I've had the same hotmail account since 1996 or something ridiculous like that. It's still my primary non-work account.
Sometimes I'll go a few weeks and not have much junk mail. Then I'll have a sudden barrage of 20-30 junk e-mails a day for several days, until I block them all and unsuscribe from the email lists from websites where I've made recent purchases (despite trying to check all the "don't send me email" boxes when checking out).
It's aggravating, but I get a sense of pleasure from blocking 20 email addresses every day. A big middle finger.
Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.
Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard. -JALLEN
"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
Posts: 11470 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005
Originally posted by chongosuerte: I block them all and unsuscribe from the email lists from websites where I've made recent purchases (despite trying to check all the "don't send me email" boxes when checking out).
I always check/uncheck the boxes about receiving their emails, and without fail, I will get one a bit later "because I am a customer". I unsubscribe from that one (they are usually handled by reputable marketing list companies, like MailChimp or ConstantContact), and the unsubscribe usually sticks. Until I return to that web site and make another purchase, then we start the whole thing over again.
Posts: 10887 | Location: South Congress AZ | Registered: May 27, 2006
Depending on what email service you use there is a glorious service called "Un Roll Me" which will detect what emails you are subscribed to and give you numerous options for getting rid of or managing them. I used this to get my wife's Gmail user control after she complained about being subscripted to every shopping email list known to man.
Posts: 3987 | Location: Peoria, AZ | Registered: November 07, 2002
Outlook and Gmail have pretty good filters in place and almost all spam goes into a spam or junk folder instead of my inbox. I just go thru it once or twice a week and pull out anything I might want, like the notifications of specials at restaurants I like to go to or special giveaways at the local Casino, and then empty the folder. Usually the only mail in my inbox is from people and businesses in my contacts that I have entered for that service. Outlook and Gmail, of course, don't use the same contacts list.
Originally posted by 41: Yahoo's site was hacked several months ago and the spam has gone through the roof. I sometimes get 100 to 150 spams a day.
and so has the spam for every person in Yahoo member's address book. I haven't had Yahoo in 8 years, but apparently several of my acquaintances still did since my spam went through the roof after Yahoo announced the breach.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
Posts: 23940 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005
Maybe I am weird, but I don't filter any of my incoming email for spam. I have both GMail and personal domain accounts. I do filter topic specific stuff, like mailing lists, to go to their specific folders. I don't mind deleting, or mass deleting (rarely), spam, most of which is easily recognizable from the basic header lines. However, I am the curious sort who wants to see where this spam is really coming from, sort of to keep up with the current trends in spamming techniques. Weird, I know. I do this without actually opening the message, but by viewing the "message source", which shows the entire message, including delivery headers, in plain text, so completely safe.
Posts: 10887 | Location: South Congress AZ | Registered: May 27, 2006
Spam is just an extension of the other "scam" method or donations. The general rule of giving to charitable organizations is that your name and address is worth more than what you gave them. They can sell it multiple times for years. You're on the sucker list. My grouchy mother used to give to all sorts of causes, each with its tear jerking story. Then she'd get ever more solicitations. Logic was never her strong point, so I suggested a trick we used back in the film photography days.
When on vacation, you send off each roll to Kodak but you vary your name by the middle initial. When you got home, the first rolls were there in your mailbox. Each with your name and a minor difference.
So she kept on giving, but her name changed to each new cause. It told her who was doing the most selling. Back in my camera days, I would often receive 5 or even 10 magazine offers. With only the middle initial changed. They didn't have computers back then (Brownie box camera days.)
Unhappy ammo seeker
Posts: 18394 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: February 25, 2001
My parents had an account with a major department store that they opened around 1965 when they opened a store nearby. It was in my dad's name. He died in 1973, and every other charge account my mom had was put into her name, except for just that one. No big deal. Years later, I got a credit report, and the account is on my report. WTH? So I contact the credit reporting agency, and not only did they insist it was my account, they were nasty about it. It amused me that they got so angry. There was no balance, it was just mentioned. So years later, my mom needed some drapes, and I went and used the still valid charge card at the store to buy her drapes, hooks, and curtain rod. Almost immediately, I began getting mail in my dad's name. My mom and I had a good laugh about it. When the internet really took off, they had a lamp on sale and I ordered one using the charge account. Instantly, like within a minute, I started getting emails in my dad's name. All I need to do to bring my dad "back to life" is to just visit the site, and it will trigger email and snail mail.
Posts: 214 | Location: Ohio | Registered: January 01, 2017
