CRC: Email Overload

Since posting my CRC paper to the Internet in August 1993, I have received a steady stream of email from people:

• Praising the paper and thanking me for writing it.
• Requesting a copy of the paper.
• Providing corrections to the paper.
• Providing new information on CRC settings.
• Requesting CRC algorithms (particularly of different widths).
• Requesting hard data on failure rates of various CRC algorithms.
• Requesting test harnesses for CRC algorithms.
• Requesting references to further online CRC documentation.
• Requesting me to help reverse engineer CRC algorithms.
• Requesting me to debug their CRC code.

While I am pleased that the paper has been such a success, and grateful for all the useful information that people have sent me, I've found that I'm now overloaded. In addition to the volume, many of the email messages request involved and time-consuming actions such as debugging, code analysis, research, code generation, and corrections to the paper. Each such message could easily consume half a day or more if I answered it comprehensively. It's likely that I have already spent far more time answering email about my CRC paper than I spent writing the paper itself!

The problem is compounded because I'm busy with other projects and no longer very familiar with CRC algorithms. So to answer a typical CRC question, I'd have to re-read and understand my paper all over again! Chances are, if you've just read my CRC paper, you're a far more proficient expert on CRCs than I am.

In addition to the CRC email, I'm getting lots of email on other materials I've produced, such as my LZRW data compression algorithms. Add it all up and it's clear that I could easily make a full-time unpaid job out of answering my email! That's the problem of anyone who puts something useful on the Internet.

Although I can't respond comprehensively to all the CRC email, I will attempt to at least reply to it all. I will also capture any useful comments or information in my "suggestions database" to which I will refer if ever I update this web or the original CRC paper. In the meantime, the CRC web will act as a place to store any useful materials. If you have any suggestions or contributions for this web, please email them to me.

Thanks to you all,

Ross Williams
ross@ross.net
2 May 1996.

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