The only spam I get are TOS updates

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36110263

by 650 • 3 years ago

5 12 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Through extensive work unsubscribing to useless emails coupled with regular spam filters in an attempt at inbox zero, I've noticed the only spam that makes it through are Terms of Service update emails that are unsubscribable. Whether these emails be from Google, Twitter, Reddit, or any other company they exist solely as legal means of protection for the companies themselves, as end-users rarely if ever end up reading the large corpus of text that the Terms of Service itself entails.

Solutioning this through, TOS updates should be unsubscribable.

ggm• 3 years ago

Not dissimilar in some ways.

I also find the cookie filtering has gone slightly too far and I have to recommit to consent to trackers on almost everything which is a pain. stackoverload, every single time.

I really don't mind a cookie which confirms I saw the T&C and a more gentle reminder they exist, or have updated would be fine.

In-page over-draw of a consent popup is stupid. This should be standardised to a hotkey YES or NO function my browser does in a normalised manner.

My government login (Tax, Medical benefits) mails me to say it has CRITICAL UPDATES PENDING IN MY GOVERNMENT LOGIN MAILBOX. They are "we have updated the terms and conditions" which typically, I had to click through anyway, to read the mail. Every. Single. Time.

entrepy123• 3 years ago

I also find the cookie filtering has gone slightly too far and I have to recommit to consent to trackers on almost everything which is a pain. stackoverload, every single time.

Cookie/similar dialogs used to really annoy me, especially on frequently visited but logged-out sites, until I finally started applying domain-specific local style sheets to hide them. Such oddness, indeed.

ftxbro• 3 years ago

"solutioning this through"

650• 3 years ago

What is this some redditesque snark? Using 4chan ">" greentext?

speedgoose• 3 years ago

I believe using the > character to quote text convention is from usenet. It’s also common in text e-mails and many forums, including Reddit or HN.

zinekeller2• 3 years ago

As noted by speedgoose, this is pre-WWW Usenet and BBSes, where its all text and there's no method to have a dedicated quote block. This convention was adopted later down the line in email (and therefore listservs) to *chan (in 4chan, the green text) to MarkDown (and therefore Reddit).

throwaway20562• 3 years ago

If anyone from gitpod is reading please

- stop sending me emails that your 'workspace' is going to be deleted spam emails constantly.

- I have disabled all notifications but still get constant emails telling of new plans etc.

- Dark or grey patterns: The unsubscribe is 'written' in smallest font size, and grey - impossible to click.

Please Stop

burningion• 3 years ago

Thanks for posting this. Will follow up.

throwaway20562• 3 years ago

thank you.

zinekeller2• 3 years ago

TOS updates should be unsubscribable.

I understand your frustration but I'm pretty sure that even giving an option for that is illegal in itself: it voids those updates. (Following are US-specific:) They need to demonstrate that there is a reasonable notification and opportunity to refute (good luck though if it's something like Google, the only way to refute is to discontinue using their service) and the easiest way for them to do that is to attempt to send it through your email. Reasonable notification means that if the only contact they have is your email and it no longer exists then they are legally in the clear, but otherwise they are compelled by common law to reasonably contact you even if it annoys you.

gitgud• 3 years ago

Add an email filter for:

    “we’re updating our”

This will catch almost TOS updates… I think

soultrees• 3 years ago

That might catch unintended emails. Such as sub:‘Merry Christmas from the family’ text: hey HN user we’re updating our contact list and haven’t thought about you in a while! Hope to see you at the next reunion”

The only spam I get are TOS updates

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