Polite People

There is a phrase I love to repeat — especially when someone complains about circumstances: “If you have a problem, the problem is most likely you.” Universal wisdom. Works in most cases. And here I am, saying it again — this time to myself.

I was wrong to blame the Japanese.

The Japanese are impeccable. Polite, precise, punctual. I submitted a support ticket — they responded. I submitted a few more — they responded to each one. Politely. On time. With apologies. I just didn’t know where to look.

All the emails came from the same address. My mail client — smart, caring, modern — decided it was a mailing list and neatly stacked all the messages into one thread. From the outside it looked like a single email. I thought it was the original registration notification. It turned out there was an entire conversation I had missed.

I am a dinosaur. The world around me got smarter — and I haven’t caught up. Evolution should have weeded out people like me.

So, the situation has been clarified. Apparently, when migrating to the new servers, I created a second account with the hosting provider — and this automatically triggered a standard security check. The servers were suspended. Documents were requested.

“This time, with our sincerest apologies, we would like to ask you to provide identity verification documents for your order in accordance with the list below:”

What followed was a long list: photo IDs, personal details, payment card information. I read carefully — until I reached the item asking me to provide a document confirming utility bill payments at the applicant’s registered address.

At that point, I stopped reading.

I suspect it will be rather difficult for me to produce a utility bill for the railway station in Petropavlovsk.

Well then. Time to find a hosting provider with less developed curiosity — and with cryptocurrency payment. Adios.