Hot Koehl

I recently made the decision to store times on Fwd:Vault systems in Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT. I decided to do this because I have time-sensitive events happening along several dimensions. Email coming into the system has several timestamps associated with it: the user’s initial delivery, relay from their mail server, and receipt by the Fwd:Vault mail server. Payment receipts come into Fwd:Vault from our billing provider, which gets stored in my system and made available to the user.

Up until now, my server time was set for the US Eastern, where both I and the server physically reside. Then I started building the code to display local time based on a user’s selected timezone.

Ugh.

Here’s the problem: displaying local time requires at least one time conversion, from server time to the user’s timezone. If the time is initially set to anything other than no-offset GMT, you have two calculations to do, from the server timezone to GMT, then GMT to user timezone. You can do it, of course, but who really wants to write even more code?

Now add to this equation the fact that most data-delivery systems have settled on sending time data in GMT. A very good practice, to be sure, but presents the need to do another timezone conversion when the data come into your systems. Going back to my example, I had to convert payment times from GMT to US Eastern before dropping them into my database.

Finally, add to the mix the potential for time data coming in from more than one source with more than one offset. Again back to my case, payment data is GMT, as is the Twitter feed I store and display on the site. Meanwhile, email was set to US Eastern. This matched the server and MySQL database where all the data ends up residing, so I was still looking at just one time conversion. But what happens down the road, when my server configuration changes, or I move to another timezone?

Tying this information to me makes as much sense as tying it to any one of my users. It’s the same rationale that data service providers use when delivering GMT time data, it applies to me, and it applies to you too.

I’m just too lazy to try and keep all that timezone switching straight in my head.

If you find yourself in the same scenario, save your sanity and your future support efforts. If you run a website that (a) displays time-sensitive data, and (b) allows users to create an account, you really owe it to everyone involved to store time in a neutral fashion and adjust time displays according to the user’s selected timezone.

I was quoted in an article over at IT Expert Voice that pooled advice from hardened IT Veterans on the process of rolling out a new OS in a business environment. There’s plenty of great advice on the actual act of a rollout — test-test-test, schedule for downtime, etc. — but obviously the timing of the article coincides with the recent release of Windows 7, and is directed at IT folks considering an upgrade.

To that extent, I urge all you IT pros to ignore everything else in the article (wink) and follow my advice, which is to wait.

Find more details in the article.

As an email-based backup service, Fwd:Vault ran into spam filters pretty quickly. Most of this can be mitigated with proper server configuration and getting records in the right places (i.e. abuse.net). From there it’s simply a matter of reminding users to check the spam folder when things are missing.

However through the tribulations of one of my testers, I found out that Comcast goes the extra mile for users of their comcast.net webmail. Unlike most setups, where spam is simply redirected to a spam-specific folder, Comcast will delete the message outright, without issuing any kind of notice to the sender or recipient.

Truly, above and beyond (belief).

Of all the lousy IT practices I’ve seen over the years, this one takes the cake. No spam filter is perfect, so it’s guaranteed that they are dropping legitimate emails (case-and-point: I’m losing Fwd:Vault account emails). Plus it appears they default to a “highly suspicious” mode with newer systems, as fwdvault.com, my IP address, and my DNS records are completely fresh and unblemished.

Finally, the sheer size of their operation means that getting a hold of anyone to actually fix the problem when it happens to you is virtually zero. I’d go so far as to say that they can get away with this nonsense precisely because they are a large ISP. As a former “your company IT guy,” I can imagine getting at least an earful, and at worst a pink slip, if I were caught doing this.

Despite my astonishment, I couldn’t deny reality. Through my logs I watched Fwd:Vault’s mail server find their systems, connect, and deliver the message and get a 250 response code (i.e. all good). Then over in my comcast.net inbox I’d get exactly nada, ditto for the spam folder. Since the actual delivery had no technical issue, I had zero clue as to the cause of the problem. I wasn’t on any blacklists, the IP was static, and my DNS records were in good order, including a reverse DNS record with my hosting service.

Fortunately, it seems that someone in the trenches at Comcast is fighting the good fight, as I took two long-shot attempts today and it seems one of them paid off. Here’s what I did, hopefully it works for you.

1. Use the feedback form at comcastsupport.com
I tried to retrace my steps on how I found this one, but their sites are so damn convoluted I kept going in circles. However I know I started from inside the web mail interface, aka their “SmartZone”.

(See kids? That’s what we call irony. Can you say, “irony?”)

Whatever, here’s the link. You don’t need to log in to use the form:

http://www.comcastsupport.com/forms/net/sccfeedback.asp

I selected Spam or Junk Mail in the checkboxes and wrote something to the effect of:

I am not receiving mail from example.com in my Comcast email. I own and operate the mail server for this domain and have confirmed through my logs that the message is delivered properly (response code 250) to Comcast MX servers.

My tests delivered via the server mx.comcast.net (IP 00.00.00.00). It’s been over 24 hours and I have not received a bounce, nor is anything showing up in my inbox or spam folder.

As I have nothing else to go on, I am looking for help from your end.

I did not receive any reply, however I also took another step…

2. Use their RBL Removal Form
This should only apply if your mail server has actually been blocked by Comcast, in which case you would likely see an error code of 550 in your logs. If your server picks up the full response from Comcast, you may also get additional helpful information as outlined in their list of custom mail delivery error codes.

None of this applied to me, as the connection and delivery went off without a hitch. Still, I figured it was worth a shot; a bureaucracy this big is bound to have systems running into one another.

I sent in a request to be removed from their RBL by way of this form:

http://www.comcastsupport.com/Forms/NET/blockedprovider.asp

Most of the information will depend on your setup, however I did check the boxes for Implemented technology to filter or prevent transmission of spam and Changed the rDNS records to reflect a consistent and non-dynamic setting just in case. I included text similar to what I outlined earlier in the Issue Description box.

I saw emails coming through less than 30 minutes after sending this message. However, I sent the feedback first, followed by a brief online chat with their support, who directed me to the RBL form. All told it was at least an hour between my first step and the delivered message.

Update: I received this message back in response to my RBL request…

Thank you for contacting Comcast Customer Security Assurance. We have received and reviewed your RBL removal request.

Below each IP address you submitted in your request, we have included the result of our research. Please do not reply to this message.

[IP address(es)]

We have received your request for removal from our inbound blocklist. After investigating the issue, we have found that the IP you provided for removal is currently not on our blocklist.

We need the IP address currently blocked to further investigate this issue. The IP address is a number separated by decimals and is located in an error code starting with “550″ in the returned email from Comcast. You can learn more about how to identify a blocked IP by visiting our Frequently Asked Question page at:
http://www.comcast.net/help/faq/index.jsp?faq=SecurityMail_Policy18667

Please verify the IP(s) and resubmit your request to http://www.comcastsupport.com/rbl

So it looks like the RBL request didn’t do anything. Unless it did, and some numb-nut at Comcast was covering for their idiotic policies.

My gut tells me that I caught a particularly helpful support person manning the feedback desk who was able to punch the few keys it took to rectify the problem. If that’s the case, thanks for the help, and I hope the rest of you get to run into him/her as well. I sent the message around 2:00 pm on a Monday.

You can find more helpful information, including a link to the Blacklist Removal Request Form, on the Comcast Postmaster Site.

Best advice I can give: encourage your users to switch to Gmail.

FYI if you run Mirror’s Edge on your PC and the sound effects are all outta whack, check to see if you have a Realtek sound card installed. Their older high definition drivers don’t work properly with the game, and you’ll have to download the latest version.

Now, chances are that your Realtek is built into your motherboard; that’s how they sell most of their gear. In most cases, you should install drivers for onboard devices — aka stuff built into the mother board, network card, sound card, etc — provided directly by your motherboard retailer. However this update is new this month, so chances are they haven’t picked it up. It’s also very likely that your mobo company doesn’t make changes to the sound card at all.

So, if your Realtek soundcard came in a computer provided by Dell, Gateway, HP, etc., check their update sites for an upgrade. If they do not have one, or if you built your own computer — good for you, great money-saver! — you can grab the latest version directly from Realtek (click the “Software” link, pass agree screen, and get the “Executable file” version).

Secondarily, I found reports that the K-Lite Codec Pack can cause the same behavior. I suggest you try the sound card first. If that doesn’t work, then try removing K-Lite.

Thirdly, if you haven’t heard of Mirror’s Edge or haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend that you do. Hard core FPS fans will get a refreshingly unique experience — you can beat the entire thing without firing a gun — and everyone else can pretend to be a free runner. Neat.

I’m not gonna lie. Some days, with some people, it’s tempting…

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about you.

Or you.