Spam is unsolicited bulk (usually) commercial email.
Spam is bad. I hate spam. I hate getting spam, and I hate spammers. The main reason why I hate spam is that it makes things harder for LEGITIMATE commercial emailers.
Case in point: as many of you know, I send out regular bulletins to my customers to announce new classes, distribute newsletters, my Learning Dollars program, etc. None of this, however, is spam. I am sending to people who are either (1) customers, or (2) people who have requested to be added to my mailing list. This is a legitimate use of bulk email.
However, because of the amount of spam out there, people seem to find it easier to just click on the "THIS IS SPAM" button in their mail programs (you Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL users know what I mean) rather than take the time to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
Now, I know that there is some misinformation out there. Many sources that I've read (even some computer books) have recommended that you NEVER unsubscribe when you get spam because this just tells the spammers that they have a real email address, and you'll be more likely to get more spam in the future.
However, this advice is only for SPAM, not legitimate email. If you receive ads for Viagra, male enhancement, mail-order brides, or any of that other garbage that floats around, then no, DO NOT take the time to unsubscribe from that email. The spammers will mark your email address as "valid" and you'll start getting MORE email.
If, on the other hand, you are getting email from a legitimate company, like mine, that is careful to maintain a valid mailing list, then PLEASE take just a second to click on their UNSUBSCRIBE link rather than just clicking on the "This is Spam" button.
Why am I taking the time to write this? Well, I've been in business since 1994, and I've been operating 599CD.com since 2002. Over that time, my customer mailing list has grown to over 25,000, and my non-customer mailing list of people who have signed up for demo tutorials, newsletters, etc. is well over 300,000 addresses.
Recently, over the past year or so, many email programs and services such as Gmail have added one-click "This is Spam" buttons to report spam. I like these because they do tend to cut down on BAD spam. However, as I said, people are lazy... and they tend to click on the SPAM button even on email THEY SIGNED UP FOR that they just don't want to bother unsubscribing from.
So... now my Internet provider is starting to yell at ME for sending spam, when I know that I don't send spam. When I sent out my "Free Job CD" promotional email, I generated a LOT of complaints. Of course, for the privacy of the email holder, they won't give me a list of complainants, so now it's on ME to re-confirm everyone on my mailing list.
The bottom line here, and the reason why I'm writing this, is because I want everyone to be aware of the kinds of email they receive. If you are getting an unsolicited advertisement from a company you've never heard from before, then YES, by all means click on the "SPAM" button.
However, if you signed up for something (a trial, demo, newsletter, etc.) please take a second to UNSUBSCRIBE from that person's mailing list before reporting them as spam. It will help that company out tremendously, and it will help YOU out in the long run because you'll get email from companies you WANT, and you won't get email from companies you don't.
Now I'm off to send out an email to ALL of the people in my database to confirm whether or not they want to remain on my mailing list. So, for all of you out there who are reading this, look for that email.
17 years ago
