The XX Factor

Gmail has introduced another experiment in protecting e-mailers from themselves. First there was protection against late-night drunken e-mailing you may later regret, in which, between certain hours of the night, you must prove your sobriety by answering math questions before your e-mail goes out. (Not sure how Gmail could help the DoubleX staff, documented daytime drinkers .)

Now there’s " Got the wrong Bob?," a Gmail lab meant to head off those embarrassing auto-complete "to" line glitches. I’m sure we’ve all had them (and equally sure that none of mine have involved anyone named "Bob," given that I only know one). Some are harmless: I spent a summer e-mailing my intern when I meant to e-mail my roommate by the same name. But luckily the subject matter was only embarrassing in its mundanity, things like "Did you get milk?" and-I’m not joking-"Whoa, did you see the new look of Gmail?"

I was once the "wrong Bob." The misaddressed e-mail came from a friend of my mother’s, someone out-of-state whom I had met only once or twice. His e-mail was intended for his wife, whose name starts with the same letters as mine. They’d had a fight that morning. He wrote her a beautiful, poetic apology. And then sent it to me, the daughter of one of his peers. Awkward!

In the spirit of our ongoing call for your " awkward and wrong" e-mail/Twitter/texting/etc. tales , inspired by Gmail’s latest experiment, and as a show of solidarity with my mom’s friend, please share your own moments of being or sending to the wrong Bob. You can send them to me by e-mail . And we may publish your story here on the site. (Anonymity requests will of course be granted.)