HBO Max mocked and consoled after sending odd ‘integration test’ email – as it blames message on intern

Andrew Griffin
Friday 18 June 2021 13:58 BST
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HBO Max has been mocked and consoled after sending out an unusual email to its customers.

The message – apparently sent to a significant numbers of the service’s subscribers – was not advertising a new show or feature, but rather included only a cryptic message that appeared to have been sent out by mistake.

“Integration Test Email #1,” the subject line of the email read. “This template is used by integration tests only.”

As recipients opened the email, and quickly realised that it had been sent by mistake, the reaction ranged from mockery to sympathy for the person who had clearly sent what was an internal test email out to potentially millions of subscribers.

Many joked that the integration test email sounded like a show that could be on the service. Some joked that the content should not be spoiled; others said that Netflix would have not left it at number one, but dropped all of its integration test emails at once.

Integration testing is the part of the development process where individual pieces of software are stitched together and tested to ensure they work as a whole. As such, the message was presumably intended to stay within the company as a test, rather than sent out to everyone.

HBO Max confirmed on Twitter that the email had been sent out by mistake – and blamed an intern.

“We mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening,” the company wrote on its official help account. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern.

“No, really. And we’re helping them through it.”

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