Return Path Got It Bass-akwards!

I've worked for Colorado & New York-based Return Path Inc. on contract for almost two years, first setting up some infrastructure for them in Canada, then on a retainer-style contract, then full-time starting in February 2006 to be the compliance guy for Sender Score Certified. That means I get to turn IPs on and off our whitelist. That means allowing our customers unhindered access to the inbox places like Hotmail, Roadrunner, Sympatico (well, half of Sympatico), our whitelist helps to circumvent spam filtering. If a client's IPs are not up to program standards, I turn them off, and generally speaking their deliverability at Hotmail and elsewhere begins to suck bad about 15 minutes later.

So anyway, after months of discussion and preparation, Return Path International Inc. finally hired me, and although not all of the paperwork is quite completed, yesterday was my first official day of work.

Yesterday was also the first day that we allowed automation to take over the tasks I usually do on a daily basis.

I'm not sure if this is part of the benefits plan, but then again, they also sent me a bottle of champagne as a gesture of welcome, and a hand-written note from the CEO.

I'd take this to mean I should spend the day drunk, but the employee manual seems to frown upon substance abuse while on the job, so maybe I'll wait until Friday night to crack this sucker open.

Bottom line, I can't figure out a company that automates me out of part of my job on the first day of work; talk about a cool place to work!

OK, ok, in all seriousness, RP is a challenging, interesting and intelligent company. I like their attitude; as an anti-spammer my antennae were up for any hint of impropriety, undue influence from any quarter to try to influence me doing my job. Over the course of the past year and a bit, I never once had someone ask me to lay off a client because they were one of our bigger ones. In other words, they walk the walk beyond talking the talk; their ethical stance regarding the purity of the whitelist is appreciable.

And so, I start my first full-time employment since February 2002, with a company that has let me fly to Europe for four weeks, Bali for two (and both while on contract!), and sends new employees a hand-written note and a bottle of booze. How cool is that?

Follow-up: it is nice to be appreciated!