# Mayday! Mayday! (minirants!) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409 "2018-05-01T14:47:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/341 "2018-05-24T17:07:06Z")
You got a working TV in your room? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/342 "2018-05-24T20:24:46Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The gas station I usually go to has just installed new pumps with TV monitors that spew sales pitches and mindless trivia while you’re pumping gas. \ These things are showing up in various places; I’m sure they are going to be ubiquitous in a short time. I hate them; I hate any form of advertising to a captive audience. There’s a reason every future dystopian society is shown with rampant, rabid, in-your-face advertising. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/343 "2018-05-24T20:37:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > These things are showing up in various places; I’m sure they are going to be ubiquitous in a short time. I hate them; I hate any form of advertising to a captive audience. There’s a reason every future dystopian society is shown with rampant, rabid, in-your-face advertising. :mad: Move to Jersey! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/344 "2018-05-24T21:16:54Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > PetSmart’s CC machines annoy the fuck out of me, which is why I don’t go there very often anymore. Stop asking me all those damned questions on your machine and I’ll be happy to come back. This must be something the individual store does. I go to two different PetSmarts and neither does this. Complain to the manager. Or maybe it’s whoever supplies the credit card machines/servicing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/345 "2018-05-24T21:28:09Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The gas station I usually go to has just installed new pumps with TV monitors that spew sales pitches and mindless trivia while you’re pumping gas. Fortunately I discovered that pushing a specific button on the side of the screen will mute the audio. > > The main reason I go to this station is that when I use their credit card I get a 10 cent per gallon discount, but I’m seriously thinking of changing. I don’t know what the people who do this sort of thing are thinking. It’s sort of like, “come get your gas at our station – our pumps automatically pound you over the head with a rubber mallet while you fill up”. One of the chains around here used to do that (the advertising, not the mallet) and I avoided them like the plague. Apparently I wasn’t the only one because, to their credit, they were smart enough to see the negative impact the obnoxious advertising was having on their sales and removed it. I’m really the worst possible target for that sort of thing because I hate intrusive advertising with a passion. There are probably a few telemarketers and door-to-door peddlers still plying their trade out there who once upon a time, having caught me at a particularly bad time, are still telling stories, years later, about the time they had the misfortune to interrupt what I was doing and try to sell me something. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/346 "2018-05-24T22:58:04Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The gas station I usually go to has just installed new pumps with TV monitors that spew sales pitches and mindless trivia while you’re pumping gas. Fortunately I discovered that pushing a specific button on the side of the screen will mute the audio. > > The main reason I go to this station is that when I use their credit card I get a 10 cent per gallon discount, but I’m seriously thinking of changing. I am finally thankful that Oregon has decided I’m incapable of pumping my own gas. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/347 "2018-05-25T00:37:46Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The gas station I usually go to has just installed new pumps with TV monitors that spew sales pitches and mindless trivia while you’re pumping gas. Fortunately I discovered that pushing a specific button on the side of the screen will mute the audio. The station I go to now doesn’t have those blasted screens or ads, but I’ve had to go to a few that do. They are very annoying. So, where’s that mute button? Is it easily recognizable? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/348 "2018-05-25T00:47:16Z")
Be careful, I stated pushing buttons and bought some drinks I didn’t want. There is a _no_ button somewhere on the screen, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/349 "2018-05-25T01:26:07Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I am finally thankful that Oregon has decided I’m incapable of pumping my own gas. I approve this rant. I’ve been pumping my own gas since it was 75 cents a gallon, but when I drive over the border to Oregon, suddenly I have to have a minimum-wage high school student pump gas for me! ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/350 "2018-05-25T02:06:07Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > The station I go to now doesn’t have those blasted screens or ads, but I’ve had to go to a few that do. They are very annoying. > > So, where’s that mute button? Is it easily recognizable? On the pumps I have seen, there are 4 buttons on each side of the screen. The second button on the right side mutes the audio. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/351 "2018-05-25T06:20:36Z")
Anyone else getting this sudden flood of emails saying"Please consent to our continued contact with you" from other firms. Then when I don’t reply they send a remined “Action required. Please let us know if we can continue to contact you”? Someone’s discovered a way to make emails even MORE annoying! You brilliant bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/352 "2018-05-25T07:12:15Z")
If they’re EU-based it’s our fault. Sorry. The new European privacy policies have led to slews of privacy policy reviews and “very kindly please with non-calory sugar on top allow us to keep your data” emails. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/353 "2018-05-25T07:15:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > If they’re EU-based it’s our fault. Sorry. The new European privacy policies have led to slews of privacy policy reviews and “very kindly please with non-calory sugar on top allow us to keep your data” emails. Ah yes! That’s the connection! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/354 "2018-05-25T08:27:49Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Anyone else getting this sudden flood of emails saying"Please consent to our continued contact with you" from other firms. Then when I don’t reply they send a remined “Action required. Please let us know if we can continue to contact you”? > Someone’s discovered a way to make emails even MORE annoying! You brilliant bastards. I have several approaches to this sort of thing. If the fuckers actually provide a way to contact them through some means that they’ll actually respond to, it’s of course a no-brainer. Often you can’t directly reply to this crap so you have to find the contact info yourself (there’s supposed to be an “unsubscribe” link but it may not always be there, or may not actually work to stop the emails). Anyway my preferred approach is to send an email to the most closely affiliated known address associated with this bullshit that is likely to have a responsible human read it, or at least an effective AI or a moderately intelligent Labrador retriever. If it’s from the US, I cite the CAN-SPAM Act (2003), 15 U.S.C. 103, stating that any further unwanted emails will be reported to the FTC for enforcement as a violation of federal law. That usually works fairly well. If it’s an annoying enterprise that actually has a legitimate business relationship with me, or some small business that I dealt with once that I don’t want to come down on with legalistic threats, I just put the email address into my spam filter. The spam filter is an independent app that runs at a set interval (I think I have it set to every 15 minutes) and either validates my emails against a whitelist, or else checks it against a blacklist and spam-flagging rules, and just deletes them right off the server. For those that pass the filter, it pops a notification of new emails in the task bar. This has insulated me from thousands of offers for no end of junk, prescription meds without a prescription (mostly Viagra), the untold wealth of countless Nigerian princes, and ostensibly long forgotten hot women who, having found me on Facebook or some other breathlessly cited social media, are all hot and bothered about meeting up with me again and, presumably, having wild sex. It’s very flattering and exciting except that I have to acknowledge the suspicious fact that I do not and have never had an account on Facebook or any other social media, so these women’s story is a bit thin. I am forced to conclude that, as incredibly desirable and attractive as I am, the horny hot women must have me confused with someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/355 "2018-05-25T09:27:17Z")
**Wolfpup** , these aren’t junk mails. They’re legitimate emails from people who have the recipient’s data and who are required by the new EU privacy regulation to verify that the recipient really really really wants them to keep said information. I’ll admit I haven’t scrutinized all of them, but in general they’re much better at providing return information than most corporate emails; if they’ve chosen to go the “if you want us to keep the info, we want an active answer”, they usually have one or two Big Buttons (either “ok keep it”, or that one plus “not talking to you any more”) which will send the answer automatically. I’ve saved several from providers I actually use, because the emails have better contact info than their invoices! I’ve taken the chance to get off the databases of several people I haven’t contacted in yoinks, send updated CVs to multiple agents, and tell Google that there are a bunch of things I do NOT want them to do. Oh, and some of Google’s questions have been translated by a drunk monkey\*, but Google didn’t have a place where I could say that. - Considering the source, I imagine it was Google translate. Why the fuck didn’t they ask someone in their multiple Spanish-speaking-country-located offices to check the translations is beyond me. A couple of them take grammar or usage to the alley behind Dictionary Inn and proceed to beat them within a phoneme of their death. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/356 "2018-05-25T14:22:11Z")
The above is an important and valuable discussion easily worthy of its own thread. But I came here to minirant… YOU DON’T GET TWO SEATS ON THE BUS. Don’t think we don’t know what you’re doing, especially in oh-so-passive-aggressive Portland. You think that if you put your shit on the seat next to you, you’ll get to avoid sharing your precious space with anyone, at least until the bus is otherwise completely full or in the unlikely event that someone calls you on your nonsense. And you’re right: it works. Because you suck. Fuck your whole entitled selfish two seats on the bus bogarting manipulative life. . ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/357 "2018-05-25T14:37:24Z")
> [@andros](#): > > The above is an important and valuable discussion easily worthy of its own thread. > > But I came here to minirant… > > YOU DON’T GET TWO SEATS ON THE BUS. Don’t think we don’t know what you’re doing, especially in oh-so-passive-aggressive Portland. You think that if you put your shit on the seat next to you, you’ll get to avoid sharing your precious space with anyone, at least until the bus is otherwise completely full or in the unlikely event that someone calls you on your nonsense. And you’re right: it works. Because you suck. > > Fuck your whole entitled selfish two seats on the bus bogarting manipulative life. > . I used to get annoyed by that, but now, instead of thinking, “That asshole is taking up two seats,” I think, “How nice, someone saved a seat for me.” And indeed, I have used that technique to get a seat on an otherwise crowded bus. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/358 "2018-05-25T16:40:21Z")
Used to ride the bus every day, saw a few people like that. My favorite was the woman who piled her purse, coat and stuff on the seat next to her and refused to move it even after the bus was full and people were standing. The man across the aisle and one row back stood up, grabbed her stuff, threw it on her lap and motioned for a woman who was standing to sit there. Never saw her do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/359 "2018-05-25T17:53:41Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Used to ride the bus every day, saw a few people like that. > > My favorite was the woman who piled her purse, coat and stuff on the seat next to her and refused to move it even after the bus was full and people were standing. The man across the aisle and one row back stood up, grabbed her stuff, threw it on her lap and motioned for a woman who was standing to sit there. > > Never saw her do it again. I once loudly told the bus driver that somebody left their stuff on the seat and did he want to store it behind his seat. The person the stuff belonged to quickly picked up the stuff and put it on her lap. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409/360 "2018-05-25T19:12:50Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > If they’re EU-based it’s our fault. Sorry. The new European privacy policies have led to slews of privacy policy reviews and “very kindly please with non-calory sugar on top allow us to keep your data” emails. This happened a while ago in Canada, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayday-mayday-minirants/813409.md?page=19)