3 ms·

> I hope they make it really strict. I'm sick of companies that send you spam ("newsletters") just because you interacted with them once, then when you unsubscr

> I hope they make it really strict. I'm sick of companies that send you spam ("newsletters") just because you interacted with them once, then when you unsubscribe, you get unsubscribed from that one list, so they keep spamming you just with a slightly different newsletter type. Never interact with spam. Unsubscribing just tells spammers that your email address is actively being checked, and that you're the kind of person who clicks on links found in unsolicited messages. It can even end up getting you more spam (as you've noticed), and what looks like an innocent unsubscribe link can actually take you to a malicious website instead. You've really got nothing to gain by touching spam at all. The best way to deal with the spam that makes it into your inbox, especially spam that comes from specific senders with predictable subject lines/body content like newsletters, is filtering. For example, just auto-delete anything from a domain you never want to hear from again. You never see it, and you leave them spending at least a little time/effort shouting uselessly into the void. I tend not to auto-delete directly, but have things filtered into specific folders just in case. It takes almost no time to clear out when they get very full. Most filters are set once and forget.

shiroiuma 3y ago
>Never interact with spam. Unsubscribing just tells spammers that your email address is actively being checked, and that you're the kind of person who clicks on links found in unsolicited messages. It can even end up getting you more spam (as you've noticed), and what looks like an innocent unsubscribe link can actually take you to a malicious website instead. Yet there are people here on HN telling us that we have some kind of responsibility to watch ads, not block them, and support the kind of people who do this slimy, evil, unethical bullshit.
Pikamander2 3y ago
>Never interact with spam. Unsubscribing just tells spammers that your email address is actively being checked, and that you're the kind of person who clicks on links found in unsolicited messages. This only applies to scam emails like newsletters from sketchy domains that you never signed up for, which are sent out specifically to find active email addresses. For those, clicking the "unsubscribe" link is indeed counterproductive. For actual businesses like Linkedin though, it makes more sense than not to unsubscribe from unwanted emails anytime they're sent. On occasion you'll find yourself back on a different newsletter list, but it's relatively rare and more often than not just incompetence rather than malice; legitimate companies want to send their emails out to people who buy stuff, not people who mark them as spam and lower their reputation.
- autoexec 3y ago
  > For actual businesses like Linkedin though, it makes more sense than not to unsubscribe from unwanted emails anytime they're sent. Why? What's in it for you? You filter them = never see the spam they send you again You unsubscribe = pray that it's not a phishing email disguised as linkedin spam, hope that if it's real they don't just start sending you different spam, and that maybe they haven't agreed to sell your (now confirmed as more valuable) email address to 3rd parties (aka, their "partners") now that you've made that email address worthless to them otherwise. The absolute most you can ever hope for in the "unsubscribe" case has the exact same outcome as the "filter" case, while the filter case has less risk and as a bonus lets the spammers waste their time.
gregorvand 3y ago
At mailpass.io we tried to embed some of these ideas straight away. Easy to ignore certain domains. Easy to delete all messages from a specific domain without sending any kind of tracking this was done
tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago
Interacted with the company, as in filed a support request, bought something from them, etc. They already have my e-mail address, likely even verified. They're also somewhat normal companies, i.e. they have an address where the local DPA can send a friendly reminder, and while they will happily pass your (likely hashed) e-mail address to Facebook for ad targeting, actual selling to spammers is incredibly rare. I often can't just filter the domain because I might actually need to deal with the company again (if I boycotted everyone who acts like a dick I'd be living in a cave). Also, for many, unsubscribe actually works.

shiroiuma 3y ago

>Never interact with spam. Unsubscribing just tells spammers that your email address is actively being checked, and that you're the kind of person who clicks on links found in unsolicited messages. It can even end up getting you more spam (as you've noticed), and what looks like an innocent unsubscribe link can actually take you to a malicious website instead. Yet there are people here on HN telling us that we have some kind of responsibility to watch ads, not block them, and support the kind of people who do this slimy, evil, unethical bullshit.

Pikamander2 3y ago

>Never interact with spam. Unsubscribing just tells spammers that your email address is actively being checked, and that you're the kind of person who clicks on links found in unsolicited messages. This only applies to scam emails like newsletters from sketchy domains that you never signed up for, which are sent out specifically to find active email addresses. For those, clicking the "unsubscribe" link is indeed counterproductive. For actual businesses like Linkedin though, it makes more sense than not to unsubscribe from unwanted emails anytime they're sent. On occasion you'll find yourself back on a different newsletter list, but it's relatively rare and more often than not just incompetence rather than malice; legitimate companies want to send their emails out to people who buy stuff, not people who mark them as spam and lower their reputation.

autoexec 3y ago
> For actual businesses like Linkedin though, it makes more sense than not to unsubscribe from unwanted emails anytime they're sent. Why? What's in it for you? You filter them = never see the spam they send you again You unsubscribe = pray that it's not a phishing email disguised as linkedin spam, hope that if it's real they don't just start sending you different spam, and that maybe they haven't agreed to sell your (now confirmed as more valuable) email address to 3rd parties (aka, their "partners") now that you've made that email address worthless to them otherwise. The absolute most you can ever hope for in the "unsubscribe" case has the exact same outcome as the "filter" case, while the filter case has less risk and as a bonus lets the spammers waste their time.

gregorvand 3y ago

At mailpass.io we tried to embed some of these ideas straight away. Easy to ignore certain domains. Easy to delete all messages from a specific domain without sending any kind of tracking this was done

tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago

Interacted with the company, as in filed a support request, bought something from them, etc. They already have my e-mail address, likely even verified. They're also somewhat normal companies, i.e. they have an address where the local DPA can send a friendly reminder, and while they will happily pass your (likely hashed) e-mail address to Facebook for ad targeting, actual selling to spammers is incredibly rare. I often can't just filter the domain because I might actually need to deal with the company again (if I boycotted everyone who acts like a dick I'd be living in a cave). Also, for many, unsubscribe actually works.