# Nice way to tell someone to quit emailing me junk. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 13, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171 "2001-11-13T19:50:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/1 "2001-11-13T19:50:34Z")
A couple of former high school classmates keep sending me all that email type junk that goes around. Not the stuff that I can refute on Snopes, but the Jesus Loves You type of poems, articles, etc. Does anyone have a nice way of telling these people to quit sending me this stuff? I’m non-religious. This stuff does not give me warm fuzzies. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/2 "2001-11-13T19:56:32Z")
does your mailbox have a quota? Fill it up with a really big file and let all their junk start bouncing back 🙂 Of course, meanwhile, you’ll miss out on all your love letters ☹ Setting an auto-reply saying you’re ‘out of the office’ or ‘my brain is on vacation, please contact me at a later date, thanks’ might also get them to shut up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/3 "2001-11-13T21:48:18Z")
I receive a lot of email, and somehow find myself on lots of lists. I email people who sign me up (without asking me, which is rude, so being polite is an added karma to you) and say that I already have a hard time keeping up with my email, so please take my name off any spam lists. I am honest (to a point), saying that I am already on too many lists. Sometimes, the answer is easier than you might initially think. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/4 "2001-11-13T22:00:47Z")
With varying amounts of success (there’s always someone who will take offense!), I’ve used something along these lines: “Thanks for thinking of me, but I’d appreciate it if you would stop sending me forwarded poems/jokes/whatever. Frankly, I use the Internet enough that most of the time I’ve seen this stuff several times already, and it’s just clutter in my mailbox; most of the time I’m so busy that I just delete such things unread. Of course, I always welcome personal messages from you. Thanks!” I also include the info that my e-mail account is mostly for my home business; I have had important messages held up because my mail program kept crashing while trying to download Elf Bowling or some crap like that. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/5 "2001-11-13T23:09:00Z")
My worst offender of the sending crapola is my father in law. His crap jams up my email and there is no way I can ask him to stop. I mean , the man ( well, my mother in law) is my babysitter) so… I logged onto his system when I was over once - AOL - and took my name out of his address book. Haven’t had an email in days. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier. For other people who send me FWD’s, I either refer them to SNOPES or never respond. They usually go away after that. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/6 "2001-11-13T23:25:35Z")
on a somewhat related note do the people who forward chain letters really believe in them or do they just think it cute or something? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/7 "2001-11-14T01:38:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*With varying amounts of success (there’s always someone who will take offense!), I’ve used something along these lines: > > “Thanks for thinking of me, but I’d appreciate it if you would stop sending me forwarded poems/jokes/whatever. Frankly, I use the Internet enough that most of the time I’ve seen this stuff several times already, and it’s just clutter in my mailbox; most of the time I’m so busy that I just delete such things unread. Of course, I always welcome personal messages from you. Thanks!” > > I also include the info that my e-mail account is mostly for my home business; I have had important messages held up because my mail program kept crashing while trying to download Elf Bowling or some crap like that. \*\* Wow, I think I’ll try this. Thanks. It’s polite but firm and to the point. Funny thing is, I don’t actually mind receiving an occasional joke or humorous picture, it’s just that people sending me four or five of this sort of thing a day is sooo annoying. People who actually know me send me know what I find funny, too, and send appropriately (like the demotivational posters. I LOVE those). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/8 "2001-11-14T02:24:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\*Funny thing is, I don’t actually mind receiving an occasional joke or humorous picture, it’s just that people sending me four or five of this sort of thing a day is sooo annoying. People who actually know me send me know what I find funny, too, and send appropriately (like the demotivational posters. I LOVE those). \*\* Ah, there’s the rub. The troublemakers are the ones who automatically “Send to All” every piece of blather that hits their inbox. I also send along the occasional forwarded funny, but I pick and choose the people that I know will like it. More often, it’s not a forward, but a snippet of conversation from one of my mailing lists (or a link to an SDMB thread 😃 ). I have a friend who’s very political, and she used to send me every anti-Republican poem/joke/diatribe that came her way. I was on a trip to Canada the weekend after 9/11, and needed to check my e-mail on the road, long distance. After the third or fourth round of 9/11 commentary from her (and everyone else, it seemed), I sent out the general anti-forward alarm. With the additional mailing list traffic and CNN alerts, my mailbox was choking at ~4 bucks a minute. Non-personal missive from my political friend have been nearly nil since then. And I loved the demotivational posters too! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/9 "2001-11-14T03:12:13Z")
[slight hijack] I found a demotivational calendar a couple of years back, and gave it to my father-in-law, knowing he’d love it… Ever since then he wants more, but I haven’t seen them since. Do you guys know where I can get more of that stuff, or could you email me, please !!! I’ve been looking for these for ages ! Thanks [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/10 "2001-11-14T03:23:09Z")
Dear Former Classmate I’ve appreciated the stuff you’ve sent me, but now I’ve got about 5 different people all sending me the same things over and over! Could you do me a favour, and take me off your mailing list? Thanks! Yours, Throatshot ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/11 "2001-11-14T03:42:55Z")
Goo, here you go! [http://despair.com/](http://despair.com/) Also, I was searching for this (key word, depressories) and found an [archive](http://24.17.134.41/personal/multimedia/Pictures/Funny/Depressories/) of pictures [This one](http://24.17.134.41/personal/multimedia/Pictures/Funny/Depressories/Cluelessness.jpg) should be on every dopers wall. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-way-to-tell-someone-to-quit-emailing-me-junk/93171/12 "2001-11-14T04:44:46Z")
Thanks, **Zyada.** Just what I’ve been looking for 🙂