p2pnet - rss feed: Dear AOL reader
p2p news / p2pnet: We’ve had an email on behalf of an AOL reader who made a deliberate decision to sign up for the p2pnet newsletter when he or she first registered, but who doesn’t want to receive it any more.
The AOL missive accuses p2pnet of spamming a subscriber and says, in part, “[…] unless you know you’ve fixed the problem, you will likely get further complaints forwarded, and after a few days we may block your machine from sending mail without further notice”.
At the end of every p2pnet newsletter is this message: “To unsubscribe, edit your account settings at http://p2pnet.net/xxxxxx. If for some reason - ie, you’ve lost your password - that doesn’t work, please contact newsletter@p2pnet.net with the email address(es) you want removed and we’ll take care of it for you.”
Every day I carefully check the newsletter email addie for people who want to unsubscribe. There aren’t many, but I act instantly on all delete requests.
To the AOL user mentioned above, it would have been a lot easier, and considerably more effective, to have contacted me rather than AOL’s anti-spam outfit.
As it is, I know you’re seeing this but I can’t unsubscribe you. The AOL note didn’t tell me who you are.
Cheers! And all the best …
December 2nd, 2005 at 11:13 pm
AOL users are not computer people and AOL has made these people dependent on pretty pictures and big balloons to guide them around the computer. they are made parinoid about spam and the like so AOL can sell it’s garbage.
As a computer tech I’m so amazed at the amount of people who walk in my store claiming to be computer illiterate when All they have to do is “read and click” Instructions on the screen or on websites are in English, often times with arrows and phrases like “go to the highlighed word and click with your mouse.” I don’t know how it can be made simpler and it doesn’t take a computer technician to understand that.
You don’t have to be a car mechanic to drive, a doctor to put a bandaid on a cut, an electrician to turn on an appliance, or a school teacher to know how to teach your child math. All running a computer requires is the ability to read and follow directions. Just like when we vote, Opps that’s probably a bad example.
December 2nd, 2005 at 11:16 pm
what else would you expect from someone who is on AOL?
December 2nd, 2005 at 11:33 pm
crackerjacker rules
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:22 am
Well, I wouldn’t say ALL people are stupid, cuz that would include ME ;-). But IMHO a pretty good chunk of the people out there ARE stupid, or at least they do things, say things, and generally act like they are… STOOPID.
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:59 am
Well, the subject really shouldn’t be the intelligence of people who are on AOL. My daughter, who has a master’s in special education and is working on being certified by the National Board of Special Education, is a highly intelligent person. If she gets her certification, she will be in the top 20% of educators in the US. She has AOL. For whatever reasons, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that she’s misinformed about that. I don’t think it’s reasonable to assume stupidity in such a situation.
December 3rd, 2005 at 1:25 am
I understand that you might be upset about something that you feel might not be what you want. I also understand that almost every advice on how to avoid spam says not to send a return opt out. I would make mention that there is a slight difference between spam and a newsletter you might no longer want to recieve.
In spam, the sending makes sure that they recieve your email address but you don’t get anything acknowledging the recieving of the message. Instead you get on the spammers’ list of verified and existing emails, which brings a higher price for selling. That’s not quite happens with an on-line newsletter for a site that is publicily accessable.
Because the reader jumped to the conclusion that the newsletter isn’t something they want anymore, they decided to do it the way that leaves them unidentifiable. In doing so, they have also cut the one necessary connection to make it happen by a responcible site that would willing obey.
Now AOL would love to cut this connection to their readership. I even wonder if maybe this might be a setup to do so but that is just speculation. You see, AOL is owned by the very folks that p2pnet has issues with how they do their business. So AOL could very well use this a means of damage control by removing access to AOL users of this information while acting under the guise of protecting their membership.
In many places, AOL isn’t just a connection place, it is the only way to get on the net, especially in rural areas. Not having a choice of who is going to be your ISP isn’t a reflection on intelligence, it is a reflection on lack of options.
December 3rd, 2005 at 1:33 am
I don’t know whats worse, the AOL user, or the idiot person at the anti-spam department. All it takes is one look for them to realize that its a mailing list subscription. Sure most AOL users are stupid, but the AOL guys themselves are just as bad.
December 3rd, 2005 at 1:42 am
I agree AOL users are not stupid. just misinformed and not computer savey. (like reading directions) however I take issue with the rural area idea that AOL is the only one avaliable. though there might be a few small areas in the country that AOL is the only connection in the Vast vast vast majority of the cases that is not true. I lived in Rural type areas all my adult life and I’ve never seen a place that had only AOL. I’ve seen places where AOL didn’t go because there just isn’t enought business for them. the vast majority of users do have other options.
December 3rd, 2005 at 3:38 am
i think thats why they become teachers.
December 3rd, 2005 at 3:58 am
Thats not meant as an insult, but the world is changing and people who want to make a positive difference need to learn the technology that’s out there - not have it it served to them on a plate.
December 3rd, 2005 at 7:35 am
I guess that mostly I would agree with you Rick. However my home area (I don’t live there now) is one of those very places where a long distance call is necessary to hook to the internet through the ISP AOL. Shame but that’s the way it is. I tend to forget that broadband is making its way out into the countryside.
December 3rd, 2005 at 9:37 am
there’s a p2pnet newsletter?
December 3rd, 2005 at 10:11 am
When they can get DSL for around the same price or even 56k for no more than $10 from another company and only a Buffoon would waste $14 to run AOL on top of their Broadband service.
December 3rd, 2005 at 10:44 am
thats because AOL users are all thick fucks who dont know how to use a computer without being handheld
December 3rd, 2005 at 5:38 pm
yes, not to mention many local ISP dial up services.
December 4th, 2005 at 3:18 am
People make the mistake of thinking “i can’t get this damn thing to work i must be stupid” when the truth is, the computers are too stupid to figure out what we want! Which is why ppl have to learn how to use a computer.
Or to put it another way, they have to learn how to tell the stupid thing what they want it to do, in a way that it’s tiny silicon “brain” can understand.
December 7th, 2005 at 3:50 am
I really did not intend to reply to the various comments made about teachers as this is not the subject here nor is it the format. But I was offended by the no-brain descriptions of teachers.
Yes, my daughter has AOL, and yes she is highly educated in mastering and meeting the educational needs of students who are mentally challenged - which happens also to include a huge amount of technolocal study on that subject. To say that a teacher is a “buffoon” or does “want to make a positive difference” only because of her internet connection is comparing apples to oranges. That is not her expertise.
Anyway, if you can read this thank a teacher.
December 7th, 2005 at 5:51 am
Where’s your edit button Jon? I meant to say or does “NOT want to make a positive difference”
December 7th, 2005 at 5:53 am
Where’s your edit button Jon? I meant to say or does “NOT want to make a positive difference”