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It's almost impossible to /avoid/ getting signed up for a pile of "newsletter" spam. Pretty much everybody that has access to my email address floods me with th

by nwh 13y ago

It's almost impossible to /avoid/ getting signed up for a pile of "newsletter" spam. Pretty much everybody that has access to my email address floods me with them.

lallysingh 13y ago
Keep hitting the 'unsubscribe' links. For those that don't work, put in a filter to auto-delete before you see them.
- betterunix 13y ago
  Or you can just mark as spam. Most of those "newsletters" and advertisements follow a pattern that is easy for Bayesian filters to recognize (I speak from experience). Your spam filter has been trained enough when it preemptively removes such mail from your inbox.
blktiger 13y ago
I used to think that way. Then I started actually using the unsubscribe links and (surprise!) I found that I stopped getting so much junk. I don't really have to hit unsubscribe very much anymore, just whenever my name gets added by some new service I signed up for.
Timothee 13y ago
Any time I get something I don't want I click the unsubscribe link. If the link doesn't work, if there aren't any or if I need to do more than legally necessary (e.g. logging into my account), I click "Report spam" in Gmail. I don't feel bad about clicking it because I trust Gmail as a whole to be smart enough not to penalize an account globally if I'm the only one reporting it. Plus, when I do it, it's because it's actually spam. Over time, it really works.
- betterunix 13y ago
  Personally, I view "mark as spam" as a way for me to cast a vote on bad email behavior. No, I do not want to receive the latest news about your product that I bought 5 years ago -- yes, it is spam when you email me about it. It is spam when you email me asking for money just because I attended your group's meetings a few times in college. It is spam when you send me an email that does not render unless I enable HTML. It is spam when you drop my friends' names in an attempt to get me to sign up for your website. Spam is not just about scams, malware, and crime. It is about the annoying deluge, the fact that I have to open a browser and enable Javascript from 20 different sources when I unsubscribe, and generally about unsolicited, unwanted email trying to get me to do things I am not going to do. Filters, including a spam filter, are what keep my inbox under control.
freyr 13y ago
I have a separate email address for this purpose. Anybody I know personally or trust gets my regular email address. Anybody who might sign me up for a newsletter gets my spam email address. I don't get any newsletter spam at my regular address.

by nwh 13y ago

It's almost impossible to /avoid/ getting signed up for a pile of "newsletter" spam. Pretty much everybody that has access to my email address floods me with them.

lallysingh 13y ago

Keep hitting the 'unsubscribe' links. For those that don't work, put in a filter to auto-delete before you see them.

betterunix 13y ago
Or you can just mark as spam. Most of those "newsletters" and advertisements follow a pattern that is easy for Bayesian filters to recognize (I speak from experience). Your spam filter has been trained enough when it preemptively removes such mail from your inbox.

blktiger 13y ago

I used to think that way. Then I started actually using the unsubscribe links and (surprise!) I found that I stopped getting so much junk. I don't really have to hit unsubscribe very much anymore, just whenever my name gets added by some new service I signed up for.

Timothee 13y ago

Any time I get something I don't want I click the unsubscribe link. If the link doesn't work, if there aren't any or if I need to do more than legally necessary (e.g. logging into my account), I click "Report spam" in Gmail. I don't feel bad about clicking it because I trust Gmail as a whole to be smart enough not to penalize an account globally if I'm the only one reporting it. Plus, when I do it, it's because it's actually spam. Over time, it really works.

betterunix 13y ago
Personally, I view "mark as spam" as a way for me to cast a vote on bad email behavior. No, I do not want to receive the latest news about your product that I bought 5 years ago -- yes, it is spam when you email me about it. It is spam when you email me asking for money just because I attended your group's meetings a few times in college. It is spam when you send me an email that does not render unless I enable HTML. It is spam when you drop my friends' names in an attempt to get me to sign up for your website. Spam is not just about scams, malware, and crime. It is about the annoying deluge, the fact that I have to open a browser and enable Javascript from 20 different sources when I unsubscribe, and generally about unsolicited, unwanted email trying to get me to do things I am not going to do. Filters, including a spam filter, are what keep my inbox under control.

freyr 13y ago

I have a separate email address for this purpose. Anybody I know personally or trust gets my regular email address. Anybody who might sign me up for a newsletter gets my spam email address. I don't get any newsletter spam at my regular address.