Bulk Email: A Rant

[W3WN]

I am not in a good mood right now, and I need to vent...

I think I just lost an old friend today, and all because of junque mail.

Let me explain...

We all get them. Bulk emails have taken the place of chain letters. Political messages, pro and anti military messages, love your fellow man, pray for this dying child, humorous stories to lift your spirits... all of you know what I mean.

Individually, they may be informative, uplifiting, or outright worthless. The first one, that is. When you get the same one forwarded to you 5, 6, a dozen times, the duplicates are annoying and junque mail.

So: Yesterday afternoon, within the span of about 20 minutes, I get two of these messages. Both from an email address that I'd never seen or heard of before. The address -- "Big Church @ a certain national telephone provider dot net" -- is vague. Is this someone's name, business, a religious person, a spammer, who?

More importantly, I'd already seen both of these messages. From my father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, my wife (forwarded from the f-i-l), two fellow ex-Home Depot inmates, and three or four hams. Now a new source?

So I sent a short, polite note saying "Whoever you are, stop sending me this stuff. I already get it from 4 other people!"

I get a nastygram back... from a different email address. It's a ham I've known for over 25 years, dating back to when I moved to Pittsburgh to work in a ham store, he ran the computer store in the same strip mall.

That is Ok Ron…don’t say anything to me at the next hamfest…OK ???

I respond:
Suit yourself. But I didn’t ask you to send me this stuff, and I’m already getting it from (call redacted) and 3 relatives, all of whom refuse to stop.

Once is enough. Five times is too much. That’s all.

In hindsight, I could have phrased that better, I do tend to be somewhat terse. But I don't think I'm out of line in asking someone to not add me to the email list for bulk chain email.

This was the reponse from him this morning:

Suite myself ??? I receive these as many as 5 times or more…I don’t run off at the mouth…Instead I simply delete them and let it be. This is the first time I sent anything to you…it won’t happen again. True colors can be seen for miles…;

Now I'm a patient man, most of the time, but this one got my dander up. I don't believe that I am at all out of line in asking an unknown new source of refried forwarded chain mail to stop sending it to me, nor do I believe that in doing so I deserve to be insulted. Needless to say, this set me off...

"True colors?:" Really? That was totally uncalled for and totally out of line.

What have I done to deserve to be insulted?

I get two emails of unwanted and unsolicited spam chain email from an address that I HAD NEVER SEEN OR HEARD OF BEFORE with no identifying indications of any kind. Both are messages that I have received to date from my father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, wife (courtesy of my father-in-law), two ex-co-workers from Home Depot, and three hams.

I simply ask that this unknown person stop sending these to me. This is not an editorial comment on the content. This is trying to keep my mailbox from being overflowed with multiple copies of the exact same (large) emails -- and by "multiple" I mean 5 to 10 copies.

And as a result, YOU get your nose out of joint, tell me to stop talking to you at hamfests, and now make insults about my character regarding my "true colors?" A simple request, and you accuse me of "running off at the mouth"???

And how the hell was I supposed to know that this email address was from you, anyway?

I am not making aspersions on you, your character, or your political beliefs, I am simply asking you to NOT forward mass emails to me, especially from an unknown email address -- different that the one you are using for these replies, I might add.

A simple request -- and for good cause -- does not justify insults. I have done nothing to insult you... but I resent your insulting me because I am tired of getting my mailbox filled with crap. And why the hell should I have to be inconvenienced in clearing my mailbox of unwanted stuff because you suddenly and without warning decide to start sending it to me from a semi-anonymous email address, anyway?

"True colors?" Not only was that totally uncalled for, but you'd better take a hard look in the mirror pal.

I don't know why you are spoiling for a fight. Go find someone else to feud with.

I don't know if I'm going to hear from him again. Betcha anything that if I do, it will escalate the nastiness, but I may just delete it without reading.

Suffice to say, someone I've known for 25 years won't be talking to me at the next hamfest, and probably not again for awhile. And all because I don't want 20 copies of the same old stuff that keeps circulating the 'net.

[W3WN]

Well, this was to be expected:

You are amazing…and I thought…for years…that you were a really rational person. I even bought a radio off you.

What was I thinking ?? I never once insulted you…never. You took this as an insult.


If your email issues are stressing you out, I suggest you never click on another email again. Or, like I do, allow my email server to delete these things before they reach me. The issue you are talking about is American History…I did not send you porn. Let me see…How many people did you respond to (5 or 10) regarding this email that was originated by another Amateur Operator sent to many other amateur operators who were also war veterans ?? True colors are RED-WHITE-BLUE.

I have created a rule for your address…you are history.


Now take a minute, look at the call sign and look it up on QRZ.

Have a nice day.

The irony? I actually agree with the content of the mass email he is referring to. I did when I read it a week ago the first time I got it. I just don't want to keep getting it, over and over again.

But he questioned my patriotism and then blocked my email. I guess he sure told me!

[KG4CGC]

You're both wrong.
But seriously, how is anyone supposed to know what's already in your inbox?

[W4RLR]

Mail filters are a wonderful thing.

I gave my e-mail address to our club activities director, so I could be informed of club news. I get that AND all of the other stuff he feels is pertinent, most of which has nothing to do with amateur radio, and a lot to deal with right wing politics.

Thus, the mail from him goes into a separate box. Most gets put in the virtual circular file.

[KG4CGC]

Mail filters are a wonderful thing.

I gave my e-mail address to our club activities director, so I could be informed of club news. I get that AND all of the other stuff he feels is pertinent, most of which has nothing to do with amateur radio, and a lot to deal with right wing politics.

Thus, the mail from him goes into a separate box. Most gets put in the virtual circular file.

\Oh man, he's not forwarding right wing horse pics, ala Paladino?

[W3WN]

You're both wrong.
But seriously, how is anyone supposed to know what's already in your inbox?

Fair enough. But if I ask him to stop sending the stuff me, am I being unreasonable?

[KG4CGC]

Fair enough. But if I ask him to stop sending the stuff me, am I being unreasonable?

Perhaps, in his mind, you came off, poorly.

[W5RB]

Fair enough. But if I ask him to stop sending the stuff me, am I being unreasonable?

Sounds like you went out of your way to be reasonable , and then he went out of his way to be insulting . I've pissed off people in the past by replying that I would NEVER read anything with the subject line "This is sooooo cute " or "dangerous email virus " . Gimme a break .

[w3bny]

Mail filters are a wonderful thing.

the DELETE key is an even better thing.

Serious. My ex-wife sends me all sorts of crap. As well as others I know but hey. I dont have to read it.

<delete> <delete> <delete> <delete> OOOH free Pr0n..<delete> and another why I should join the tea party movement letter from the ex...<delete>.

In closing...the delete key is your friend

[KG4CGC]

Perhaps a misunderstanding that could be cleared up via further communications. Often people here come off in a manner that they did not intend, myself included. The written word leaves open areas for further interpretation thus, that is why we have, lawyer speak in many written documents.
So in other words, yes, Ron. Sometimes I wonder who was the first to pee in your Cream of Wheat some mornings. Other times I just wake up guns ... a blazin'!