Beware of Dueling Robots!
A recent foulup at Razorfish emphasizes the importance of getting permission before signing people up to your email newsletter -- and of making sure you understand the configuration of your list server.
Razorfish Inc. has egg on its face over an email fiasco that occurred recently when the Internet consulting firm sent out the first issue of a new newsletter targeted toward clients. Reports indicate that Razorfish didn't ask permission before adding clients to the new newsletter list, prompting a number of them to email back asking to be removed.
That might not have been so bad, but unfortunately the email list was configured as a discussion list rather than a newsletter. If you've participated in email discussion lists, you know what that means. Every message sent by a user back to the list server got broadcast out to the whole group. As members' email boxes started filling up, more and more of them sent back irate protests to the list server, and in turn those protests were broadcast out to all members.
This is an example of a phenomenon I call a Mushrooming Slugfest. Closely related is the equally frantic Dueling Robots phenomenon, in which two computers get caught in a loop, sending automated messages (with copies to users) back and forth to one another. The Slugfest is more fun because of the human element: Users don't understand the problem, they accuse each other of spamming, and their tirades get more and more desperate and profane as messages continue to spew out from the list server and stack up in people's inboxes.
Both types of goof-up emphasize the importance of thinking out your permission policies when building an email newsletter -- and making sure you correctly understand the settings for your list server. I recommend that you not add anyone to a standing email list without permission. Don't assume that it's all right to use all the contact email addresses in your address book as the nucleus of a newsletter list. Not everyone (even your friends) will want to receive your new publication, and not every address is appropriate for sending commercial email.
These points are illustrated by a hybrid Slugfest/Robots incident I got caught up in back around 1996. At the time, I was publishing an email newsletter called NETResults, using a list server provided by Silverquick (http://www.silverquick.net). One of my subscribers, Mr. Butts (later many people came to feel he was aptly named), decided to start a newsletter of his own, focusing on travel. To build an initial list, he gathered all his contact addresses and added them to an email list server.
Unfortunately, one of the addresses he added to his list was my own list server address. Picture two robots striding into the middle of a dusty street in a little town in the old American West, six-guns strapped to their metallic thighs. A robot duel is about to begin.
You see, whenever my list server received a message it didn't understand, it kindly sent back a help message giving instructions about the correct commands for subscribing, unsubscribing, getting help, and so on. So when the proud Mr. Butts fired up his own list server and blasted out the first issue of his travel newsletter, my list server responded with its help message. That wouldn't have been so bad, except for one tragic factor. Unbeknownst to him, Mr. Butts's list server was configured, not as a one-way newsletter, but as (you guessed it) an unmoderated discussion list.
The duel began in earnest. Since robots have no emotions, their duels are conducted according to the purest logic, most scrupulous courtesy, and most meticulous consistency. Nonetheless, the bloodbath is spectacular.
When my list server's help message arrived at Mr. Butts's list server, his server broadcast my help message out to everyone on the list, including (you guessed it again) my server address, which politely sent back a help message, which was again broadcast out to the whole list, and on and on.
Meanwhile, other people on the list (perhaps a hundred or so) began receiving this same deluge of messages. Panic ensued as baffled list members began sending in fruitless "unsubscribe" requests, which in turn were broadcast to the whole group -- including my list server, which dutifully returned its help message, which was then broadcast to everyone. If you've ever been part of a Mushrooming Slugfest or Robot Duel, you can imagine what kinds of rants and profanities were exploding across the Internet that day.
However, in time, cooler and more educated heads prevailed. Mr. Butts himself had no idea how to halt the melee. But I realized quickly what was happening, and I was eager to plug the dike, especially since my email address appeared in the help message and I was being accused of spamming (and more obscene infractions). With the assistance of Mr. Butts's ISP and the intrepid Gordon Burns of Silverquick, we were able to subdue the combatant droids and drag them off to the lockup. Whew!
The lessons for all of us? Once again: Understand your list server settings. Many list server providers make it hard to see the distinction between a one-way newsletter and an unmoderated discussion list and easy to get them mixed up. And when building an email list, consider carefully your policy for adding members -- go the permission route. Especially when robots are involved.
Formatting Email Marketing Messages
When composing an email marketing message, beware. What you see on your screen may not be what the recipient will see on his or her screen. Here's how to keep from looking like an idiot.
Any one of four factors can cause problems: word wrap, font, automated formatting and HTML tags.
1. Word wrap
You might be composing your email marketing message in a word processor or text editor, or in a window of your own email program, such as Eudora, Outlook or Netscape Mail.
However, you can't be sure what program the recipient is using. People easily could be reading your message on a dozen different systems, all of which have their own quirky ways of displaying messages.
Most email clients will automatically wrap lines at a set number of characters. If the lines in your original message are longer than allowed by the recipient's email client, your message will end up like this:
You will write a compelling, beautifully composed marketing
message, but because your lines are too long, the recipient's
email program will cut them off and create
annoying
"orphans." Your message will be hard to read, and
you will
look like an idiot!
The solution to this problem is to wrap your own lines at some reasonable length, perhaps 60 or 65 characters. Place a hard return at the end of each line.
2. Font
You might be composing your message in the default font for your word processor or mail program. But you need to realize that the recipient's email client may be using a different display font. As a result, what they see on their screen can be much different from what you see on yours.
For the purpose of this discussion, fonts come in two flavors: proportional and fixed-pitch. With a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, every character has the same width. With a proportional font, such as Times New Roman, the width of characters can vary. So a sentence typed in Courier will usually come out longer than one typed in Times New Roman.
This can cause a problem if you are relying on characters to create effects such as lines. Your line may come out too short or too long, depending on the difference between your composition font and the recipient's display font.
Font width can also cause problems if you need characters to line up a certain way -- for example if you're creating a table.
Suppose you have created a nicely arranged table such as this one in a fixed font:
-------------------------
| Item Color Price |
| ----- ----- ----- |
| Shirt Blue $24.95 |
| |
| Socks Black $ 9.95 |
| |
| Hat Red $14.95 |
-------------------------
Unfortunately, the table will come out jumbled if someone looks at it in a proportional font:
----------------------------
| Item Color Price |
| ----- ----- ----- |
| Shirt Blue $24.95 |
| |
| Socks Black $ 9.95 |
| |
| Hat Red $14.95 |
----------------------------
This is a problem that's hard to work around. The best solution is to keep things as simple as possible, and look at your message in both proportional and fixed fonts to see if any serious problems come up. Generally, you're safest if you compose in a fixed font.
3. Automated formatting and HTML tags
A message composed in a word processing program will contain numerous hidden formatting codes, which can show up in odd ways if you merely paste the message into an email window and send it. For example, you can end up with an annoying "=20" at the end of each line.
Likewise, if you try to send out your message in HTML, many recipients will see all the HTML tags, making the message hard to read. If you're going to send HTML email, make sure that all your recipients are able to receive HTML-formatted email, or that you have technology that can deliver the right format to the right user.
Generally speaking, you are safer if you send all email marketing messages in plain text. To produce a plain-text message, compose it in a program that creates pure text, such as Notepad. Microsoft Word does not create pure text documents, even if you "Save As …" text.
If you want to use Word or another word processor to create a text document, first save the document in text, then close it and open it in Notepad (or other text editor). Now save it again in Notepad. Notepad will now save a pure text document, with no formatting. Close the document and re-open it in Notepad. You will now have a pure text document to send out. Paste this into your email window or Web form to send it out.
In summary, to avoid formatting problems, take these precautions when creating email messages:
Create and send documents in plain text
Limit your lines to 60-65 characters, including spaces, with a hard return at the end of each line
Compose in a fixed-pitch font
When creating tables or other graphics, stick to simple designs that will render properly in any font
View your message with both proportional and fixed pitch fonts to identify any formatting problems
Avoid HTML email unless you can be absolutely sure all recipients will receive the right format
Founder of EmailResults.com
