I'm surprised this point hasn't been made/stressed more in the comments here. LinkedIn has essentially given recruiters another possible avenue for connecting

I'm surprised this point hasn't been made/stressed more in the comments here. LinkedIn has essentially given recruiters another possible avenue for connecting with people; by enabling their random, direct emails to users to turn into leads. I thought I was being kind in replying and saying "no thanks" only to suddenly start getting connected with people whom with that was my only interaction.