back to article Mavericks Mail's spam-spewing 'flaw' was scripted by red-faced user

FastMail, the cloudy messaging outfit that earlier this week proclaimed it had found a nasty bug in the way OS X Mavericks' Mail client talks IMAP, has retracted its analysis. The title of the new post, “Apple mail 'bug' turns out to be user script after all” tells you most of what you need to know about the situation. Here's …

COMMENTS

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  1. LarsG

    Red faces all round?

  2. Fazal Majid

    I wouldn't be too hard on Fastmail. IMAP is a spectacularly poorly-specified protocol, and it doesn't help when some like GMail implement it in an even more spectacularly crackpot way. It was a fairly plausible assumption that changes in Mavericks Mail.app's IMAP implementation was causing problems.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Isn't this where "I can/cannot replicate this error" comes from. You'd have honestly thought someone would try replicating it before hitting the post button.

    Regardless, Apple should protect users from themselves (and potentially embarressing the company) by only allowing Cupertino certified scripts to be run!

    Image is everything.

  4. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Clue Number 1

    How many users are affected by this catastrophic bug?

    Just one.

    Hmmm...

    This falls mostly upon FastMail since they're the ones in the best position to count the affected users (1). The affected user can't poll the other users, nor can he see the lack of other problem reports.

    FastMail := FAILMail

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Clue Number 1

      Indeed: as a battle hardened techie, one of my first steps on investigating an issues is ascertaining how many people are experiencing the issue, and can I replicate it and view it for myself? This will often give a lot of clues as to the scope of a problem.

      1. Elmer Phud

        Re: Clue Number 1

        " and can I replicate it and view it for myself?"

        Worth it for the looks on faces when you go:

        "Wahey! It's not working properly! Great stuff!"

        Leave at least 10 minutes before explaining, you need it to get round a bit .

  5. Frankee Llonnygog

    Does FastMail only have this one Mac-using customer?

    If not, the problem being confined to one user account might have suggested it isn't a generic Apple issue.

    Anyway, well done the 'journalists' who disseminated this story without checking it - the truth would have attracted far fewer page views.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: well done the 'journalists' who disseminated this story without checking it

      Curiously there is no link on this story to "OS X Mavericks mail client spews INFINITE SPAM"?

      Here it is, just in case: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/27/os_x_mavericks_mail_client_spews_infinite_spam/

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    don't let the facts get in the way of the hate!

    Apple haters will still believe it's Apple's fault and will continue to spread the FUD.

    I can't help but think that fastmail were so quick to blame Apple in order to get some publicity...

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Oh they got publicity all right.

      Comes right in the "be careful what you wish for" kind, though.

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