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Ninety Degrees of 'No'
Yahoo reminds users of policy shift

Yahoo reminds users of their upcoming privacy policy changes after being fined for ignoring "opt-out" preferences. -

One time Pac-Bell (now under SBC name umbrella) users were promised "incredible new services" last fall if they signed up for the new co-branded SBC/Yahoo service. What they weren't being told (at least very clearly) is that they were be opted in to the massive Yahoo marketing universe. SBC's privacy policy simply indicated that "Yahoo has its own privacy policy and may use your personal information in ways which are different than SBC's policy contemplates."

"Different" is certainly one way to put it. "A massive multi-corporation marketing hell where your opt-out preferences aren't always respected" is another.

Yahoo found themselves under fire from privacy advocates last year when they decided to essentially reset their marketing criteria, and started marketing to users who had already opted out. Users found their marketing preferences reset, and had to opt-out a second time. The tactic resulted in a slap on the wrist from NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, who fined the company $75,000 and reminded them that "no means no".

"It is neither appropriate nor legally permissible for a company to compile a database of personal information through an online registration process and then attempt to use the information for telemarketing purposes to target consumers who have stated that they do not want to receive solicitations," Spitzer warned at the time.

Under the terms of the settlement with Spitzer, Yahoo could still e-mail or snail mail users who opted out before the 2002 change, but could not call them. They also agreed to notify users 30 days before a marketing policy change is to take effect. With Yahoo's new policy set to take effect January 1, 2004, those users this week received a reminder e-mail.

Under the new policy (and thanks to Spitzer), users who previously opted-out from Yahoo marketing materials will not be subjected to third-party marketing. They'll still receive marketing directly from Yahoo, though this too can be eliminated via the Yahoo marketing preferences page. Unfortunately, if marketing partners already have these users' information, there's not much to be done about stopping the marketing onslaught.

From the Yahoo web-mail screen, select Mail Options--->Account Information (on the left)--->Edit Your Marketing Preferences; then make changes according to your preferences. Your choices take approximately 5 days to take effect.

Still, you'd think that "no" would mean no - it's a shame "no" now must be broken down into a litany of individual marketing preferences. At least Yahoo has now been forced to clarify their practices and respect the wishes of those who opted out back in 2002. Though the fine was couch-change to Yahoo, it's comforting to see a company held somewhat accountable for questionable marketing policies.
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WildGod8
God Is Dead
Premium Member
join:2002-01-30
NYC

WildGod8

Premium Member

Just got this mail this morning.

Why cant they understand I dont want their crap?
I said no, therfore I mean NO.
linkon7
join:2003-10-18

linkon7

Member

Re: Just got this mail this morning.

poor customer understanding means greater profit
ODYSSEY8
join:2001-12-06
Raleigh, NC

ODYSSEY8 to WildGod8

Member

to WildGod8
Because two wrongs make a right?

ff1324
Everybody Goes Home
Premium Member
join:2002-08-24
On Four Day

ff1324

Premium Member

Re: Just got this mail this morning.

said by ODYSSEY8:
Because two wrongs make a right?

No...but 3 rights make a left...

Glaice
Brutal Video Vault
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Glaice to WildGod8

Premium Member

to WildGod8
Got this mail a few days ago, my prefs are still all on "No".tho

The TX Kid
@63.88.x.x

The TX Kid to WildGod8

Anon

to WildGod8
Just like AOL, they purposely allow a certain percentage of spam to "slip through" their spam filter. After all, they DO get a kickback for every banner/link that is clicked on. I just hit the "Empty" link next to my Bulk folder - after all, I'm getting exactly what I pay for (I've had a free account for years - have never sent Yahoo a penny, never will)

ccallana
Huh?
Premium Member
join:2000-08-03
Folsom, CA

1 recommendation

ccallana to WildGod8

Premium Member

to WildGod8
My favorite is that after I changed settings (a bunch of mine had been reset to Yes) - they tell me its going to take 5 days to reset them all. Its electronic - why should it take 5 days? 5 seconds is all it should need... geesh!

Landshark
Premium Member
join:2002-05-09
San Diego, CA

1 edit

Landshark

Premium Member

Re: Just got this mail this morning.

I once had an account with Yahoo, especially so I could use their "My Yahoo" service. I canceled the account last year specifically because of this sort of nonsense, and will never again create a new account with them.

rchandra
Stargate Universe fan
Premium Member
join:2000-11-09
14225-2105
ARRIS ONT1000GJ4
EnGenius EAP1250

rchandra to ccallana

Premium Member

to ccallana
5 days is excessive, but 5 or even 24 hours isn't. Things on the scale of Yahoo! can need a LOT of time to work, because although I cannot say definitively, I would have to guess a LOT of things are batch processed. 5 seconds may be enough for an initial record to be updated in one database somewhere, but any ancillary processing may take a while.

It's all probably a "COA" (a variant of "CYA" I mean) measure where they're not quite sure how long it will take for batches to be confirmed with whom they share the information.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

Comcast might want to take note of Yahoo's mistake

. . . since they are also ignoring subscriber's marketing preferences.

»Comcast ignoring customer marketing preferences

Omega
Premium Member
join:2002-07-30
Golden, CO

Omega

Premium Member

I havce sbc....

I got tons of emails and letters telling me to install their software. I never did.

I absolutely refused, and this one of the reasons why.

I have a clean DSL connection, with no added crap to it. That is how it is going to stay on my computers.

starstuff
Fly By Wire
Premium Member
join:2001-12-05
Mcallen, TX

starstuff

Premium Member

Re: I havce sbc....

said by Omega:
I got tons of emails and letters telling me to install their software. I never did.

I absolutely refused, and this one of the reasons why.

I have a clean DSL connection, with no added crap to it. That is how it is going to stay on my computers.

I HAD to register/switch because I needed to add new mail accounts and find out the dialup access numbers and I couldn't find the web pages in the old system. I registered using a test/spare computer and after registering I re-formatted the hard drive.

I haven't received any e-mail solicitations... maybe SBC/yooho software serves as a proxy for spam abusers??? I can't say anything for phone solicitations since the line I use for DSL is only for DSL... no services added no phone attached no splitters no nothing.

I guess that after this NY ruling the marriage between SBC and yooho makes no sense??

robert,

Logan 5
What a long strange trip its been
Premium Member
join:2001-05-25
San Francisco, CA

Logan 5 to Omega

Premium Member

to Omega
said by Omega:
I got tons of emails and letters telling me to install their software. I never did.

I absolutely refused, and this one of the reasons why.

I have a clean DSL connection, with no added crap to it. That is how it is going to stay on my computers.

I agree 100% however, there will come a point in time, where the 'holdouts' like you and me will be given a choice:

1) Do the Yahscrew registration
OR
2) Find another ISP...

I have friends who are techs at PacBell, and they all say the same thing; " It's not a matter of IF you will be switching, it's a matter of WHEN. " apparently SBC has this master plan to have all of it's users using Yahoo's co-branded services...

And when or if that day comes, after 5 years of mostly smooth sailing with my DSL connection, I will likely have no choice but to switch to Cable HSI (I am too far away from the CO's in my area) and then have to put up with all the crap associated with their aup's, tos's, caps, limits, etc.... a dark day that will be..:[

dnewman
join:2000-07-22
Houston, TX

3 edits

dnewman

Member

Re: I havce sbc....

Just look for another local ISP and dump SBC. There are a few good local ISP's still out there and many of us don't even use PPPoE either. Oplink.net for one (in Houston, TX), doesn't add any marketing crap. We're pure Internet. Plain and simple.

oliphant5
Got Identity?
Premium Member
join:2003-05-24
Corona, CA

1 recommendation

oliphant5

Premium Member

Yeah but

Once your addy has been whored out...there's no stopping it.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

Re: Yeah but

said by oliphant5:
Once your addy has been whored out...there's no stopping it.

Put so well, HEHEHEHEHEHHE

garagerock
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY

garagerock to oliphant5

Premium Member

to oliphant5
said by oliphant5:
Once your addy has been whored out...there's no stopping it.

Isn't there a new chapter being added to Dante's Inferno that describes a new circle of Hell, in which you are forced to read spam after spam all day long?

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

Re: Yeah but

and there all Viagra adds, with headers like "where have you been", and "i miss you call me"

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to garagerock

Premium Member

to garagerock
That's the perfect punishment for any and all spammers: go
to Hell when they die, and get a taste of their own
medicine. And that includes the people in Yahoo/SBC's
marketing department.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen to oliphant5

Premium Member

to oliphant5
said by oliphant5:
Once your addy has been whored out...there's no stopping it.

I've had the same email address since about 1996. I use it in public forums like Usenet and elsewhere. The account is still useable because I run my own mail server that I have installed a TON of filtering tools on. Those tools arre about 97% effective, with no falses. Even still, about 100 pieces of SPAM get through per week.

-tom

garagerock
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY

garagerock

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

Wow, great solution. Let's all invest in a mail server, and a TON of filtering tools...not.

The average Joe wouldn't know a mail server from a bagel, and filtering tools sound like coffee filters.

Not exactly a great solution; what can the average guy do to stop spam?

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by garagerock:
Wow, great solution. Let's all invest in a mail server, and a TON of filtering tools...not.
Gee: I managed to put that all together for...

   FREE.

•Hardware: old pentium box that I wasn't using any more (essentially free, since it was paid for long ago)
•OS: *nix (free download)
•Mail Transport Software: Sendmail - free (but could have used at least a half doezen others - also all free)
•Mail Download Software: Washington IMAP (but could have used at least a half doezen others) - free
•Mail Filter Software: ClamAV, MIMEDefang and SpamAssassin - all free
•Mail Reader: Thunderbird, which includes its own learning filters - free

[Note: A fair number of the Linux distributions make similar solutions pretty trivial to implement.]

Ok, to be fair, there's the cost of the electricity to run the box.

-tom

Glaice
Brutal Video Vault
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Glaice

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

Thunderbird rocks, I use it too (moved from Eudora 6.0 cause of slow mail downloading, TB's is instant)

IgorKane
@140.192.x.x

IgorKane to nixen

Anon

to nixen
You misunderstood, he was making you a compliment by stating that you are above average. If someone has no need for their own mail server, however, they don't care for all that you've listed there. Everyone cannot run their own mail server, for various reasons.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by IgorKane:
You misunderstood, he was making you a compliment by stating that you are above average. If someone has no need for their own mail server, however, they don't care for all that you've listed there. Everyone cannot run their own mail server, for various reasons.

Right, but, it's possible for groups of people to find a friend or acquaintance that can do that for them. Let's face it, when you rely on commercial entities like Yahoo to do it for you, either at no or low cost, you get screwed.

I've been doing that for friends and relatives and a few business acquaintences for a number of years, now. The side benefit is, email addresses stay stable, so I always know where to find my friends (via email) and they know where to find each other.

Community mail services might be a good idea, overall. But, I digress.

-tom

garagerock
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY

garagerock to nixen

Premium Member

to nixen
Like I said...
quote:
The average Joe wouldn't know a mail server from a bagel, and filtering tools sound like coffee filters

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by garagerock:
Like I said...
quote:
The average Joe wouldn't know a mail server from a bagel, and filtering tools sound like coffee filters

Then the "average joe" can have fun dealing with the deluge.

-tom

garagerock
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY

garagerock

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

Wow, nice attitude towards the masses. I asked a simple question about a solution and got basically a "f*ck 'em" answer. Nice.

Oh right, you probably think if they can't handle Linux, they must be idiots.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by garagerock:
Wow, nice attitude towards the masses. I asked a simple question about a solution and got basically a "f*ck 'em" answer. Nice.

Oh right, you probably think if they can't handle Linux, they must be idiots.

You cited a problem.

I proposed an answer.

You said, in essence, "that's too hard for the average person."

Twice.

It's my belief that what I proposed is not something that's too hard to do. In fact, if you check out the "All things Unix" forum, you will find lots of people who are completely new to any type of Unix. Why are they there? Because they want to learn - some even want to specifically learn how to stem the spam tide. The point is, if someone is genuinely interested in helping themselves, then they can - even if they are a "n00b".

Now, if the "the masses" can't be bothered to do for themselves, and they can't be bothered to pay for shrink-wrapped solution, then, yes, "fuck the masses". People that won't fend for themselves deserve what they get.

-tom
nixen

nixen to garagerock

Premium Member

to garagerock
said by garagerock:
Wow, nice attitude towards the masses. I asked a simple question about a solution and got basically a "f*ck 'em" answer. Nice.

Oh right, you probably think if they can't handle Linux, they must be idiots.

You cited a problem.

I proposed an answer.

You said, in essence, "that's too hard for the average person."

Twice.

It's my belief that what I proposed is not something that's too hard to do. In fact, if you check out the "All things Unix" forum, you will find lots of people who are completely new to any type of Unix. Why are they there? Because they want to learn - some even want to specifically learn how to stem the spam tide. The point is, if someone is genuinely interested in helping themselves, then they can - even if they are a "n00b".

Now, if the "the masses" can't be bothered to do for themselves, and they can't be bothered to pay for shrink-wrapped solution, then, yes, "fµ¢k the masses". People that won't fend for themselves deserve what they get.

-tom

garagerock
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY

garagerock

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

quote:
Now, if the "the masses" can't be bothered to do for themselves, and they can't be bothered to pay for shrink-wrapped solution, then, yes, "fµ¢k the masses". People that won't fend for themselves deserve what they get.
You proved my point for me...why am I responding again?

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by garagerock:
why am I responding again?

I can only guess that you're a whiney, dolt who likes to hear himself cry "it's broke. Somebody fix it for me... for free."

-tom

oliphant5
Got Identity?
Premium Member
join:2003-05-24
Corona, CA

oliphant5 to garagerock

Premium Member

to garagerock
The only answer isn't running your own web server and Ferric didn't say his was the only one...just one answer that isn't overly difficult nor expensive. I think his point is, if you are unwilling to put in the effort to learn how to control spam...then you will live with spam.

But of course that isn't the only solution. You can also buy monthly domain mail for cheap like I had from Digitronic Web and be able to do a lot with it without knowing how to set up and run a mail server (which I don't know how to do securely).
wolfenstein9
join:2003-12-03
Buffalo, NY

wolfenstein9

Member

Re: Yeah but

boy do i wish spam was my most important problem!!!

oliphant5
Got Identity?
Premium Member
join:2003-05-24
Corona, CA

oliphant5 to garagerock

Premium Member

to garagerock
As my primary Comcast name I have just random letters numbers to thwart dictionary attacks...I also don't give it out. Then for the 6 others I get I just create one mail I give to friends, I have one I whore out and a few others.

The cool thing about running your own mail server or having domain mail is you can have your username anything you want and it still get's delivered. When I had domain mail through an own site I had hosted, whenever I would buy something I would use the site's name I'm giving my addy to as my username, eg amazon@mydomain.com, symantec@mydomain.com

Then I would know exactly who whored out my name and would KF that username in my filter list and never do business when that company again.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: Yeah but

said by oliphant5:
The cool thing about running your own mail server or having domain mail is you can have your username anything you want and it still get's delivered. When I had domain mail through an own site I had hosted, whenever I would buy something I would use the site's name I'm giving my addy to as my username, eg amazon@mydomain.com, symantec@mydomain.com

DING!!! DING!!! DING!!!

Winner Winner: Chicken Dinner!

That's exactly what I do. I must have a several hundred registered email addresses by now.

I mean, it's nice that mailers like PostFix supports "+" addresses (RealUID+modifer@domain.TLD), but all a spammer has to do is remove the "+modifier" to divine your real address. Whereas, with Alias@mydomain.TLD, I can set a filter to shunt any spammed addresses straight to /dev/null.

-tom

Varangian
join:2002-12-08
Collinsville, IL

Varangian

Member

Earthlink pulled the cr*p too

FYI : You need to renew youre opt outs if youre on earthlink too.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Earthlink pulled the cr*p too

Earthlink did this in error I believe, according to one of their execs....those who opted out were temporarily opted in, but according to them, it wasn't intentional.....

timcuth
Braves Fan
Premium Member
join:2000-09-18
Pelham, AL
Technicolor ET2251

timcuth

Premium Member

I'm going to just drop my Yahoo account

I received the email describing all of this from Yahoo, last night. What a mess.

There was one very nice thing in the notice, however. A link to click to remove my Yahoo account, completely. That is what I have decided to do.

Yes, I am aware that that won't get my address back from anyone they've already given it to, but maybe it will help reduce the barrage in the future.

Tim

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

No means NO in every language

Corporate suits are the only people on earth who do not understand simple commands like sit, stay and no. What I do not *get* is which part of the word NO! they cannot understand???

Is it the N, is it the O, or is it the exclamation point?

Once upon a time, when the Internet as we know it now was new, Yahoo was a very good and useful tool. Today it offers bloated, buggy, *child proof* software that does not install on all machines; unwanted advertising in email accounts it manages, and certain "free" features that are not usable by all account owners. It also takes control of the users personal home page (changes it to Yahoo) and all other browsers the user might have installed by adding Yahoo, although *uninvited*, to that browser bar. It further attempts to control user surfing habits.

In short, Yahoo side-stepped the limits imposed by law, when it tried to hijack Internet Explorer users. Yahoo deserves the $75,000 love pat and more.

If the Yahoo partnership is the SBC attempt to woo AOL users to its cheaper BB offering they picked the wrong bandwagon to jump on. I am no fan of AOL, and have never been because I don't like a controlled environment.

However, when I used my daughter's machine for two weeks, I was stuck with AOL. There is no comparison between AOL and Yahoo except the proprietary, gratuitous, Yahoo of today works like AOL did when it was new; it's sucks.

Until Yahoo changes its evil ways it will remain on my test machine, and off line, where it cannot interfere. An improved version will not be loaded on the test machine and Yahoo will not manage my mail. Yahoo offers exactly *nothing* - a word that is formed from the root "no" - that I want or need.

No means NO! I'm not going to say it again.

•••

lml2000
Whazzup
join:2000-08-17
Los Angeles, CA

lml2000

Member

Nahoo to Yahoo

Good article, Karl. Rec'd notice from Yahoo myself. As soon as I saw the link to marketing preferences, I clicked, & sure enough Yahoo had reset ALL of my marketing preferences from "no" to "yes." Perhaps that explains why I've been getting about 45-50 unsolicited junk mail in my Bulk Mail folder, as well as another half-dozen in my Inbox. Hopefully, the foregoing will cease once the "NO" takes effect in a few days, but that's anyone's guess.

What gets me is how blatant these infractions are & how little they are penalized. Come on, Elliott, what's $75K to Yahoo? Additionally, while Spitzer is to be highly commended for his vigilance in protection of the consumer, it's about time the penalties levied against perpetrators against consumers get routed DIRECTLY back to the consumer.

I would like to see a law passed, similar to the telecom "no call" legislation, that provides a private remedy to the consumer whose privacy is violated & is subjected to unsolicited marketing to his/her e-mail account.

••••

SuperJudge
Raiden Wins
Premium Member
join:2002-11-14
Atlanta, GA

SuperJudge

Premium Member

Marketing Preferences

I had a WHOLE BUNCH of checks next to 'yes.'

I also noticed I was getting somewhere between 100 - 300 spams a day, just out of nowhere.

I hope this well effect that outcome.
SuperJudge

SuperJudge

Premium Member

Re: Marketing Preferences

I just got this email from Yahoo when I changed my preferences, so watch them again, come January 1st of 2004.
said by Yahoo!:
Dear Yahoo! Member,

Last year we announced changes that affect how we communicate with Yahoo! members about Yahoo!'s own products and services. However, we have not yet implemented those changes for all our registered members. Because of your previous account settings, Yahoo! has not yet sent you marketing communications under the new program. Before we do, we want to remind you how to set your preferences, and let you know what has changed and what is not changing.

Background Information
Over the years, we've sent emails to some registered Yahoo! members about Yahoo! products and services. We've also delivered promotional messages to Yahoo! members on behalf of our marketing partners. When you first registered with us and created your Yahoo! ID, our system presented a single "Yes" or "No" option for receiving all types of marketing communications. At some point you said "No," and after that we no longer sent any of these types of messages to you.

In March 2002, we began rolling out an updated marketing communications system. Instead of just a single "Yes" or "No" choice, we created a new Marketing Preferences page where you decide:

whether you want to hear from Yahoo! about our own products and services, and separately, whether you want to hear from Yahoo! about the offerings of our marketing partners;

whether you want to hear from Yahoo! about certain types of Yahoo! products and services but not others (For example, you can select specific categories such as "Managing personal finances" or "Using Yahoo! for research and surfing the Web," and de-select other categories that might not be of interest to you.);

whether you want to hear from Yahoo! (or not) by postal mail or telephone, in addition to email.

When this updated system was first announced in March 2002, we told you we'd begin sending you messages about Yahoo! products and services across all categories, even though you had said "No" to messages under the old single choice system. We also told you that you could still say "No" to these messages by visiting your Marketing Preferences. But we did not completely implement this change until now.

What's Changing on January 1, 2004
Starting January 1, 2004, Yahoo! will begin to send you messages, via email or postal mail, about our own products and services. (We will not send you postal mail if you have given us a mailing address and have opted out of contact via postal delivery.) You can control the types of messages you receive by visiting your Marketing Preferences at any time.

What's Not Changing on January 1, 2004
As in the past, you will not be sent messages on behalf of our marketing partners. We will not call you on the telephone to market products or services. If you ever change your mind about any of these choices you can let us know by visiting and updating your Marketing Preferences at any time. Every marketing email you receive from Yahoo! will continue to include instructions for how to unsubscribe from more marketing email. And, as always, you can delete your Yahoo! account altogether at any time, for any reason, by going to the deletion page.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information. We look forward to serving you.

Sincerely,

Yahoo!

IceNineJon
join:2003-05-21
Studio City, CA

IceNineJon

Member

Calm Down People!

This is probably going to lead to a bunch of people jumping down my throat but I personally don't see what the big deal is. I have SBC/Yahoo DSL and I've had my Yahoo! email address for at least 4 years now. I don't know what the rest of you are talking about with Yahoo selling or address or letting SPAM slip through but I personally get very little SPAM and the SPAM I do get, gets caught by their filters.

I received this email yesterday, read it, went to their site, and confirmed that I was opted-out of everything (they had not touched my setting since I signed up). Done deal. It took all of 2 minutes.

Personally, I think that it's a good thing they sent a reminder to everyone telling them to opt-out if they wish before their new policy goes into affect next year. It's one email. They're not advertising anything in it, simply informing you of how you can opt-out.

Contrast that with my Hotmail account on which Microsoft sends me ads (which can't be filtered) weekly and I'll take Yahoo! anyday.

You all need to take a deep breath or use your energy to go after people who are selling Viagra...not companies who wish to remind you of how you can opt-out.

Bring on the flames ...
grantje
Premium Member
join:2003-05-07
Kokomo, IN

grantje

Premium Member

Still don't understand...

Why Yahoo gave its free account holders the new anti-spam features BEFORE the features were turned on for PAYING users of SBC Y! DSL.

I was told on the phone, that this was to allow training time so that the phone people could be trained about all the new features. When I called, the person wasn't even aware there were new features, and had to look it up. Is the "partnership" of SBC & Yahoo that distant? Or maybe they only get together to find ways to take advantage of loopholes to violate customer privacy?

It also frustrates me that the freebies they provide that I would find most attractive and useful on a broadband connection (namely, audio and video streams) mostly don't work on the Mac, primarily due to Yahoo's insistence to use their own special web player window that is built on old, crappy technology that functions best in Netscape 4.x.
If Yahoo would simply give me a page with a list of plain text A HREF links to the content, that loaded in whichever external player (RealOne & WMP9 are available on Mac OS X), I would be satisfied. I do not need a special web player that is designed to provide Yahoo with branding and other advertisements.

POB
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium Member
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA

POB

Premium Member

Spam is Unavoidable

I never disclose my real email addresses or register them with sites but somehow always end up with boatloads of spam. Gee, how unusual. Do ya think these companies that profess to have a "privacy policy" maybe aren't bothering to honor it?

Furthermore, I don't even bother reading this crap Yahoo spews - They reset marketing prefs and got a slap on the wrist for $75k from Spitzer. BFD - $75k is chump change to Terry Semel who probably spends more than that on Saturday party at his estate.

Final analysis - Spam is like a cockroach - hard to kill but easy to find. The solution is to develop better filters instead of naively buying into the privacy policy and marketing prefs fairy tales Yahoo -or any of the email services for that matter- spins.

elvey
Spamassassin
join:2001-02-17
San Francisco, CA

elvey

Member

Solution for people signing up now.

Sign up and provide all incorrect info.
If you give them invalid info, it doesn't cause any problems, and solves this one. They can try to junk mail and spam and call the contact info given all they want--won't bother me!

Rendaddy
join:2003-09-09
Saint Peters, MO

Rendaddy

Member

I am a SBC Tech support agaent

i am a tech support agent and i walk people though install not user our software all the time. if you got win XP just it with no cd install xp has a pppoe built in, our buy a dsl router and use it for it pppoe or just in the enternet 300 but it self off the cd (x:\setup\efficent\reboot\setup.exe x= your cdrom drive)
thats where you can find it on the cd