Meet Rieni Otten, Goodwill Ambassador From the Netherlands
April 8, 2003
Last week I was checking my referral logs and I noticed that I was getting some links to DataCompression.info from a Yahoo! discussion group titled JPEG 2000. I thought that would make a good addition to the database, but when I checked up on it at Yahoo! Groups, I saw that membership was listed as being restricted. I didn't want to list the discussion group on my site if membership was off-limits to the general public, so I sent a message to the list owner inquiring as to entry requirements.
The response I got was somewhat remarkable, and I thought it was worth sharing with you:
I really don't know how to deal with your stupidity. If there isn't any restriction, people keep complaining about spam, now there is some restriction to avoid spam, I get people asking why there is restriction. Did you EVER consider just trying to join the forum and see what happens? Or are you afraid that the FBI will show up at your door to search your house? Now at least I understand why IEEE protocols don't work always. It's due to idiots like you. I hope you're only a coffee boy there, not a programmer. Rieni Otten.
Now, I could understand this reaction if Rieni was getting bombarded with thousands of requests each day, which might be the case if he was operating a discussion group dedicated to photos of Anna Kournikova. But really, this is JPEG 2000 we're talking about. How many emails like this does Rieni have to answer? (Incidentally, the IEEE remark is in reference to my email address, which is forwarded through the IEEE servers. Other than membership, I have no connection with the organization, although I may apply for that coffee boy position if it opens up.)
Well, we in the US are already on the outs with Germany and France, and apparently I've managed to botch things with the Netherlands as well! Time to put a Union Jack bumper sticker on my car and do my best to avoid alienating our stalwart mates in the UK next. And for Rieni, I have to recommend the same course of action that Hall 9000 once gave Dave Bowman:
I honestly think you ought to calm down; take a stress pill and think things over.