Anurag Jain's Blog on Bangalore Events, Travel, IIM Bangalore, IIM, IIMB, Management

Saturday, July 10, 2004

Posted 10:58 PM by Anurag

Someone@somewhere.com is, well, everywhere!

Maybe a year and a half back or so I, started using someone@somewhere.com as a dummy email id in online blogs, guestboks, forums, and sundry pages (including in replies to comments on my own blog where you are reading this). I think, in the choice of that arbit email id, I was sort of inspired by Shahrukh Khan starrer "Dil To Pagal Hai", a quintessential love-story with a tagline "Someone somewhere is made for you". So someone@somewhere.com sounded romantic, mysterious, and exotic all at the same time.

So far, so good. But then I started wondering what if someone actually tried to email me on that email address. Whenever I wondered on that, I always was sure that it would bounce because I assumed that there wouldn't be an actual email address like that. So, just for fun, I decided to google on someone@somewhere.com. And lo behold, there are some 4090 results! Now, that I did not expect. I mean, so many-like minded people, so many people, who in order to avoid spam, are resorting to the same id!

Taking it to next level, what if there is actually 'someone' who owns someone@somewhere.com ? You know what? It just might be true. Because the domain www.somewehere.com does exist, and hold your breath, its a anti-spam company! Now, how coincidental is THAT! All the people trying to avoid spam use someone@somewhere.com and in the process end up using an anti-spam company's domain! So, I am sure, even if 'someone' at somewhere.com wants the id someone@somewhere.com, he/she will not dare to do so because all of us someone/somewhere junkies have rendered it useless by exposing it to spammers!! I mean, imagine the amount of spam the actual someone@somewhere.com account would get!

So I would aver that a real someone@somewhere.com account does not exist. In fact, folks over at somewhere.com have these ids: nazgul AT somewhere.com and webmaster AT somewhere.com . Clever, eh! May the force be with them! (They surely would need it if they ever decide to open someone@somewhere.com email account :-)

13 comments

Comments:

I've often used a@b.c. Note that it's not even a legitimate name, but most forms will accept it.

Of course, I'm posting this anonymously:-)

# posted by

Anonymous : July 11, 2004 10:51 PM

What if that company uses that account to find all the spamming peoples account names? With all the people who use it, it would be easy for them to collect spam email accounts and popular messages for thier software. If I owned that company thats what I would do. :-D

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 1:17 AM

also creative: dev@null.org

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 1:20 AM

mehere AT thisisp.com
mehere AT mailinator.com
screwoff AT spam.org

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 1:28 AM

bob@bob.com

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 2:26 AM

user@host.com

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 4:50 AM

I like to use postmaster@127.0.0.1. That way when the junk email is sent, is never goes anywhere. Unless they are sending using a real mail server, in which case the server's administrator is alerted to their activity.

# posted by

Mark : December 10, 2004 6:56 AM

i've used not@home.com for some time now

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 10:09 AM

no@no.no woks for me for everything that doesn't require confirmation. Mailinator is always there for things that do. That poor Norwegian...

# posted by

Anonymous : December 10, 2004 11:26 AM

Use some dummy email address for confirmation messages (I use hotmail) or http://www.bugmenot.com for randomly visited places.

I don't spread my personal mail address around mutch. For those who need to contact me personal, can chat with me with some IM client (using various) or in IRC. If I trust he/she enough I'll give my permanent email address.

# posted by

Anonymous : December 13, 2004 4:07 PM

dick@hertz.com

# posted by

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# posted by

Anonymous : November 14, 2008 3:32 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

# posted by

Anonymous : February 13, 2009 6:56 AM