Remove Me From Your List (Please!)

If you’re like me, you have friends, family, and co-workers who forward (send to other people messages that were sent to them) email jokes, chain letters, and other messages that you probably don’t want. Chain letters are letters that tell you to forward that message to other people or something bad will happen. I never forward chain letters so I’m expecting to be killed or maimed (permanently injured), or have many years of bad luck.
2008-01-30t141210z_01_nootr_rtridsp_2_tech-internet-sexoffenders-dc.jpg
For me, it’s difficult to email that person to tell them to take me off his or her list. I don’t want to hurt their feelings (make them feel badly) or to make them think that I don’t appreciate them thinking of me (having me in their mind). The flip side (the other side of the issue; on the other hand) is that I have far too many email messages in my inbox when I check for new messages.

Some people suggest writing an email to the person who has you on their distribution list (list of people who receive a message or something else) to ask them to remove you. This is one example:
. . .
Cate,

Thank you for thinking of me with the jokes and quotations of the day (words said in the past by someone else that are funny, interesting, or inspirational). I’ve appreciated you sending them to me. Right now, though, I am trying to get a handle on (to manage; to keep in good order even though it is difficult) my email, and I am asking people to remove me from their distribution lists for the time being (for a short time).

Would you please remove me from your distribution list?

Thank you very much.
. . .
This note is polite enough and I might send something like this to someone, but I haven’t done it yet. Right now, my strategy (plan) is to continue deleting (erasing; putting in the trash) those messages from my inbox.

What do you do with unwanted email from people you know, people you don’t want to offend (upset)? Would you write someone directly to ask them to remove you from their distribution list?

~ Lucy

This entry was posted in Life in the United States, Technology. Bookmark the permalink.

11 Responses to Remove Me From Your List (Please!)

  1. emiliano says:

    No, I don’t, my strategy is just the same like yours deleting those messages from my inbox every day, despite sometimes I picked up one or two to see how they are.
    It’s time now to confess my fault about this custom.

    In general I hate those messages that disturb me a lot, and it is possible also that some of them have some virous included.
    Lucy, as ever, you have touched a good question

  2. Alvaro says:

    That’s a big problem, I myself sometimes had forwarded some emails like those…well, I’ll try no to do it anymore!!!

  3. Hello Lucy, It´s a big problem.. I often receive unrelated emails from friends. I read just the subject and after delete it.
    Thousands of emails taking bad news are fake and I have no time for read it.

    no Spam

    See you

    Ed.

  4. Fred says:

    I think it’s not a problem. I can do a pause between two works.
    It’s not like a spam.

    T h a n k y o u v e r y m u c h

  5. Carlos Eduardo says:

    Dear Lucy,

    I used to receive this type of emails from friends, past co-workers and from my boss too. I think it’s is not a problem, but if a volume of emails increase a lot it can be really a disturb. I used to read the subject and delete it.

    Thanks

    Carlos Eduardo

  6. Josefine says:

    Hi Lucy,

    no I don’t ask someone directly to remove me from their distribution list. I just delete such emails. A small problem for me are chain mails. Although I never forward the letters and never expect that something bad will happen I feel a bit uncomfortable. So maybe it’s a good idea to tell my friends, co-workers, etc. in a polite way to stop sending me chain letters.

    Your podcast and your blog are, as always, a big pleasure. Thanks a lot.

    Josefine from Berlin

  7. Turk says:

    Dear lucy,
    Really that is a big problem. I have been facing this problem for long time, i tried to find a way to block these contacts but i didn’t find. However,
    i think it’s not a good idea to send email to those people.

    I guess sometime those disturbing email have some advantage for us. especialy for the person who are learning english as a second language.

    Thanks

    turk

  8. Chris says:

    Hi Lucy,

    When I receive jokes, I always found a moment to read it. Sometimes I move it to a folder so when I have a moment I can go and see it.
    But when I receive chains, or fake messages, I usually reply to the sender and to all people who where in copy (oh yes) that they better go to [the hoaxbuster website] to check if it’s true before forwarding those messages.
    Hoaxbuster is a well known french website where you can found information about all these fake (or not) messages, this is really useful !

    Have a good day,

    Chris

  9. Loe says:

    Hello Lucy,

    it isn’t a problem for me because I’ve got a every good mail program, “mail” by mac, and if you get one chain mail and you put: junk,
    all the other chain mails will be automatically marked as junk and will be automatically put in the trash. 😀

    greetings LOe

  10. Loe says:

    and if you get one chain mail and you put: junk, put should have been mark

  11. Ari Fernando Ramos says:

    Hello Lucy
    I like to receive emails from my friends and relatives. I usually read the subject and delete those I think is not interesting. Concerning chain mail, I usually delete all I receive without even read them.
    greetings
    Ari

Comments are closed.