E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

Book Project

I'm co-authoring a book, "Python Web Development with Django", with Jeff Forcier and Wesley Chun. It will be published by Prentice Hall in July 2008, but is available for pre-ordering on Amazon now.

Colophon

This site is built on a fresh trunk checkout of Django, running on Python 2.5.1, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive.

Pile o'Tags

ajax apple blogs browsers business design django ebay fp fun google hardware haskell intellectual property iphone javascript linux media mobile open source os x oscon oscon2007 palm php programming python rails rants reading risks ruby site spam textmate the well tips vcs web development web frameworks webservers wmassdevs

Stuff I Use

Akismet, del.icio.us, Django, dpaste.com, Emacs, FreeBSD, Freenode, jQuery, LaunchBar, MacPorts, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, SQLite, Subversion, TextMate, Trac, Ubuntu Linux, wmii

A Django site.
(Finally!)

Copyright 2008
by Paul Bissex
and E-Scribe New Media

Signal to Noise

Whenever I get one of these communiqués through eBay I'm always astonished at the amount of extra verbiage. This one takes the cake, though. Only about 1% of the message body is the actual message -- the words "it's taken care of." Presented below in full, slightly reformatted and munged. 

From:     member@ebay.com
Subject:    Re: Question for item #__ - __ __ __
Date:   September 17, 2005 4:03:09 PM EDT (CA)
To:       __@e-scribe.com
Reply-To:     __@comcast.net

----------------------------------------------------------------

eBay sent this message to __ __ (__). 
Your registered name is included to show this message originated
from eBay. 
Learn more:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/name-userid-emails.html 
----------------------------------------------------------------
eBay sent this message on behalf of an eBay member via My
Messages. Responses sent using email will go to the eBay member
directly and will include your email address. Use the Respond
link below to send your response via My Messages (your email
address will not be included).          
----------------------------------------------------------------

Important Marketplace Safety Tip:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter
--------------------------------------- 
Always remember to complete your transaction on eBay -- it's the
safer way to buy. 

Please do not offer to buy or sell this item through this form
without completing the transaction on eBay. If you receive a
response inviting you to transact outside of eBay, you should
decline -- such transactions may be unsafe and are against eBay
policy.

================================================================
Response to Question about Item -- Respond Now
================================================================

Response from __
Item: __ __  (__)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
__ is the seller.
---------------------------------------
it's taken care of

================================================================
Respond to this question in My Messages: 
http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?M2MContact&item=__&
requested=__&qid=1251585165&redirect=0
================================================================

Item Details
---------------------------------------
Item name:                             __ __ 
Item number:                           __
End date:                              Sep-19-05 15:34:28 PDT

View the item description here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=__&sspagename
=ADME:L:RTQ:US:1

---------------------------------------
Is this email inappropriate? Does it violate eBay policy? Help
protect the community by reporting it.
-- eBay policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-unwelcome-email-misuse.
html
-- Report URL:
http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ReportEmailAbuseshow&
emaildate=2005/09/17:13:03:09&emailtype=3&trackId=__

Thank you for using eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------
Learn how you can protect yourself from spoof (fake) emails at: 
http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial

This eBay notice was sent to __@e-scribe.com on behalf of
another eBay member through the eBay platform and in accordance
with our Privacy Policy. If you would like to receive this email
as HTML, change your notification preferences at:
http://cgi4.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?OptinLoginShow

See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have questions
about eBay's communication policies.
Privacy Policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html
User Agreement:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Copyright © 2005 eBay, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their
respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are registered trademarks or trademarks
of eBay, Inc.
eBay is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA
95125.

Saturday, September 17th, 2005

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