4 ms·

Just reply STOP? This is not a major problem for me. Is it for other people? Edit: I guess this is my fault for not RTFA. > Your mileage may vary, but for me,

Just reply STOP? This is not a major problem for me. Is it for other people? Edit: I guess this is my fault for not RTFA. > Your mileage may vary, but for me, the “STOP” response works. Maybe the headline should be "Reply STOP to political spam SMS"

csixty4 2y ago
It's moreso the fact ActBlue shares your contact info with (seemingly) every politician they support, so you're constantly sending STOP to candidates you've never even heard of.
- datadrivenangel 2y ago
  And they have some coordination between PACs (or the PACs are running sub-PACs or something), so that you reply stop, and then tomorrow a different PAC texts you. Rinse and repeat.
- redserk 2y ago
  Oath.vote supposedly does not sell information but it's a shame they don't get nearly as much attention as ActBlue. Perhaps it's time for people to start mailing cash and checks to campaigns instead of using online portals. The campaigns only need your name, employer info, and a valid mailing address and often provide forms on their site for this purpose. Maybe after campaigns see that they're spending a bit more time opening physical mail from small donors they'll reconsider their strategy.
konfusinomicon 2y ago
i dont reply stop to unsolicited messages because that is confirmation to them that its an actively monitored number. not sure if being paranoid or smart but if i was spamming a big list it would be beneficial in my eyes to know which numbers were active so i could turn around and flip the filtered known active number list to someone else
- thegrim33 2y ago
  Yes, it isn't being paranoid, this is what happens. If you respond in any way, even to tell them to stop, it confirms the number as an active number and your number then becomes valuable. They then either won't let up on contacting you or will sell your now confirmed/valuable number onwards to people that want to buy active numbers for their own, usually nefarious, purposes.
marssaxman 2y ago
It's not that you have to reply STOP, it's that you may have to reply STOP hundreds of times before the harassment will end. Every little campaign committee has their own mailing list, and they are constantly sharing information about potential donors with each other - but they certainly won't share your STOP request.

csixty4 2y ago

It's moreso the fact ActBlue shares your contact info with (seemingly) every politician they support, so you're constantly sending STOP to candidates you've never even heard of.

datadrivenangel 2y ago
And they have some coordination between PACs (or the PACs are running sub-PACs or something), so that you reply stop, and then tomorrow a different PAC texts you. Rinse and repeat.
redserk 2y ago
Oath.vote supposedly does not sell information but it's a shame they don't get nearly as much attention as ActBlue. Perhaps it's time for people to start mailing cash and checks to campaigns instead of using online portals. The campaigns only need your name, employer info, and a valid mailing address and often provide forms on their site for this purpose. Maybe after campaigns see that they're spending a bit more time opening physical mail from small donors they'll reconsider their strategy.

konfusinomicon 2y ago

i dont reply stop to unsolicited messages because that is confirmation to them that its an actively monitored number. not sure if being paranoid or smart but if i was spamming a big list it would be beneficial in my eyes to know which numbers were active so i could turn around and flip the filtered known active number list to someone else

thegrim33 2y ago
Yes, it isn't being paranoid, this is what happens. If you respond in any way, even to tell them to stop, it confirms the number as an active number and your number then becomes valuable. They then either won't let up on contacting you or will sell your now confirmed/valuable number onwards to people that want to buy active numbers for their own, usually nefarious, purposes.

marssaxman 2y ago

It's not that you have to reply STOP, it's that you may have to reply STOP hundreds of times before the harassment will end. Every little campaign committee has their own mailing list, and they are constantly sharing information about potential donors with each other - but they certainly won't share your STOP request.