Yesterday I received an electronic-mail message from an American friend, who used to be a student of mine many years ago. I responded only to receive a message to the effect that my mail could not be delivered. The reason why it was blocked was hard to fathom from the “explanation” provided, but it had to do with my service provider. It is suspect for some reason. I resent my message, which contained nothing untoward, but it came back with the same explanation. Today I tried for the third time, but to no avail. Now, my friend is with Hotmail. I tried to find an alternative electronic-mail address, but without any success. As my friend has no way of learning about my attempts to respond, our communication is liable to be cut short. Thanks to Hotmail, of course. The World Wide Web has always been a strange place, but it interferes with people’s affairs in ever less comprehensible ways. Welcome to the Twenty-First Century!