Qualcomm’s Eudora has added a new feature, MoodWatch, aimed at saving e-mailers from themselves. MoodWatch gives each message a hot-pepper rating — as many as three peppers, which indicate a message’s potential for causing offense — before you can hit Send. I tested MoodWatch by plumbing the depths of the 20th century — and my own in-box — for phrases ranging from insulting to outright defamatory. But MoodWatch is no match for an older, more reliable tool: common sense.
“I loathe you. You revolt me stewing in your consumption . . . you are a loathsome reptile I hope you die.” –D. H. Lawrence, author
MoodWatch pepper rating: 0
“Don’t be so humble, you’re not that great.” –Golda Meir, Israeli prime minister
MoodWatch pepper rating: 0
“What other problems do you have besides being unemployed, a moron, and a dork?” –John McEnroe, tennis player
MoodWatch pepper rating: 0
“I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment it shall be behind me.” –Max Reger, composer
MoodWatch pepper rating: 0
“I got laid off after three months . . . you met my boyfriend (almost hubby), who is still slaving on his Ph.D. at UCSF.” –A friend of the author
MoodWatch pepper rating: 3