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This is a free “course” in the author’s platform. He has paid courses that he occasionally sends emails about when he has promotions. I’m quite stringent about

This is a free “course” in the author’s platform. He has paid courses that he occasionally sends emails about when he has promotions. I’m quite stringent about what I unsubscribe to and his emails have not come even close to that threshold. Imo the challenges are well thought out as are the solutions. I feel giving my e-mail up is a good exchange of value. I’ll probably end up buying one of his courses eventually.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
So that is spam; it's nice that it's low-impact and not too awful, but can you understand why I might be a bit put out at someone saying "I won't spam you" and then sending unsolicited marketing emails?
- chrisdave 5y ago
  It's generally accepted (at least by those who allow google to shape their worldview, which is pretty much everyone except maybe you) that there is a difference in degree if not in kind between spam and promotional emails.
  - babarock 5y ago
    Count me as a 2nd person who doesn't see the difference between spam and promotional emails. Any unsolicited email that is detailing product offers and prices is spam. I am not sure what google-shaped worldview has to do with anything. Maybe I don't understand your comment at all.
  - TastyJhinga 5y ago
    Anything unsolicited is spam irrespective of how good or useful the content is. The website says "I won't spam you", so I kinda assume that my email is only used for notifications.
- zachruss92 5y ago
  I understand your view. It is probably more correct to say “you’ll receive occasional marketing emails from me”. My view is mostly from the “there is no such thing as a free lunch” perspective. If I see an exchange of value it’s fair to me. I can always unsubscribe or not buy what he’s selling. Personally I just can’t fault him for trying to make a living.
- joncalhoun 5y ago
  In my head I was thinking of a definition like the one below when I wrote that: "Spam is irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients." - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7048231 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7048231 When people sign up for Gophercises, the first two emails I send them are about the course asking how the course is going, if they had issues with the player, etc. After that they get Go related emails. Eg https://ckarchive.com/b/0vuwh9hvx32q https://ckarchive.com/b/0vuwh9hvx32q Again, not really irrelevant given the interest in learning Go, and 99% of the people I talk to love those emails. Maybe 3-4x per year I'll have a sale on my other paid courses. During those times people who have been on my mailing list for a set period of time (I think it is at least 10 days and have received at least 2 previous emails from me without unsubscribing, but I'd need to double check) will get a notice about the sale. I try to avoid being super annoying with those, so they will often contain useful lessons about coding with Go even if you aren't interested in the sale. I make my living selling Go courses. I was only able to create and offer Gophercises as a free course because of this, so yes, I require an email address and I use Gophercises as a marketing tool. I try to make it a decent experience, but no matter what I do someone will always complain. I find my time is better spent helping the people who enjoy and appreciate what I am doing.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago

So that is spam; it's nice that it's low-impact and not too awful, but can you understand why I might be a bit put out at someone saying "I won't spam you" and then sending unsolicited marketing emails?

chrisdave 5y ago
It's generally accepted (at least by those who allow google to shape their worldview, which is pretty much everyone except maybe you) that there is a difference in degree if not in kind between spam and promotional emails.
- babarock 5y ago
  Count me as a 2nd person who doesn't see the difference between spam and promotional emails. Any unsolicited email that is detailing product offers and prices is spam. I am not sure what google-shaped worldview has to do with anything. Maybe I don't understand your comment at all.
- TastyJhinga 5y ago
  Anything unsolicited is spam irrespective of how good or useful the content is. The website says "I won't spam you", so I kinda assume that my email is only used for notifications.
zachruss92 5y ago
I understand your view. It is probably more correct to say “you’ll receive occasional marketing emails from me”. My view is mostly from the “there is no such thing as a free lunch” perspective. If I see an exchange of value it’s fair to me. I can always unsubscribe or not buy what he’s selling. Personally I just can’t fault him for trying to make a living.
joncalhoun 5y ago
In my head I was thinking of a definition like the one below when I wrote that: "Spam is irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients." - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7048231 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7048231 When people sign up for Gophercises, the first two emails I send them are about the course asking how the course is going, if they had issues with the player, etc. After that they get Go related emails. Eg https://ckarchive.com/b/0vuwh9hvx32q https://ckarchive.com/b/0vuwh9hvx32q Again, not really irrelevant given the interest in learning Go, and 99% of the people I talk to love those emails. Maybe 3-4x per year I'll have a sale on my other paid courses. During those times people who have been on my mailing list for a set period of time (I think it is at least 10 days and have received at least 2 previous emails from me without unsubscribing, but I'd need to double check) will get a notice about the sale. I try to avoid being super annoying with those, so they will often contain useful lessons about coding with Go even if you aren't interested in the sale. I make my living selling Go courses. I was only able to create and offer Gophercises as a free course because of this, so yes, I require an email address and I use Gophercises as a marketing tool. I try to make it a decent experience, but no matter what I do someone will always complain. I find my time is better spent helping the people who enjoy and appreciate what I am doing.