We’ve all been pwned by some company’s naming policies before. Whether it was when you were trying to name your halfling “Bilbobaggins” or your guild “Sony Makes Sucking Look Easy,” there are times where you get a big fat “nice try, lol” from the automated name bouncer.
Rarely, though, does this occur in the realm of IRL. This gentleman tried to sign up for Verizon DSL and was informed that his last name, “Libshitz,” violated Verizon’s naming policy (look closely to find out why). The best part, however, was their proposed workaround – spelling his last name incorrectly on purpose to get around the automated filter (sound familiar?). After three escalation attempts, it looks like Verizon finally admitted that smacking this guy with the banhammer might have not been the best approach from a PR standpoint, and has “made an exception” for him.
In both the real and virtual worlds, naming policies often create a lot of unintended problems. Let’s hope that companies will begin realizing this soon and add some more “human” quality control into process.
Entries (RSS)