XKCD: It's more than a comic

Why would someone invent a fake email address that they are going to get sent important things at? That... makes no sense at all.

They don't think it's important?

The Idiot Ball may be involved in some cases.

They are either trying to avoid spam (which I have done) or they are trying to avoid payment (which I havent).

Spam is, by definition, unsolicited email. Stuff sent to you by a company with which you do business cannot be spam if it's related to said business relationship. And every company that wishes to keep its customers will maintain an honest opt-out for advertising related emails.

The concern is that they will sell (or lose, via hacking) your email to less scrupulous folks, but that's simply a risk that you take.

edited 18th Oct '13 9:58:55 AM by Fighteer

It can also just be a typo or stupidity from either the customer or the company, if they're getting something (a phone) shipped to them, so they'd still have a billing and/or delivery address.

I get loads of email I don't want from companies I've had to register with (for buying stuff, or accessing a website), and no, they do NOT make it easy to stop receiving that stuff. FACEBOOK.

But it is a choice, an option. If you gave them your email so you could sign up for their website, then giving them a false email typically means that you cannot complete registration, get notifications/receipts, or conduct certain kinds of transactions. These sites uniformly have opt-outs for advertising emails, even if they can be difficult to find. Sites that don't let you opt out can be reported to the FTC.

I thought the implication was that they forgot their own email address and listed it wrong by accident. Like, they're jsmith555@gmail and forget the 555 so it ends up going to the original jsmith.

@Fighteer: I know from personal experience that there are web sites that require an email address in order to utilize a service that I will use once, and never need from them again. Like how to apply for a job now, you have to set up an account with a "employment provider" (not the prospective employer). I dont want a relationship with the job provider, just the employer. So... I use a fake email account (my real email is in the resume). Another example is ordering something from a retailer somewhere. I will probably never buy from them again, so... fake email. And then there are internet forums where, but lets not go there...

As for the scenario in the comic itself, I was suggesting that people may be ordering services using a fake online identity. Again, I have no direct knowledge how this is done...

I think the implication is that a 70-year-old or other stereotypically tech-unsavvy demographite sees the email addresses of other people, assumes that they automatically have one in the same format, and just give that out to people who ask.

edited 19th Oct '13 6:26:22 AM by Tangent128

Or they know that their email with <whatever> was that and forget that it isn't the same on the new service.

If the business or service doesn't explicitly guarantee that they won't do this, it isn't so much a risk as a certainty.

If they explicitly guarantee that they won't do it, then it's a risk.

"Mystery News"

I don't tend to take my news in video form, but I can empathize with trying to kill noise-making auto-playing videos.

Argh. The horrible downside of modern browser tech.

I think Cracked made a joke about that once in one of their photoplasties: "The mute button doesn't work; it counts as a click."

Ironically tricking people into "clicking" on the add when they specifically did not want to click on it is bad for the advertiser, not the site—through many schemes they pay by the click so if people "click" and immediately leave they're just paying more for their adds to be no more effective. I think. I read up on this years ago when my dad wanted me to help optimize his site but I never got far enough to actually be helpful, plus tech changes fast.

It's still helpful if the destination page has any pay-per-display ads, or anything indexed on the number of pageviews.

What-If #68: Little Planet

Riffing off of The Little Prince, Randall today explores the rather odd properties of a body the size of a tiny asteroid whose density is sufficient to generate Earth-normal surface gravity.

As merely one observation, you could reach escape velocity simply by running very fast off a ramp. Your orbit would be very weird. Oddly, he doesn't mention the problem of breathing; a rock like that could only hold a minimal atmosphere and would have no means to replenish oxygen.

edited 22nd Oct '13 9:42:02 AM by Fighteer

This really should accompany that last image.

Well, this accompanied the fifth image (the first basketball one), so it'd only be fair.

Minifigs

They're coming

By the way, that Alt Text? Completely 100% true.

That's an awesome "What If?"

Somehow Randall isn't someone I'd have expected to have read The Little Prince. I like that he's a fan. I read it last year for French class, and it really is a lovely book.

Why not? The Little Prince isn't exactly obscure.

I think he's already drawn The Little Prince once or twice before as a sight gag in a bigger strip/whatif, can't remember when though.

edit: AHA! I am vindicated.

edited 23rd Oct '13 4:49:09 AM by Brickman