Why care?
In general, you probably don't or shouldn't care where people are when they send mail. But other times it might be nice to know. What if you received a message like this one:
From: Bill
Subject: I've taken the cash and left town
See you never! Ha ha!
Well, you'll probably never get one like that, but maybe there's one of these in your inbox:
From: Jeff
Subject: Still stuck in Chicago
These meetings are taking forever. I'll need to stay all week.
Obviously that one is from Chicago, right? But who is your "Secret Satan"?
From: Secret Satan
Subject: It is time
Guess who!
How about this next person, is she really an Apple insider?
From: Alice
Subject: Details on the new Wi-Fi iPod
Are you interested?
And is this next anonymous source real?
From: Informant
Subject: The new iPod causes hurricanes
Apple is staging a massive cover-up! Warn your readers!
Although most of us don't operate a hot rumor site, we may nevertheless like to know what is hiding in the email we send and receive, and whether it matters to us. These fake messages are a little contrived, but they help us to consider the situations in which a little information can reveal a lot about a sender, using one of a few simple techniques.
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