I emailed you but never heard back from you. How come?

Did you include an attachment? I always reply to emails that my site visitors send me, with one exception: I don't open unsolicited or unexpected emails with attachments. I simply delete them.

On four separate occasions over the past several years my computer has been infected with viruses spread by attachments—the two most recent instances occurring despite the fact that a scrupulously updated edition of one of the best anti-virus programs on the market is installed on my computer. What's more, some of the "new" viruses don't even require you to open the attachment; merely opening the email with the attachment is enough to infect you. Because of this, I no longer open unanticipated emails with attachments. Into the trash they go, unread. So if you emailed me with an attachment—especially if you're a "first-timer" who has never emailed me before—that's why I didn't reply to you. I apologize, but I don't know of any way around it.

On a few occasions I try to respond to an email someone has sent me, but my reply simply bounces back. I have no idea why. So that's one other possibility; again, I'm not sure of any way around it.