Bill Myers

It took me a while to figure this one out.

You see, I have a client whose web site domain name contains the word 'profit.' He called to discuss some minor work he wanted done on his site, and I said, "Email me the details and I'll take a look."

No email arrived, so I didn't respond. Now he calls back and he's steamed. I'm indifferent, as I never got any of his emails. His problem, right?

Well, not exactly. I'm in the shower one morning when suddenly my brain taps me on the shoulder and says, "Check your spam folder, moron."

Uhhh... okay. Turns out my spam filter is set so that if the word 'profit' is found in the header of the email, the email goes to the Spam bin. (When you get about 500 emails a day, you either set up filters to remove the spam or you go insane.)

So I check my spam folder, and sure enough, there were Mr.Profit's email messages.

And the moral of this story is: Don't use spammish words in your site name, email subject lines or body, and anywhere else you can think of. Or your important messages may all end up in the recipients spam bin.