How Many Ways Can You Misinterpret Unsubscribe?
I have been getting emails from a reputable organization which are of no interest to me because they are statistics about money flows in mutual funds. I had erroneously subscribed when I thought it was a different type of data. So, today I tried to unsubscribe. And this is what I got as a confirmation email acknowledging my request (I’ve masked the name of the organization).
We have received a request for the removal of your email address, “ireneetz@siegelgale.com” from the www-update@lists.oho.org mailing list. To confirm that you want to be removed from this mailing list, simply reply to this message, keeping the Subject: header intact. Or visit this web page:
http://lists.oho.org/mailman/confirm/www-update/761256e6d2e5b7df1ffdcbaa335f133f7bddead0
Or include the following line — and only the following line — in a message to www-update-request@lists.oho.org:
confirm 761256e6d2e5b7df1ffdcbaa335f133f7bddead0
Note that simply sending a ‘reply’ to this message should work from most mail readers, since that usually leaves the Subject: line in the right form (additional “Re:” text in the Subject: is okay).
If you do not wish to be removed from this list, simply disregard this message. If you have any other questions, send them to www-update-owner@lists.oho.org.
Is this a joke? Instead of giving me four unintelligible options, how about one that is clear? Why must I jump through hoops to stop getting emails from them? Does anyone realize that this message is literally jibberish? Do I really need to be protected from “unsubscribe” pranksters–if such a class of criminal really exists?