IP: Fw: I don't know why to laugh or say we told you so

[David Farber <dfarber () earthlink net>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Jay Solomon <rsolomon () dsl cis upenn edu>
Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2002 11:42:41 
To: farber () cis upenn edu (David Farber)
Subject: I don't know why to laugh or say we told you so

> January 1, 2002
>
> AOL Glitch Blocks Harvard Admissions
>
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> Filed at 9:21 a.m. ET
>
> BOSTON (AP) -- Dozens of e-mail messages telling Harvard University 
> applicants whether they had been admitted never arrived last month 
> after America Online interpreted the messages as junk e-mail.
>
> ``This wasn't exactly the instant response we intended,'' William 
> Fitzsimmons, Harvard's dean of admissions and financial aid, told 
> The Boston Globe.
>
> After anthrax spores were mailed through the U.S. postal system, 
> Harvard began using e-mail to inform applicants quickly of whether 
> they had been rejected or accepted. E-mail was used to notify almost 
> all of the 6,000 students who applied in the school's early 
> admission process.
>
> But for reasons that even AOL could not explain, the service blocked 
> between 75 and 100 of the e-mails in December because the servers 
> flagged the messages as ``spam,'' the unwanted e-mails that clog 
> users' mailboxes. The messages were bounced back to the university.
>
> ``Spam is our number one problem. But it's hard to say what would 
> have caused the system to filter e-mail from Harvard,'' AOL 
> spokesman Nicholas Graham said.
>
> The problem proved to be more trouble for Harvard than it was for 
> the students. Most just telephoned the admissions office to find out 
> if they had been accepted.
>
> Admissions officers plan to begin posting a notice on the college 
> Web site telling students to make sure their Internet service 
> doesn't block Harvard e-mail.
>
> And, as ever, the college will continue to use the postal system to 
> notify applicants.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press

Sent from Dave's Blackberry.

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