Like most readers on DKos, I'm unhappy with the way MSNBC is treating Keith Olbermann. Maybe not as unhappy as many, but still unhappy. (BTW, is there anyone out there who still thinks Politico is a non-partisan news source?) What I'm most unhappy about is the "Indefinite suspension without pay" declaration. That's completely unnecessary and appears only intended to embarrass Mr Olbermann. The proper announcement was a simple "off the air until we complete our investigation," and leave it at that. Anyway...
I've seen urgings to call NBC Universal to complain, but that lacks the impact it once had (you'll probably end up forwarded to a call center in Malaysia or sent into an automated attendant). Advertisers are now sophisticated enough to know the difference between a narrow pressure group and a true public relations disaster. Mail is too slow, and email will just be sent into a reject pile and never bee seen again. Except...
I call it: the "email bomb..."
What would happen if there was a concerted, orchestrated response to Mr Olbermann's suspension? While thousands of emails might put a bit of a load on NBC's servers, all they'd probably do is fill up a mailbox, which means somebody would have to change a few settings, then it all goes back to normal and your messages of protest disappear into the giant NBC virtual wastebasket.
But what would happen if everybody sent their email at the exact same time? All the calls and messages decrying Mr Griffin's actions might (eventually) end up as a footnote at the bottom of an agenda item at a monthly meeting somewhere, but that's being optimistic. On the other hand, if thousands of email messages suddenly start hammering NBC's servers in the middle of the afternoon, it could bring messaging to a crawl, until all the emails finally clear through the servers. It won't deliver any individual comments to NBC executives, but the group message would land right on their desk (even better, their Blackberries!) In the corporate world, you're free to do almost anything you please, so long as it doesn't affect somebody else. THIS will affect somebody besides Mr Griffin. A lot of somebodies.
If you have the technical abilities to assess this idea I'd like to hear your input. Can it work? What would make it work? If you're a lawyer, does this constitute any conspiracy to commit a "denial of service" or might that just be a happy "coincidence?" And for the rest, what do you think the subject line should look like?
How does Monday or Tuesday afternoon work for you? Lemme hear about it.