Yesterday, I tried sending email to one of the contact addresses for some 3D-related software that I use. My mail bounced back to me. Eventually, I ended up emailing tech support at the ISP whose machine was apparently filtering my email.

Me: Hi there, this is my problem, please help.

Email support: Sorry, you'll have to speak to a Tier 2 representative. Call our closest office to your location.

Me: Hi there, may I speak to a Tier 2 representative?

Tier 1 tech: (Barely audible) Why, what's your problem?

Me: This is my problem.

Tier 1 tech: Hold on a moment.

Tier 1 tech: What's your account number?

Me: I don't have an account. One of your machines is filtering my email to someone.

Tier 1 tech: Oh. Hold on a moment.

Tier 1 tech: What's their email address?

Me: jeeves@anchovy.com (not his real address)

Tier 1 tech: That doesn't sound like one of our machines.

Me: I know it isn't. One of your machines is somewhere in the middle, blocking my email from getting to him.

Tier 1 tech: Oh. Hold on a moment.

Tier 1 tech: I just spoke to my supervisor, and he said I can't help you if neither one of you are our customers.

Me: What's your supervisor's name?

Tier 1 tech: Uh... I don't know.

Me: You don't know your supervisor's name.

Tier 1 tech: Uh... He's not my usual supervisor.

Me: May I speak to him, please?

Tier 1 tech: Uh... Hold on a moment.

Supervisor: (female) Hi, my name is unintelligible, I'm the floor manager. Can I help you?

Me: Hi, this is my problem.

Supervisor: I don't understand. What are you asking for?

Me: This is my problem in plain English. (My fault; I assumed a support supervisor could speak geek.)

Supervisor: You think one of our machines is the trouble?

Me: Yes. According to the traceroute, its IP address is 64.58.128.30.

Supervisor: (immediately) That's not one of our machines.

Me: It's in one of your IP blocks, according to whois.arin.net.

Supervisor: According to who now?

Me: ARIN. The American Registry for Internet Numbers?

Supervisor: Oh. Hang on.

Supervisor: I spoke with our top tech guy, and he says mail is different from traceroute.

Me: Yes, I'm aware of that. But my system's mailer can't find a route to the host, and ping and traceroute both get filtered at your machine, so it's the likely culprit.

Supervisor: Oh. Hang on.

Supervisor: Are you still there?

Me: Yup.

Supervisor: Oh. Well, our tech guy says they're probably running a firewall that's blocking you. You know, with all the viruses going around these days, they're probably blocking all email.

Me: It's a public tech support address at a company.

Supervisor: Oh. Well, that's weird.

Me: Can I ask you: have you tried to ping or traceroute them?

Supervisor: Yes. It got stopped somewhere along the way, I don't remember where. I'm not in front of the computer where we did the traceroute. But it's probably because they're running a firewall.

Me: But their site is in a different IP block altogether. It's being stopped in yours.

Supervisor: Well, you're over my head here. I don't know anything about that. Our top tech guy says it's their fault.

Me: I see. May I speak to him?

Supervisor: No. Sorry, it's policy.