I didn't sign up for this part
You have doubtless all heard about computer spam. Even if you don't have a computer, you probably know that it is a great deal like junk mail — it just gets to us faster and in a different form. And a bunch of it is sleazier than anything delivered by the post office.
We get some at home now and then, but I get a lot of it at the newspaper office. I have gotten better at recognizing it before I open it so it gets dumped unread.
In addition to spam and legitimate e-mails about news items from the communities this newspaper serves, I get "news releases" from all sorts of individuals and organizations. Most of the time they are from people or groups wanting to publish their money-making product or event without paying for an ad. They issue a "news release" in hope that I am stupid enough to print it because this is a small paper and they assume I don't have anything to fill the pages. Ha, they are foolish people!
Not everyone wants to sell something. Some want to share their political opinions. Sometimes they have an ax to grind or an answer to someone else with an ax to grind.
Last year, one devoted dad in Ohio or Missouri or someplace sent me monthly updates on his daughter's high school wrestling career. Honest! I got e-mail after e-mail about this girl who was just whipping up on her male opponents all over the state. The Peabody Gazette-Bulletin was one of about 40 newspapers to which he sent his "press releases" every time his darling daughter pinned someone to the mat. Thank goodness she finally graduated! I can only assume her college athletic career has been less than stellar, as I have not heard from him this year.
Usually the e-mails include a line at the end of the message telling me how to un-subscribe to their "news release" communications. If they give me that information, I use it. With most of them, that it is the end of their communications. Occasionally one will send me a response to argue with me that you readers really do want to read what they have to say. I have learned to ignore them.
Last week I had a new one — and you ain't gonna' believe this! The original "press release" had instructions telling me how to un-subscribe from their e-mail service. I followed the instructions which were pretty standard fare: type the word "remove" in the subject line of the e-mail and send it back to them. So I did that. End of story? Nah
Twenty-four hours later I got another message from them saying that my "remove" request was rejected. Rejected, mind you! Want to know why? Because they said they don't have the newspaper's e-mail address in their database. Now tell me how that happened? They sent me an e-mail and I followed their instructions to receive no more e-mails from them. Are you with me? And then they sent me another e-mail me to tell me I can't ask to be removed because they don't send me e-mails in the first place. HUH?
And this is not even from anyone in the government!
I figure I am not going to extricate myself from this mess anytime soon. Wonder what I did to deserve this?
— SUSAN MARSHALL
