Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Dear Insert Name Here

DQ reader Jason Cross sent me this classic story (also available in a very funny discussion over at www.octopusoverlords.com -- look for the "Dear John Letters and Gmail" thread in the Everything But Gaming forum):

So last night the girl I've been dating decided to break things off.

In and of itself, this is no cause celebre, because that happens all the time. However, this one was interesting in that it came in email form. I haven't had an email breakup in 9 years . . . it's not like I'm dating teenagers. This woman was 29! Not only that, but it seems that she downloaded a template from BreakupLetters.com or something, because it included all of the

following:
* - Gratuitous overuse of my first name
* - " I like you and I think you are a great guy"
* - Completely hollow "Let's be friends" offer

Whatever happened to "Hey, I think you're annoying, and I just don't like you?" I can handle that . . . I expect it. This brings back oh-so-fond memories of college. Bad times.

Plus, thanks to the greatness of Gmail, I was presented with the following targeted ads:

Sponsored Links
Test Your Relationship
Is it healthy or not, get a reality check.
www.growthclimate.com
Do they really love you?
Do they treat you bad? This love advice can change that.
www.lovetactics.com
I Used to Miss Him
But My Aim is Improving: Not Your Ordinary Breakup Survival Guide
www.improveyouraim.com

Pretty nice, eh? It's good to know that Gmail cares about my emotional well being.

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