservatively and letting a few spam mails through to ensure no genuine mail is blocked. What if this potential customer had tens of thousands of dollars of business? Blocking her email could have meant they'd have easily missed out.

nzbnw

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Reply # 69076 1-May-2007 14:48

I agree, and feel sorry for the person involved here. Just unfortunate that 'Gay' has more than one meaning.

How ever it is interesting that Telecom can filter 'Gay' out of inbound emails to Telecom, but yet for a while I, along with others keep receiving spam selling Viagra .

No one is perfect...

nzbnw

tonyhughes

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Reply # 69078 1-May-2007 14:56

Knowing how well Geekzone ranks on Google, this thread could end up being the final destination of many a search that was looking for other things....

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TinyTim

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Reply # 69079 1-May-2007 15:05

But it's for business purposes, honest!

mike

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Reply # 69080 1-May-2007 15:06

"The content which caused this to happen was ... 'gay' eight times, at two points each, for an expression score of 16 points."

How did Gay Hamilton manage to use her name 8 times enquiring if broadband is available in Nelson??

Sounds like Telecom's running a standard junk mail filter and this really is a non-story!

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