Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

besson3c · Dec 15, 2006, 10:11 PM

Any suggestions? I'm sick of getting these dumb ass joke emails from my Mom, and I know my wife has been sick of getting the dumb "Bill Gates virus burns zero sector of drive" warning emails from family too.

How do you get them to stop without offending anybody? I've been letting them go, but they hurt my eyeballs and make my brain cry.

ghporter · Dec 15, 2006, 10:55 PM

I ignore them and delete the crap. If it continues without my encouragement (in other words, if the person figures no complaint is a sign that I like it) I explain that I just don't have the time to handle "that much email." I also stick in a little "I appreciate the thought..." sort of thing.

Hoaxes I almost always debunk. I've debunked my sister several times (the Febreez kills dog myth was a biggie) and my even my father once (the old "just seeing a welding arc causes contact lenses to permanently adhere to the eye" myth). I'm as diplomatic as my relationship with the sender warrants-I was a computer security officer for several years, so people I don't need to be "gentle" with just get the facts.

CharlesS · Dec 15, 2006, 11:05 PM

I send a reply with ***SPAM*** appended to the subject header, and with a message body that says "Hey, this spam filter works!"

amru · Dec 15, 2006, 11:11 PM

i just set up a gmail filter to send anything that has FW: and a specific email address [the one who initially sends out this crap] to go straight to trash.

i did email my siblings and parents about not fwding me that stuff.. but yea that didnt work out to well.

starman · Dec 15, 2006, 11:46 PM

Looks like your mom and my mom should get together and go bowling.

Atheist · Dec 16, 2006, 12:03 AM

I kill them

olePigeon · Dec 16, 2006, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by starman

Looks like your mom and my mom should get together and go bowling.

Smoke up, Johnny!

alligator · Dec 16, 2006, 10:39 PM

Go to their house and steal their "enter" key.

Kevin · Dec 16, 2006, 11:19 PM

They remind me of threads like this

http://forums.macnn.com/89/macnn-lou...istmas-thread/

Blasphemy · Dec 17, 2006, 01:01 AM

those junk emails drive me crazy

I delete them, but am close to telling one person to cut it out

mitchell_pgh · Dec 17, 2006, 01:54 AM

I don't give out my work email to friends/family.

When co-workers send them, I simply don't comment.

andi*pandi · Dec 17, 2006, 11:14 AM

I have one main offender, that is the majority of his content. I anything from him in a special folder, and go through it every once in a while in case there's an actual personal email. Some of the jokes are ok, some I delete, I hate when he sends "funny pictures" and if it's a myth I send along a link to snopes saying why. I like to think I've trained him to check out snopes (at least 10% of the time)

KeriVit · Dec 17, 2006, 11:35 AM

I give certain people certain addresses so I know where most of the junk lies. Known or suspected offenders don't get the address that I try to keep clean.

I have a comcast, mac, yahoo, and work address and I monitor the in dif programs to keep it all separate.

Zeeb · Dec 17, 2006, 11:49 AM

My sister-in-law used to send all kinds of cheesy joke and religious emails and I didn't say anything or respond. She eventually stopped sending them I think because I never wrote back to say, "hey that was funny!" which is what they want.

We get along great.

Personally, I wouldn't say a thing and just continue to delete them. This is the kind of small issue that if handled incorrectly can cause major hurt and fighting in a family. It's simply not worth it IMO.

If I absolutely had to walk through the minefield to stop family/friends from sending joke emails, then I would try some B.S. such as telling them that the number and content of the emails that they are sending has triggered the spam filter on my account. Therefore, they must stop or you won't be able to receive any mail from them. This assumes your Mom is not very technical, for all I know she could be a network administrator.

SirCastor · Dec 17, 2006, 11:52 AM

I direct everyone who sends hoax emails to Snopes.com and tell them not to move along such things. Sometimes they do anyway, but that's okay. I just ignore them usually.

Gossamer · Dec 17, 2006, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Kevin

They remind me of threads like this

http://forums.macnn.com/89/macnn-lou...istmas-thread/

Yep, or
This one
Or this one
Or this one
Or even this one

You know, annoying, pointless messages that are just dumb, but you don't want to tell the person that they are.

Eug Wanker · Dec 17, 2006, 12:55 PM

For obvious hoax emails I send him/her and the entire mailing list back evidence that it is a hoax.

Funny, now I get ZERO hoax emails from people.

Jawbone54 · Dec 17, 2006, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

For obvious hoax emails I send him/her and the entire mailing list back evidence that it is a hoax.

Funny, now I get ZERO hoax emails from people.

I just did the same thing about 20 minutes ago. My grandpa is a huge Wal-Mart fan (he lives in Bentonville, Arkansas) and he sent some forward that was trashing TARGET and claimed the company was owned by Frenchmen and that they were stingy with their donations.

I just sent an Email listing their donations and origins (Minnesota) with sources. I let the family mailing list know that about 90% of those types of Emails that people send them have false information in them.

I like the cleanliness of TARGET when compared to Wal-Mart, which is a big reason I frequent TARGET rather than Wal-Mart. Plus, it seems much more organized.

I wonder what's going to happen with this. About 20 of my family members live in Bentonville. Most of them are on the list.

PB2K · Dec 17, 2006, 01:25 PM

there was a friend who was new on the internet, she came from a village in central africa, and she put my emailaddress on about every terrible email-service that she ran into. Like a service for not forgetting my birthday, and services that I could get discounts with, in foreign countries..it got so bad that she took 3 hotmail accounts and added them all to my MSM. She worked at an internet cafe and logged in with all 3 accounts, so she would say hi from every account, and when i replied to one she couldnt read it but instead continued talking with the other account. that was a crazy situation and I had to complain about it

what upset me most was a housemate who worked in IT as a consultant, he also sent me chainmails about women in need in Sudan who were about to be stoned to death because of Sharia-law.
If I would sign it with my emailaddress then the muslim clergy would alter the verdict (!) this was supposed to be quite a smart consultant

Jawbone54 · Dec 17, 2006, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by PB2K

there was a friend who was new on the internet, she came from a village in central africa, and she put my emailaddress on about every terrible email-service that she ran into. Like a service for not forgetting my birthday, and services that I could get discounts with, in foreign countries..it got so bad that she took 3 hotmail accounts and added them all to my MSM. She worked at an internet cafe and logged in with all 3 accounts, so she would say hi from every account, and when i replied to one she couldnt read it but instead continued talking with the other account. that was a crazy situation and I had to complain about it, it took her a while to figure out what upset me

I admire your patience.

Kevin · Dec 17, 2006, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Yep, or
This one
Or this one
Or this one
Or even this one

You know, annoying, pointless messages that are just dumb, but you don't want to tell the person that they are.

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Yep, or
This one
Or this one
Or this one
Or even this one

You know, annoying, pointless messages that are just dumb, but you don't want to tell the person that they are.

You say tomato, I say those threads are awesome. Way better than any of your threads.

Those threads are awesome classics of MacNN and are pillars of America.

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 03:34 PM

You know, one thing I've never understood about this board and probably many others is why people get so uppity and concerned about what gets posted and what doesn't get posted in the lounge areas?

When you go to any board that has a lounge like this, you are going to get a stew of all sorts of different topics. The gay people here probably aren't interested in the hot babe threads, some might not be interested in all of the celebrity threads, or gay threads, or Christian threads, or fill in the blank...

There are all sorts of tastes and interests on this board, we can't all expect that everything cater to your own. Nobody is forcing any thread on you, you can choose to not read it. Nobody is selling you anything.

Many of my threads are obviously more for the cultured white-collar types. If this isn't your cup of tea, fine. Not a big deal, you know how to scroll.

It's astonishing how some people on MacNN consistently turn non-issues into big productions.

Commence the bickering and catty remarks (like this one

Blasphemy · Dec 17, 2006, 03:41 PM

I hate it when

Blasphemy · Dec 17, 2006, 03:42 PM

people post a follow-up right after themselves in an obvious attempt at +1

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by Blasphemy

people post a follow-up right after themselves in an obvious attempt at +1

That's another thing... what is +1 and who cares? I mean really... Why do people care about their post counts and trying to inflate them? How do you know when people are trying to inflate them?

Maybe I'm just weird, but my post count is way way way down on my list of concerns... If I have to post right after my last, it is definitely not out of concern for my post count.

Dark Helmet · Dec 17, 2006, 03:47 PM

Back in the day if I got a chain letter that said "Send this email to 10 of your friends etc." I would send it back 10 times to whoever sent it to me. That solved that.

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Back in the day if I got a chain letter that said "Send this email to 10 of your friends etc." I would send it back 10 times to whoever sent it to me. That solved that.

Heheh... clever solution!

I haven't gotten a pyramid scheme in a long time!

Has there ever been a pyramid scheme that has worked? I wonder...

Kevin · Dec 17, 2006, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Those threads are awesome classics of MacNN and are pillars of America.

Chuckit · Dec 17, 2006, 04:14 PM

I like to send rebuttals to the people who send the chain letters. Gives me kind of a reputation as a party-pooper, but at least they know not to party in my inbox.

analogika · Dec 17, 2006, 04:34 PM

The only chain-letter I've had in a LONG time was one that would have had me pack up my wife and send her to the first name on the list, and then pass on the e-mail to a bunch of friends.

It promised my I would receive 823,542 women by post within a certain time, among which statistically certain would be * 0,5 Miss Germany's, 2.5 Models, 463 wild nymphomaniacs, 3,234 *attractive* nymphomaniacs, 20,198 multiple-orgasmers, and 40,198 bisexual women.

Making 64,294 women hotter than the one I'd just posted off.

I didn't bother correcting that one.

Chuckit · Dec 17, 2006, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

The only chain-letter I've had in a LONG time was one that would have had me pack up my wife and send her to the first name on the list, and then pass on the e-mail to a bunch of friends.

It promised my I would receive 823,542 women by post within a certain time, among which statistically certain would be * 0,5 Miss Germany's, 2.5 Models, 463 wild nymphomaniacs, 3,234 *attractive* nymphomaniacs, 20,198 multiple-orgasmers, and 40,198 bisexual women.

Making 64,294 women hotter than the one I'd just posted off.

I didn't bother correcting that one.

Heh, I'm never seen that one. That's actually funny.

turtle777 · Dec 17, 2006, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

The only chain-letter I've had in a LONG time was one that would have had me pack up my wife and send her to the first name on the list, and then pass on the e-mail to a bunch of friends.

It promised my I would receive 823,542 women by post within a certain time, among which statistically certain would be * 0,5 Miss Germany's, 2.5 Models, 463 wild nymphomaniacs, 3,234 *attractive* nymphomaniacs, 20,198 multiple-orgasmers, and 40,198 bisexual women.

Making 64,294 women hotter than the one I'd just posted off.

I didn't bother correcting that one.

Well, why didn't you try it ?

-t

Angus_D · Dec 17, 2006, 05:38 PM

I generally reply and tell them never to e-mail me again.

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Angus_D

I generally reply and tell them never to e-mail me again.

Seriously? How does that work out?

Mastrap · Dec 17, 2006, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

The only chain-letter I've had in a LONG time was one that would have had me pack up my wife and send her to the first name on the list, and then pass on the e-mail to a bunch of friends.

It promised my I would receive 823,542 women by post within a certain time, among which statistically certain would be * 0,5 Miss Germany's, 2.5 Models, 463 wild nymphomaniacs, 3,234 *attractive* nymphomaniacs, 20,198 multiple-orgasmers, and 40,198 bisexual women.

Making 64,294 women hotter than the one I'd just posted off.

I didn't bother correcting that one.

Heh. I like that one.

analogika · Dec 17, 2006, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

Well, why didn't you try it ?

-t

I'm rather happy with the current model and we're rather busy constructing the next version.

dcmacdaddy · Dec 17, 2006, 06:44 PM

My Mom--Why does it always seem to be Mom's--was a big offender at forwarding random spam, jokes, chain-mails, and urban myths/legends, etc. At about the same time my sister and I both told my Mom to not e-mail us anymore if the subject was not personal or family-related. It caused some hurt feelings for a while but she got over it. I still tend to get some random e-mails from her but it's not as bad as the 4 or 5 joke e-mails per day we would get. As for friends who do such stuff--most of my friends are too smart/hip to fall for something as dumb as a chain letter or urban legend e-mail--they would get a curt, "this is spam and it's crap" reply from me.

Angus_D · Dec 17, 2006, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Seriously? How does that work out?

They get offended, I call them names, etc. They generally get the message, though.

Gossamer · Dec 17, 2006, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

You know, one thing I've never understood about this board and probably many others is why people get so uppity and concerned about what emails they receive?

When you sign up for the internet, you are going to get a stew of all sorts of different topics. The gay people probably aren't interested in the hot babes, some might not be interested in all of the celebrities, or gays, or Christians, or fill in the blank...

There are all sorts of tastes and interests on the internet, we can't all expect that everything cater to your own. Nobody is forcing any email on you, you can choose to not read it. Nobody is selling you anything.

It's astonishing how some people on the internet consistently turn non-issues into big productions.

Fixed.

BRussell · Dec 17, 2006, 07:32 PM

I always forward them to everyone I know.

besson3c · Dec 17, 2006, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Fixed.

And who says I get all uppity and bent out of shape with people who email this stuff? Just wanting to know how others handle this sort of email... The "dumb" label is just my personal narrative, I've actually never told any of these seners that I think they are dumb.

Kevin · Dec 17, 2006, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

The "dumb" label is just my personal narrative, I've actually never told any of these seners that I think they are dumb.

As long as you keep calling them dumb behind their backs, it's ok.