Spam

[Tailgate]

I'm convinced that it's easier to check out of Hotel California that to unsubscribe from a companies email list. The unsubscribe button appears to be a dead end. Not just the companies that make their living off of mass marketing via emails, but reputable companies that who make their reputations off of customer service. Shame that I have to use my primary email account with them because I do need some of the account updates they send.... I don't need sales promotions and other offers.

Zoho email account (free) is the only way I can insure that I can manage the spam. It's not my primary account, It's just for websites that require an email just to get past their welcome page and is rarely checked. Just noticed I have almost 2,500 unread emails currently.... 100% spam.

I like my spam fried.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate I'm convinced that it's easier to check out of Hotel California that to unsubscribe from a companies email list. The unsubscribe button appears to be a dead end.

Don't unsubscribe. Mark that crap what it is, spam!

If you unsubscribe they often sell your address. Making it spam does what you desire! Go away!

[CaptTom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate The unsubscribe button appears to be a dead end.

Not at all! Clicking ANY button only notifies the sender that you opened the message. This means they have a "live" e-mail account that other spammers will pay top dollar for.

For that matter, opening the e-mail to display any embedded images also notifies the sender that you've opened it. The only way to avoid that is to (1) disable the "preview pane" that automatically displays the message without you clicking on it, and (2) set your e-mail client to not load images.

By the way, even if you don't see images, there may be tiny, invisible ones in the message which are there only for tracking. You really need to do (2).

As above, if you have a "report as spam" option in your e-mail client, use that instead. If not, just delete junk before opening.

[easysurfer]

Some things I unsubscribe to. Things which are legit subscriptions. For example, sometimes, in order to buy concert tickets, I have to subscribe to the venue before purchasing (that's a whole different topic). I don't want to get any more emails from the place, so I unsubscribe and that takes me off their list.

But spam from out of the blue, I mark as spam with my mail reader which I say is probably about 95% accurate after I've taught it.

[ERD50]

The SPAM title is misleading.

OP said these are reputable companies and he does need some of the account updates they send. That is not spam.

Spam is from unsolicited sources. Do not open, display links or images, or ever, ever hit "unsubscribe" for those.

Sounds like OP is getting too many emails from a legitimate company. Often you can go to a profile and opt out of most messages. Or unsubscribe from all. You can try contacting them to limit, but good luck.

But don't do any of those things for spam.

-ERD50

[scrabbler1]

My email provider allows me to set the junk mail filter level to "Exclusive," which means all email from senders whose email address I do not have in my contacts list gets sent to Junk Mail. I do have to check the junk mail folder to make sure no legit mail gets in there from sources whose email addresses I don't already have in my contacts list. But this keeps all the unsolicited spam separated from my more legit email. I can then block the senders on the spam although they rarely ever use the same email address twice. I can block domain names but they often get changed for every spam name, too.

I wish I could specify wild cards in domain names so I can block similarly named domain names, as the spammers often vary them very slightly. I have asked my email provider a few times about this, but they, of course, never respond.

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Not at all! Clicking ANY button only notifies the sender that you opened the message. This means they have a "live" e-mail account that other spammers will pay top dollar for.

This may be true for true SPAM, but for all those e-mails where you legitimately gave them your email and then they swamp you with advertisements, the unsubscribe function seems to work. I've been systematically unsubscribing to unwanted emails and of late, I have very little spam and have not noticed any increase in unwanted e-mails. I'm a little surprised by this outcome, but it appears to be working.

As tailgate stated, I also have an alternative email that I only use to get into a site that requires it and I have no business relationship with them. That one certainly does fill up - but who cares. It's kind of like my spam folder. Check it and delete everything when I have nothing better to do.

[FUEGO]

Came here expecting a post full of admiration for the canned meat product popular in Hawaii. :/

[target2019]

With gmail there is very little spam. We have a few gmail accounts, and have also attached a domain to gmail.

Comcast has gotten better, as has Yahoo. But they still miss too much. I actually do a little business with individuals who still use AOL.

[beowulf]

I noticed that last year when I was in Maui. Spam seems to be extremely popular and there are countless recipes on how to prepare the canned delicacy. I guess they missed the details about what Spam is actually made of - specifically which parts of the pig. Then again, I can remember from my time in the deep South the diners that served eggs, fried Spam and grits for breakfast.

[MichaelB]

Spam is junk email. At one time it was mostly porn, sex related and overseas drugs. Now, though, mail hosts such as GMail can filter that stuff. At least in my case, spam is mostly legitimate businesses that bombard my inbox with unsolicited mail and do not process the “unsubscribe” requests. Becasue the origin is legitimate, GMail filters are less effective and let a lot of it by, even when flagged as spam, probably because the originators are legit.

[Tailgate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB . At least in my case, spam is mostly legitimate businesses that bombard my inbox with unsolicited mail and do not process the “unsubscribe” requests.

Exactly my point. From the companies I do business with, I'd like the emails I signed up for, but not sales promos and marketing stuff. While I have tried to unsubscribe from those categories in the various account dashboards and profiles, it seems that my unsubscribe requests go into a black hole. There are probably 5 or 6 companies on my bad actor list. The true unsolicited spam coming from companies that I don't have a relationship go unopened and listed as spam.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB ... At least in my case, spam is mostly legitimate businesses that bombard my inbox with unsolicited mail and do not process the “unsubscribe” requests. ...

IMO, that's an oxymoron. If the business does not respect your unsubscribe request, they are not a 'legitimate' business.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beowulf I noticed that last year when I was in Maui. Spam seems to be extremely popular and there are countless recipes on how to prepare the canned delicacy. I guess they missed the details about what Spam is actually made of - specifically which parts of the pig. Then again, I can remember from my time in the deep South the diners that served eggs, fried Spam and grits for breakfast.

What's wrong with pork shoulder and ham?

Also, the idea that hot dogs have all sorts of 'parts' in them is a myth as well. Research it, and you'll find that while hot dogs legally can include 'parts', they must be excelled. Since most hot dog packers do not want to put "lips and eyelids" on the ingredients, they use only the more acceptable (to Western culture) meat products.

But some of those "cold cuts", especially anything labeled "loaf" - pretty much anything goes. But of course, stomach, tongue and cheeks are standard fare in some cultures.

-ERD50

[joeea]

I use GMail for my email system. They have a terrific Spam filter.

Additionally, when I subscribe to a new site, I use an email like My.Name+sitename@gmail.com (for example, My.Name+EarlyRetirement@gmail.com). Anything after the + sign is ignored by Gmail, so all emails are delivered to the same place as My.Name@gmail.com.

That way, if I do get unwanted Spam, I know from which site it originated, or who sold my email address. And it makes emails to My.Name+sitename@gmail.com very easy to mark as Spam.

Gmail can also do most of the work of unsubscribing for you. Very easy.

[JoeWras]

I've used Constant Contact as an authorized marketer. (Don't call me a spammer!)

Anyway, the thing about "little pictures" is true. On your C.C. dashboard, you can see who opened stuff by the ping-back from the pictures.

Now, as for the "unsubscribe." Well, when one of my customers hit that, it was curtains for us. It is nearly impossible for the marketer to undo. Customers would sometimes hit it accidentally, and then ask for me to "fix it." Not possible. It is a nuke. I supposed, though, I could collect the email and sell it. Maybe some unscrupulous do. But they'll never get another mail from me.

This keeps companies like Constant Contact in the good graces of the spam detectors.

Now, for other companies who roll their own... well, they can do whatever they want with "unsubscribe."

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate Exactly my point. From the companies I do business with, I'd like the emails I signed up for, but not sales promos and marketing stuff. While I have tried to unsubscribe from those categories in the various account dashboards and profiles, it seems that my unsubscribe requests go into a black hole. There are probably 5 or 6 companies on my bad actor list. The true unsolicited spam coming from companies that I don't have a relationship go unopened and listed as spam.

In gmail, the sales promo and marketing goes into the Promotions folder. At least for me, it is 100% effective. You can ask gmail to unsubscribe from most emails like this, or easily set up a filter to do with the email exactly as you wish.