The Squeaky Wheel

I'd like to introduce a new blogging segment here on Webbed Footprint. I'm calling it The Squeaky Wheel because these posts will be about successful feedback.

Here's my latest adventure. YouAreYou and I are recent converts to composting. Here in San Francisco we have one option for bags that are compostable, allowing you to throw you kitchen waste into them before transferring them to the large bin for pick-up. These are BioBags. Several things about these bags irked me, including: 1) they compost too fast, 2) they aren't tall enough, and 3) you have to pull out the whole roll to unravel one bag. So, I went on the company website and sent a Contact-Us email. Just a few days later, I got this response:

[Sansserif], Thank you for your feedback. If we put some elastic on the top of the bag, that would not biodegrade, defeating the purpose of the bag. There is a product called the "gripper" which is more or less a large rubber band to hold your bag in place. Our bags have a standard(ASTM D6400) that in order to comply with have to biodegrade within a specified time. Your best suggestion is the more user-friendly box. Why didn't we think of that? I will pass that along to the powers that be. Thank you for your support!

I'll let you know when it happens...

A friendly conversation with 22,250 Obama supporters

UPDATE: It seems somebody at Daily Kos got pretty upset at the email chain, raising questions about a "dirty trick" from the McCain campaign. Fortunately, the comment section came to the rescue (however bluntly).

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Yesterday, I casually checked mail on my iPhone and did a double-take when the screen message reported that over 50 messages were being downloaded. After all, I'm pretty neurotic about checking my messages, and it had only been an hour or so since my last fix. What could possibly be spamming my inbox like this on a Saturday morning?

That's when I was introduced to "CANeighborhoodTeam5."

I watched the listserv name scroll across my screen 57 times before my phone buzzed to inform me that I had new messages. I punched open one of the messages and started reading:

"Okay, folks,

Please, take a deep breath and relax. Someone made a mistake in how they addressed the original email and that's why 20,000+ of us got it."

Some mistake, indeed! As it turned out, 56 of the 57 emails were "unsubscribe" requests that were inadvertently blasted to the entire listserv. As the thread progressed, the requests became increasingly urgent and sometimes angry: "Please remove me," gradually gave way to a chorus of "TAKE ME OFF OF YOUR STUPID LIST. I ALREADY VOTED FOR OBAMA, OKAY?"

The increased temperature of the responses prompted another wave of messages from helpful people (about 20 of them, to be exact) with detailed instructions on how to unsubscribe from the list, and specific requests to NOT reply all to the message, as it would only generate more spam for everyone. The problem is, the unsubscribe link was broken, provoking another wave of emails reporting on that latest development. "This is not some kind of nefarious spam tactic by McCain," one message promised. "It's just a little glitch, so don't let it affect your enthusiasm. VOTE!"

This did not stop the conspiracy theorists or angry "unsubscribe" requesters from furthering the breech of netiquette with more and more messages. As the day wore on, Sansserif and I took turns announcing the arrival of new messages. Our favorite:



Another responded:

"This is fun! Barack on!"

We concur. Barack on, everyone, and get out the vote!