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Guinness World Records pulls beards off online Secret Santas

Email leak blows cover of gift-giving Reddit record-holders

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Guiness World Records has owned up to leaking 1,070 email addresses of Redditgifts users who won the record for the Largest Online Secret Santa.

Redditgifts bagged the record with 30,250 users in 115 countries handing out presents to each other last Christmas. Redditors involved were able to apply for a certificate of participation for a nominal fee.

Yesterday, over 1,000 British Santas got an email about the delay on getting their certs with each other's email addresses CC'd in.

GWR immediately copped to the breach and said they'd be informing the UK's Information Commissioner's Office about it.

"Guinness World Records today was responsible for a breach in relation to email data for a group of our record-holders for the 'Largest Online Secret Santa'. Unfortunately this breach was a human error by one of our staff," GWR said.

The record-book makers also said that everyone who had their email address handed out would get a full refund and still receive their certificate.

Some affected Redditors said they'd been inundated with spam, but most were understanding about the leak.

"I'm sure it was an honest mistake, I hope the poor employee doesn't get fired. I too, found the whole thing hilarious with all the replies from the other redditors. Heh. Thanks for the email acknowledging the mistake and the refund too," xinhui5 said on the site.

"I know, stuff happens! Can we get a free Guinness bar towel to go with our certificates? I would love one!" enterprising Redditor kimwim42 asked cheekily. ®

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Bah!

GWR never was and never will be recognized as shorthand for Guinness World Records.

It belongs to and always will belong to God's Wonderful Railway whether or not they are still using it.

Now mend your ways or I shall berate you a second time. I've had it with you "Brunel Deniers".

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Null and Void

Surely they are no longer secret and as such this would invalidate the World Record (I hope it doesn't I'm just partial to a bit of pedantry at the moment before hometime).

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I am awarding ...

..... them a certificate of my own for being one of the very few who owned up to it being human error rather than a technical fault.

Every time a company blames stuff like this on a technical error I just think 'Wow, you're software wrote itself?'

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