Delete ... Delete

Any time you're "out there" on the internet and you connect your email to your blog and/or website, then sooner or later you will receive messages from people who are, well, rather bizarre, or who say strange things.

I get email from Pakistani leather vendors all the time. They're not strange, as they are persistent. They do not see or read the message on my page that says clearly that I don't want to hear from them. ... delete ... delete ...

Then occasionally I get propositions for sex. Well, I take that as a compliment in a way, but also find it annoying. ... delete ... delete ...

From time to time someone will write to ask if he can "service" me or my boots. ... delete ... delete ...

Every now and then, I get messages from some very lonely men. I feel sorry for them, but I'm not a matchmaker. Sometimes they write just to communicate with me. That's okay, but most of the time, they write with odd requests, bizarre notions, or write so confusingly that I have no idea what they're asking or what they want. ... delete ... delete ...

I have received messages from children less than age 21. Either they don't read my message that says that if you're under 21, I won't respond, or it could be the cops testing me. For my own safety ... delete ... delete ...

I swear, on nights of the full moon, I have received very odd email messages offering things like a new pair of boots in exchange for [bleep] or wanting me to meet the person somewhere (more like a demand than a request). ... delete ... delete ...

I even received a message from a guy who begged me to let him stay with us in our home because he wanted to "see for himself how a gay couple lives." Oh Jimminy Crickets ... delete ... delete ...

A few times, I have received a rant or negative message from a jealous wacko or one of those ultra-religious zealots ... delete ... delete ...

Then there's the guy who wrote me an email, and when I didn't answer in an hour, wrote again and kept writing until I responded. I tried to explain that I don't sit at my computer waiting for email to come in. I have a life. I'm busy. When someone gets demanding and rude about it ... delete ... block ... delete ... ("block" referring to blocking that person's email address from writing to me again.)

While I am a tolerant and accepting guy, there are some times when I have received email from a U.S.-born-and-raised person who cannot spell, use grammar, write, or otherwise compose an intelligent sentence. Or even a sentence for that matter ... delete ... delete ...

------------------
In reading the above, it sounds like I receive a lot of email and that most of it is from strange or bizarre people. Actually, neither are true. I don't receive a lot of email ... enough to make things interesting, but not enough to overwhelm me. And most of it is well-composed, written by adults acting like an adult, and recognizes and respects that I am a gay man in a monogamous relationship.

I say that I will respond to every legitimate email message that I receive. That's true. However, I reserve judgment as to what is or is not "legitimate."

Life is short: be normal, and I'll write back. Be bizarre, and I won't. Simple as that.