In The Dilbert Future, a book released 15 years ago, Scott Adams seems particularly prescient when he predicts the future of communications. He predicts “The Bozo Filter,” an idea borrowed from Guy Kawasaki, explaining,
I don’t want new ways to communicate, I want new ways to stop the people who are trying to communicate with me.
He goes on to describe what might be done in a mechanical sense to separate legitimate messages from abusive ones.
Since then, of course, message blocking in its various forms has become an essential technology and a regular part of everyday life. It has become so easy to send supposedly personal messages to complete strangers that we have no choice but to seek out ways to avoid them.
