An old George Strait song once posited the thoughts of a self-conscious young man: “I think this is how love goes, check yes or no.” Since then, more than a few people, gun-shy of rejection, have at least entertained the idea of popping the question in absentia on a note or card.

Well, the folks over at Internet Sexuality Services, Inc. have taken this concept to an entirely new level.

Internet Sexuality Services, via its Web site, InSpot.org, allow people to inform sex partners who may or may not have been exposed to an STD. How, you ask? Via yet another of those wondrous innovations of the Internet: The e-card.

E-cards have been a mainstay of the Internet for years, ever since E-Cards.com brought them to the masses in 1995.

The idea of using them in this capacity, however — with e-cards proclaiming everything from “I got screwed while screwing, you might have too,” to “Who? What? When? Where? It doesn’t matter.” — may truly unleash the power of this medium.

Obviously, anything that encourages communication regarding STDs is a positive step. Getting people who’ve been exposed to get themselves tested is critical to controlling the spread and prevalence of STDs and saving people a lot of embarrassment, pain and, possibly, their lives.

Since persons carrying an STD aren’t legally required to inform any of their partners, services such as InSpot, which reduce — if not eliminate — many of the hurdles to that communication provide an excellent means of doing so. They even have an option to send e-cards anonymously.

Granted, there is definitely the potential for people to abuse a service such as this, which is why people really need to be responsible about things like this. STDs, and sexual health in general, are deadly serious issues and crying wolf about them shouldn’t be even remotely entertaining. Thus far, according to the organization’s executive director, there have been fewer than 10 reports of people being sent e-cards in error and the percentage of complaints was described as “very low.”

Let’s hope it stays that way. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of STD Prevention estimates that there are at least 300,000 cases of gonorrhea and over a million chlamydia cases alone. Services such as InSpot hold far too much promise for the future of a public health system that has borne the brunt of an increasing prevalence of STDs across the nation and the planet.

Be safe, get tested and help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, because, as one of InSpot’s most popular e-cards puts it, “You’re too hot to be out of action.”