stoutfellow: Joker (Joker)
stoutfellow ([personal profile] stoutfellow) wrote2019-01-21 01:59 pm
Entry tags:

The Nose Knows

A little bit ago, I received a message from my department's chairman. Subject line: "Hello!" Text: "Are you on campus?" I started to reply (of course I'm not on campus; the university is closed today), then paused, and looked again. The "From" line read :LastName FirstName:, rather than :LastName, FirstName:. The "From" address was not his university account; though it was a plausible one, it was not one I remembered seeing. The "Subject" was nondescript; the text contained neither a salutation nor a signature. "Is this really from him?"

I shot him a line at his university account, asking whether he'd sent it and, just in case, answering the question. He responded quickly; that isn't one of his e-mail addresses.

I deleted the message. I'm a suspicious type, and I'll do this kind of check if a message seems off to me. It pleases me, in a grim sort of way, when my instincts are right, and when they aren't, well, safety first!

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