Opt-in by default should be banned and outlawed. It's much abused by many.

I get it - it's the holidays and the season of sharing. Of giving. Of discounts and sales.

But for fucks sake, I buy one product 5-10 years ago (I can't even remember when I bought it; just remember I wasn't entirely happy with it and never looked at your products again). And now, every day, I get a reminder that you're having a sale and only X days left. I really don't give a fuck.

And then multiply this by 10's. I hate opt-in. I shouldn't have to opt out. Every time I get these ads, it makes me less likely to buy from that company. 1) because they bother me; 2) because I don't want to aggravate the ad load - I don't want more.

In general, I hate buying online from someplace new - invariably I get put on more lists.

How sad that the major forms of mass communication - radio, TV, email, search engines, websites - it's less about information and more about ads and sales.

In some ways, I long for the days of yore when I just walk into a store and buy what I want. No lists, no ads, no junk, no invasions of privacy. A singular transaction in time. Unless I explicitly sign up for something.

SF is a blissful place.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Opt-in by default should be banned and outlawed. It's much abused by many.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you why that will never happen.

I hate it too. I've been subscribed to a number of emails lately without my consent.
Marking them as spam doesn't help. They still show up in my inbox regardless of what I do. I hate to click on anything in the email to un-subscribe but I do sometimes after carefully examining the email.

I hit up a state level politician over this kind of crap and his dumb answer was that this is a FEDERAL issue. Funny, since Cali-forn-i-stan had the first privacy law and no other state or the feds have enacted anything. They don't give a crap about protecting us nor our privacy as they all profit off of our data including our government.

I spend hours hitting unsubscribe to these emails.

The new thing I saw on Black Friday was having to “sign up” to get the “deals”. FUCK YOU! I’m already buying your shit, I don’t want to sign up for anything!

Sometimes, you don't have to ever buy anything from a company.

When I bought my house 30+ years ago, it had an above ground that I promptly tore down.

After writing letters back then, later calls, then emails, asking to be removed from any contact lists. I STILL get junk mail from this company! 30+ years of annoying junk mail.

That automatically opt-in you mentioned is almost as bad as the automatic payment plans assumed after a service trial period ends. I actually avoid trial periods now.

Here in the Commonwealth, you are required by law to have uninsured motorist coverage. The insurance companies attach this coverage to each car you have. So, if your household has 4 cars, while you are only required to pay it once per household, you get charged it 4 times.

Unless you opt out.

And you can’t do it online. It’s snail mail paper only. And they “lose” it more often than not. But, I’m sure somehow the process is for my own good or for the children.

quote:

Originally posted by TRIO:
That automatically opt-in you mentioned is almost as bad as the automatic payment plans assumed after a service trial period ends. I actually avoid trial periods now.

Amen, brother! I get a few hard copy magazines, and I always renew by check.