unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe

After looking at the (virtual) pile of e-mails I had from various businesses I've used over the years after I returned from Thanksgiving break, I decided to get rid of a lot of the sources of the mails.

So as stuff comes in, unless it's a place I know I'm going to order from soon (or that has limited-time offers that I might want), or unless it's something like Knitting Daily that also has useful information, it's gone. (I think I've unsubscribed to about 15 places between yesterday and today).

It's interesting to see how different places do things differently. Some of the unsubscribes are easy - you click a link, it takes you to a page that says "you have successfully unsubscribed," and you're done.

Other businesses, I suppose both because they want to be 'sure' it's the person receiving the messages unsubscribing, and also to make it require a bit more effort (and therefore, make people that much less likely to do it), make you type in your e-mail address. One also asked for a zip code. And a couple have check boxes you have to uncheck to tell them you don't LIKE spam.

A few have irritated me - they have this page that essentially says, "Are you SURE you don't want e-mails from us? What have we done to offend you? Why are you abandoning us? Please, please, don't unsubscribe - we'll try to do better in the future." Feh. I hate places that make me feel like I'm breaking up with a needy boyfriend when I just don't want my inbox clogged with their mail.

I've not yet found one that makes you type in your password you used when you ordered from the site, or some such, but I'm sure there will be one or two.

And now, we'll see how many of those requests actually TAKE. There are a couple of outfits that mail to my university address (one is a lab equipment supplier for equipment I would never use - thinks like microfuge cassettes; the other is a "publication" that's really mostly advertising for lab stuff) that when I've tried to unsubscribe, it acts like I can't. Or I keep getting the dang mail anyway. (I finally went with Block Sender on those, on the assumption that if I ever need to microcentrifuge something, I will probably be doing it with the assistance of someone who actually uses a microcentrifuge on a regular basis, and she will have the equipment needed, or at least will know the best place to get it)