What sort of an email is this?

  Some people don't accept calls when they don't recognize the number on caller ID.  Some people don't accept emails from strangers or comments on their blog.
  i get that.  Really i do.  But
it's also important to reach out.  Maybe my loved one has to use a different phone because of some emergency.  The email i don't know might be from someone i'd like to know.
  Or a spammed email might be simply an injudicious use of title.  Once Boom nearly marked one of mine as junk - after all, email addresses do get hacked - because my subject line was "Sexy chicken treats," as in tempting your dog to do what you are trying to train it to do.
  Yeah, injudicious.
  Or stupid.

Today's suspicious email

was headed "How R Ya?"
  Okay.  Probably no worse usage than my "ya'll," which fills a gap for you plural.
  But i didn't recognize the sender.  That's a red flag, though not an automatic delete.
  The body of the email just said, "Just a test to see if it goes ok."
  Huh?  Well, you will just have to assume that because it didn't bounce.  i'm not responding to THIS.  There's nothing to respond TO.

Two heads are better than one?

  Later, i asked MyGuy the Computer Guy what he thought of it.
  He's one of those who wouldn't have given it a chance.  But he also found something that i hadn't seen. 
  How in the world did this email get to me in the first place with my name/email address mispelled?
  Good point.  i'd never had any intention of answering it, but that point ensured its going in the trash.

To my Would-Be Correspondent

  i know that real people do stuff like this, so it's quite possible that there's really nothing dangerous in my morning email.
  But it's still suspicious.
  So, if you're for real, try again.  Spell stuff right.  Yeah, i'm the one to talk.  But trust me, there's a cost in mispelling.
  Oh, and use a meaningful topic and message.  Recently i had to email someone i'd met once, and my subject line referenced where we met.  If you "met" me here, say so.  Mention what you liked - or respectfully wish to disagree with.
  You'll have my attention - and response.
 

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