5 business days to delete my email?

Factual Questions
1

Just doing my daily unsubscribing from the spam horde.
I notice a lot of email lists that you unsubscribe from will say something like “Your request to unsubscribe has been accepted.
Please allow 5-7 business days for your email address to be removed.”

Is this bullshit so that my email address can be re-added to the list? Why would it take days to remove email? Email is instant.
When you subcribe it is instantly active, why wouldn’t it unsubscribe instantly?

2

Smells like Bullshit to me.

3

You do know that the “please remove me” link usually serves as a way for the spammer to verify that they’ve hit a live one?

Anti-spam crusaders generally advise you not to use these links in spam.

4

They cheap out. The will put all unsubscribe requests in a queue and delete them once a week instead of having a totally automated system to do it instantly.

Also, this method allows them to create a handy list of confirmed email addresses to sell or add to other lists.

5

I have been bending over and taking it all this time, haven’t I?

I feel like Bush (if he had a conscience and a clue).

So my email address which I’ve had for 9 years now is so embedded in the lists and lists and lists of spam hell that there is no hope for it anymore?

6

Short answer: When you subscribe it’s instantly active, but when you unsubscibe, it’s never active. Any company that’s going to respect your attempts to unsubscribe isn’t going to be signing you up for their lists in the first place. All the unsubscribe link does is tell the spammers that there’s a human being there reading the mail, so they’ll put you on even more lists.

7

I have been assured by a spammer I know and trust that his company does indeed respect when people click on the “Remove” link – but I’m sure they’re in the minority.

–Cliffy

8

I’m sure most spammers will respect your request to be removed from that mailing list…THAT mailing list. If you verify your address is live by ‘unsubscribing’ I’m sure you’ll get taken off that one list…I can almost guarantee you’ll be added to 20 others though.

Do you think these spammers suddenly feel like having respectable business practices once you click ‘remove’?