PLEASE can you stop with the cutesy email already!!!

Now, I like the occasional good joke email. But my wife's email box (which is MY email box) is inundated daily with what seems like HUNDREDS of emails, usually from family members, with cutesy crap like fairies or unicorns, and/or 'pass these on for luck', or the asinine "forward this to 27 people in 4 minutes and you'll be rich---and then there's government hate mail, or terrorist hate mail, or 'if you think YOU have it bad...' mail....and about 50% of these are "please forward this" crap, that's already got more of >>>>>>>>>THESE THINGS>>>>>>>>> on it than actual text...

The reason I'm spouting off today about this crap, is the wife got a 'guardian angel' email, complete with cute reditions of angels, with the heading "Let me know what happens the afternoon after you open this!" followed by this:
Forward this message the same day you received it.
It may sound ridiculous, but it is right on time.
We believe that something is about to happen. Angels exist, only sometimes they haven't got wings and we call them friends; you are one of them.
Something wonderful is about to happen to you and your friends. Tomorrow at 3:46 P M, somebody will address you and tell you something you have been waiting to hear.
Angels are real so please send blessings to all. Send it to all of your friend s.


Well, something DID happen---

Last week a 48 year old cousin of mine was told her cervical cancer had just killed off her liver, and that she had about 4 to 6 DAYS to live. This happened about 2 days after her mother was found 12 hours after having suffered a major stroke. My aunt is still in the hospital, they still don't know if she'll recover from the stroke. My cousin lives quite a few miles from the hospital her mother was in, and hadn't been to visit her when she learned her fate. She thought she had better make funeral arrangements for herself, then visit mom. She did get arrangements made, but then made a turn for the worse. Sunday afternoon, 'after opening this email', my cousin died, never getting the chance to say goodbye to her mother. And her mother has no idea her daughter has died...

So, sometimes these cutesy emails have a way of turning out to be ironically cruel. So that's why I ask for a TACTFUL way to tell people to quit it...

Because the way I FEEL like doing it isn't tactful at all....


(not the best way to vent about a stupid pet peeve, my apologies)...

Give the wife her own e-mail address, have stuff like this directed to the new address. Let her sort through them, respond if she wants. After a while, she will figure out in her own "tactful" way how to put a stop to it, if she wants to.

Very sorry to hear of your cousin's passing. Prayers for you all.

Prayers and condolences from me also FR.

Cap'n is right on. I couldn't agree with you more. Once in awhile one of them is worth reading, but 99% of them are just crap.

I usually say something like.

"Thanks for keeping in touch, by sending me emails, but please remove me from some of the 3rd class emails that are sometimes sent.

I like hearing from you, but I'd much rather it be a personal direct business email from you, rather than jokes, forward for luck, and other generic (3rd class) emails.

So how are you doing?"

Regardless of the topic, I NEVER forward emails that ask me to "keep it going" or "send to x number of people." I sent out a mass email telling my contacts not to send me such garbage, but some don't seem to get it and I still get them.

FR--I'll bet if you tell the sender "what happened that afternoon," you will never get that type of email from that particular sender again.

So sorry to hear about your cousin and aunt. Wish I knew of a tactful way to say what you need to say.

FR, sorry for your loss.
I'll let others give you advice, i don't have much tact.

At work I have blocks set up and these blocks are people within the company.

FR,
Sorry to hear about this. It reminds me of about 15 years ago, when a young guy I worked with, who was brilliant, killed his own liver by taking tylenol and then going out drinking - big no no. He died just as you said, in about 4 days - leaving three young kids.

BTW - the cervical cancer probably didn't kill the liver, but the Chemo or radiation they were probably giving her might have.

This one works for me.

The above says it nicely and has worked for me in the past. Still on speaking terms with the one or two I have sent it to.

Good luck...

That's a great link. Thanks, Bird Man!

Sad to hear of the loss in your family FR.

As for spam forwarders... I useally just ask them to remove my addy from any distribution list they have.
No one should be offended from a simple request like that.

You really get into trouble if everyone they send to starts doing a 'Reply to ALL'. Then you start getting crap from people you don't even know. But they should be filtered out if you turn spam filter on.

You're welcome shank shagger....

sorry to hear about your family's loss FR. terrible news.

tell them outright. I did that to my Mom and she stopped...

I simply told her: "hey, email me if you have something to say, I understand that you want to share things and tell me that you love us in a round about sort of way but I get enough emails that are """"junk"""" and just fill up my in box. I appreciate your kind wishes but please stop"

then I told my sister a different statement:
"quit sending me that sh**"
she stopped too..

Sorry about your loss.

For email, many ISPs give you several email addresses.

What I do is give out my main address to my close friends and family.

When I sign up for other stuff, whether it be bulletin boards or whatever, I use one of the other email accounts.

I then setup multiple accounts in Outlook Express so that each one is scanned for new incoming mail.

Then, if one email begins to spew BS, I simply change that email address.

Of course if it is your friends and family that are sending the email, that is a different story.

In that case, you can "manually" return a reply to those messages, as if it came from an automatic system.

For example, return an email something like this (comments in quotes):

******* WARNING *********

Mass email detected by ISP Robot Scan (or something cool sounding).

IAW Federal Regulation 33CFR10.12 (make something offical sounding), this transmission may be subject to fines and penalties as provided by law (be vague here, don't actually say they did something wrong, so that you don't actually get in trouble yourself). The sender of this email is put on notice that further such transmission will be processed according to the policy of the email provider. A copy of the policy can be obtained by writing to Email Compliance Clearing House, 121 Federal Way, Orem Ut. (or some official sounding place).

This is an automated message - do not reply.


So maybe you can intimidate the sender without them knowing it is you, but rather make them think it is an automatic system message.

There is profit in confusion.

Either that or use the direct approach and simply tell them to knock it off.

FR, sorry to hear about your loss...
I have nothing to offer in your email quandry, but I can relate. The Link Parrot_Head sent is a keeper...

Don't bother with tact.
People who send this stuff won't understand it.
You can always reply with links to the Glurge Gallery
at Snopes.

Nuff said.

Sorry about your loss.

FR, please accept our condolences. Best of luck in dealing with your e-mail problem. I usually tell people who send stuff like this to me to knock it off. If they take insult to that and choose not to speak to me thereafter, I probably didn't need them hanging around anyway.

My condolences, FR. As far as the emails just tell them straight up "Please Stop" and you will find most will and won't take offense. Others will at least reduce the number sent.

I get these emails from the Vice President of my company! He mass mails them to the whole sales force and anyone with a brain and an extra two minutes can find them on snopes.com. How do you tell your boss's boss that the crap he is sending is false?

Have your boss tell him and if he gets fired then you will know to thank the VP for the great info the next time you see him!

I had an uncle that used to send me the ultra right wing junk accusing Clinton and the Democrats of everything under the sun. Finally I just sent him back the Snopes link debunking it. He was embarrassed, but not mad. And I don't think I've got one from him since.

FR - terribly sorry to learn of your recent loss.

My MIL forwards stuff all of the time. Any time that I see something from her that has FWD in the subject line, I delete it w/o hesitation. Only those emails from her that do not include the tell-tale "FWD" in the subject line do I open.

I also worry my Mom will get scammed because she forwards stuff too that is false. Some day she'll believe something from the wrong person.

on the same vein ... how about those Christmas Letters that some people send detailing every minute little detail of their life for the past year ??!

has there ever been a better reason during the Christmas Season to get the ol' shotgun off the rack and chug a couple shots a Jack?

Friends got sick of the Christmas letters and one year wrote a spoof letter and sent it to all of those who typically sent them one. About half of the letters ceased to show the following year. The worst thing about them is they are exagerated more than a desperate MBA's resume.