Indespensable?

Those who are studying the Internet and its digitally-enabled communication are concerned that the quantity of communication is becoming greater than the quality of communication.

If you've received a forwarded email, you are aware that quantity is not the same and may, in fact, be in inverse relationship to quality. (Not that I don't love your emails, especially from those who are selective).

I received a commercial email from Cutter & Buck the other day. If you're not familiar with the company, it's an upscale apparel company that sells golf and country-club-type clothing. It may even put its clothing in the category of luxury. So, I was surprised to read the email promoting its "best-selling luxury mockneck" with a reference to said item: "it's indespensable as your first layer of comfort and good looks." Ugh. It's close to being phonetically correct but not quite, at least to my southern-accent-attuned ears. (The word should be indispensable - that is something one cannot do without).

I read somewhere that a defense against phishing (scam companies telling you to visit their sites and update your personal information) is not to trust emails with misspelled words. The advice sounds sound but it's not helfpul.

Get it right, good guys, so we can trust you.