Tuesday, January 03, 2006

A Short Rant

OK. I just need to vent. The web hosting services I pay for from one of the big companies have been, to put it mildly, less than dependable. I really try to pride myself on being organized and effective in all my correspondence and it is so frustrating when a "higher power," so to speak--especially one I'm paying hefty monthly fees for--lets me down.

The latest glitch (and there have been many!) is that I cannot remove/disable my auto-response message. It was in place from the middle of last week to yesterday, telling anyone who contacted me that I would be away from my e-mail through January 2. Last night I tried to remove that message. The trouble is all my correspondents--including, this morning, no fewer than five editors (at last count)--now must be thinking that I don't know enough to turn the auto-response off. That I am not detail-oriented. That I don't know what day it is.

Yes, I've checked with the web hosting company. Yes, they're having a problem which is interfering with my ability to be--and appear--professional. No, they haven't yet announced it on their own Web site. No, they don't know when it will be fixed.

Well, I just hope it's fixed soon. I don't like being made to look sloppy. And I don't like thinking that something I am already aware of and *want* to fix may negatively affect my writing practice, even in a small way.

Rant over. Thanks.

2 comments:

Alison Ashley Formento said...

We all have to rant now and then. Just to let you know, I look forward to reading this blog. I discovered it somehow in October and have used many of your posting to submit to contests and such. I've gotten published in Parenting Magazine and The New York Times while hard at work on my first novel. I'm determined to finish. Thanks for the helpful, supportive writer news you share. I've shared your site with my writers group. Keep it up.

Erika D. said...

Hey, thank you, Harried Mom! You've definitely brightened my day. Congratulations on the obvious success you're having with your writing practice!