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I just got an advertising email about this from GitHub, even though I've never subscribed to GitHub advertising mail. I just checked my email settings and it lo

by cyphar 9y ago

I just got an advertising email about this from GitHub, even though I've never subscribed to GitHub advertising mail. I just checked my email settings and it looks like GitHub has added a new option (defaulting to being "on" of course) that auto-subscribes you to spam. Surely the unsubscription laws don't allow you to retroactively add more options that are defaulted to being on that subscribe you to things you were never subscribed to in the first place? Seems like an easy way to spam people without having any repercussions. For those who want to disable this anti-feature, look at the bottom of https://github.com/settings/emails https://github.com/settings/emails.

Drdrdrq 9y ago
I usually give aliases for such accounts because of this (and because of data breaches). Send me spam and I don't have to put up with your UI to unsubscribe, I just delete mail alias. Of course, that doesn't work if I want to receive any mail from you...
- cyphar 9y ago
  What email service do you use? I've been trying to figure out where to switch to from "the big G" and it's not clear to me what host is good. Personally a host that has a mail client which is free software would be the best deal. :P
Cabal 9y ago
I think Twitter and LinkedIn may have patents on this dark pattern, based on the frequency with which they do it. Seriously, Twitter has ~20 email subscription options now, and they add a new one (and opt you in) every month.
jtmcmc 9y ago
it's going to depend where you live. In the united states no opt-in is required for sending marketing email - https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can...
- cyphar 9y ago
  In Australia we have similar legislation, but there are some circumstances where a sender can "infer" that you "probably would consent" to spam. Though I think lots of companies are far too liberal with their interpretation of such provisions. http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Marketers/Anti-Spam/Ensuring-you-dont-spam/spam-spam-act-2003-faqs http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Marketers/Anti-Spam/Ensuring...

by cyphar 9y ago

Drdrdrq 9y ago

I usually give aliases for such accounts because of this (and because of data breaches). Send me spam and I don't have to put up with your UI to unsubscribe, I just delete mail alias. Of course, that doesn't work if I want to receive any mail from you...

cyphar 9y ago
What email service do you use? I've been trying to figure out where to switch to from "the big G" and it's not clear to me what host is good. Personally a host that has a mail client which is free software would be the best deal. :P

Cabal 9y ago

I think Twitter and LinkedIn may have patents on this dark pattern, based on the frequency with which they do it. Seriously, Twitter has ~20 email subscription options now, and they add a new one (and opt you in) every month.

jtmcmc 9y ago

it's going to depend where you live. In the united states no opt-in is required for sending marketing email - https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can...

cyphar 9y ago
In Australia we have similar legislation, but there are some circumstances where a sender can "infer" that you "probably would consent" to spam. Though I think lots of companies are far too liberal with their interpretation of such provisions. http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Marketers/Anti-Spam/Ensuring-you-dont-spam/spam-spam-act-2003-faqs http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Marketers/Anti-Spam/Ensuring...