It's time to take back the internet

Today, I've received over 250 unsolicited email advertisements for IT related products, services and seminars. This is not the usual egregious SPAM (Viagra ads, Nigerian businessmen, or phoney eBay phishing emails) which are already filtered out (see my previous post). These are legitimate emails that I do not want to receive from real companies. At the bottom of these emails are the words "This is not SPAM because you have opted in to receive these emails from us or our partners". I have never opted in to receive any such emails from anyone.

My email address appears in the masthead of many of the columns I write for print and web-based media. This has led to my inclusion in just about every IT mailing list on the internet.

I've tried opting out. Removing myself from 250 mailing lists each day can take an hour, so that's clearly not a sustainable part of my schedule. Also, some unsubscribe links just do not work. What are our options?

Short term, I advocate that CIOs start blacklisting the email domains that pummel us with unsolicited IT advertising. I'm a kind and gentle soul, so I'm willing to give companies a chance to redeem themselves. This month, I'm responding to these companies with a polite request to never send me emails again. If they continue to fill my inbox, I will blacklist their domain on my local email servers, preventing delivery of their advertising throughout my enterprise.

Thus far, I have received courteous responses from my first few companies i.e.

"Thank you for your response. Receiving 250 business solicitations each day is too much of a burden. I will happily remove your name. Your feedback is appreciated"

Long term, I'd recommend a national "do not call list" for email just as we use to discourage telemarketers from making unsolicited calls to households which have opted out on the national list. I would happily submit my name to a national email opt out list.

Other long term alternatives - we could create local whitelists of companies we do business with, but maintaining such a whitelist is challenging for companies and individuals. Other possibilities include expansion of Spam legislation and enforcement which provides sanctions for violators of unsolicited email rules.

I'm ok with "pull" advertising on websites that is customized to me, but is easy to ignore. However, I consider "push" unsolicited email contact an invasion of a personal communication vehicle.

Thus, for companies that send out endless unsolicited emails, watch for my responses begging you to stop sending me email advertising! The only recourse I have left is to block your domain if you continue.