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Why do unsubscribe links never work?
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imitchellg5
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Nov 21, 2011, 10:55 PM
 
How come any time I get spam email and hit unsubscribe it never, ever works? Even with Apple! I get all kinds of MTV and Paramount and Apple crap all the time to my MobileMe account and end up blocking email from those addresses since the unsubscribe never works even after 10 days.
     
olePigeon
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Nov 21, 2011, 11:13 PM
 
The unsubscribe link confirms that your email is real and not some other SPAM account, then they send you even more.
"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
     
imitchellg5  (op)
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Nov 21, 2011, 11:15 PM
 
Really? Oh no...
     
phantomdragonz
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Nov 22, 2011, 12:01 AM
 
I loved the "bounce" feature on the older version of mail, I wish they would bring that back... it seemed to work for me.
     
andi*pandi
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Nov 22, 2011, 12:36 AM
 
Originally Posted by olePigeon View Post
The unsubscribe link confirms that your email is real and not some other SPAM account, then they send you even more.
I expect this from the shady spam but anything from a real corporation that you have voluntarily subscribed to you should be able to unsubscribe from. What gets tricky is some corporations have an all or nothing attitude toward email... either you get all 64 billion email just for the one coupon code you really want, or nothing.
     
ghporter
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Nov 22, 2011, 07:34 AM
 
I've used such links with some unsolicited emailers and never heard from them again...but I am very careful about whose emails I "unsubsubscribe" from. Most that get through the spam filters get added to the spam filters so I never have to bother with them in the future.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Spheric Harlot
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Nov 22, 2011, 10:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by phantomdragonz View Post
I loved the "bounce" feature on the older version of mail, I wish they would bring that back... it seemed to work for me.
Yeah. I wonder why it's gone?


FWIW, "unsubscribe" has worked well for me with all reputable companies.

I don't load images or click on links in unsolicited spam e-mail out of principle. Often enough, each e-mail has unique code attached, so that just doing so is confirmation that they've hit a live account.
     
Big Mac
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Nov 22, 2011, 11:20 AM
 
Agreed. A major corporation will respect an unsubscribe request. Even smaller legitimate companies will. But the random spam you get that carries an unsubscribe link is bogus and will generate more of it.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
reader50
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Nov 22, 2011, 02:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by phantomdragonz View Post
I loved the "bounce" feature on the older version of mail, I wish they would bring that back... it seemed to work for me.
Bounce is still here in Leopard. Both in the Message menu and contextual. Maybe it's still there in contextual menu in SL / Lion?
     
Stogieman
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Nov 22, 2011, 04:22 PM
 
Yep. Snow Leopard too.

Slick shoes?! Are you crazy?!
     
Spheric Harlot
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Nov 22, 2011, 05:34 PM
 
The bounce function disappeared in Lion. There used to be a button for it that you could add to the toolbar.
     
-Q-
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Nov 22, 2011, 05:47 PM
 
If they (legitimate companies, anyway) keep sending you email after you have unsubscribed after the 10 day grace period, you can forward all emails you get from them to your local Attorney General for prosecution under the CANSPAM act. It's $10,000 per violation so if it's gone on for awhile, the bill can quickly add up. It's why the Char-broil corporation and I are no longer friends.
     
imitchellg5  (op)
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Nov 22, 2011, 07:43 PM
 
Originally Posted by -Q- View Post
If they (legitimate companies, anyway) keep sending you email after you have unsubscribed after the 10 day grace period, you can forward all emails you get from them to your local Attorney General for prosecution under the CANSPAM act. It's $10,000 per violation so if it's gone on for awhile, the bill can quickly add up. It's why the Char-broil corporation and I are no longer friends.
Really? These are all from legitimate companies. MTV, Nickelodeon, Apple, etc. I'll have to look into that.
     
   
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