Tiscali gets the 'Hump' over Herbert
Why Humphreys is a dirty word
Posted in Telecoms, 1st December 2005 10:51 GMT
Free webcast: Service level monitoring and management
Tiscali refused to give a pensioner an email addy with his own name - because part of it was deemed "offensive" by the ISP.
Herbert Humphreys, 89, was so shocked by Tiscali's stand on the word "hump", he told his story to consumer affairs magazine Which?. "They said my name contains profanity, as it includes the word hump," Herbert told the mag.
As a result the ISP said he couldn't have an email name bearing his surname.
Asked to comment a spokeswoman for the ISP told us: "This is an automated part of our sign-up process designed to protect our users, ensure they stay within our acceptable use policy and prevent anyone creating an email identity that may be offensive to others.
"This is constantly reviewed but by its nature will block certain harmless addresses," she said.
Indeed. Just spare a thought for poor Mr and Mrs Cockerell from Scunthorpe who've just moved from Essex. They love gardening and are particularly fond of Alan Titchmarsh and read his books in earnest to ensure that Mrs Cockerell's prize bush is kept neatly trimmed.
All completely harmless, you might think, but Tiscali's filters would be working overtime to keep out this unpleasant lot. ®

Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
SMB phone systems product requirements worksheet
Enabling The Agile Data Center
Checklist: signs you need to upgrade your business phone system

Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter