Friggin Yahoo....WTF???

[d_saum]

Ok, so let me give a little history. Back in 1996, when I first got into computers, I surfed mainly though excite and yahoo. Well, I started an email account with yahoo and have been with them ever since. I use yahoo for almost everything. Instant messaging, email, news, bill pay (used to), movies, etc etc etc...... That is.. until Today!

Yahoo started allowing companies who want to send bulk emails to bypass their spam filters if they pay a per email fee. So now my account that I've had for almost 10 years is getting FLOODED with spam!!! WTF??? I've heard analysts on the news warning of this for over a week but was hoping they were wrong. Well, they weren't. I've sent a feedback to yahoo, but I feel its too late.

On the bright side of things, I started using my Gmail account and whaddya know..... it seems like it might be better.

Dear Yahoo,

I'm sorry but it's just not working out. I've found someone else who understands my email needs and isnt a spam whore. Please give me back my stuff and leave your key on the counter. Take care. BITCH!!!!

Sincerely,
Dave

PS... while typing this I got 2 more spam emails...you slut!

edit: just as I hit "submit" I got another one!!!!

 

[DeSnousa]

I'm with ya all the way man. Love that letter

Yeah I love gmail, works well with Mail too.

 

[JDar]

My Yahoo account is one of two email accounts that never gets spam. But, prior to abandoning the old Yahoo account there was much spam like you're getting now. I thought it related to joining some Yahoo groups in which the users' addresses were published, not simply available to the moderators.

Had to give up all other Yahoo "joinings" and chose an arcane user name with a weird combination of letters and numbers that bots would not guess, but that did the trick--no more spam (and no more fun reading car/photo/etc. groups on Yahoo.)

At least the Yahoo extended mail service is useful for pop service and storage if that's all you need and cheaper than .Mac. It's not uncommon to have to abandon a Yahoo account and open another.

 

[jhu]

i thought you were referring to this. wtf yahoo?

 

[d_saum]

i thought you were referring to this. wtf yahoo?

Haha, no... although that is another HUGE "WTF???"

And JDar, up until like 2 or 3 days ago, about only 1 or 2 spam emails per week would slip through the spam filter/bulk folder (and I used to get TONS in there every day). Now, it seems like Im getting 10 -15 in a few hours. The worst part of it is that I have my resume out there on Careerbuilder and am looking for employment so when I get these spam emails about positions... well, it just makes it difficult.

This is from the Associated Press:

SAN FRANCISCO - Two of the world’s biggest e-mail account providers, Yahoo Inc. and America Online, plan to introduce a service that would charge senders a fee to route their e-mail directly to a user’s mailbox without first passing through junk mail filters, representatives of both companies said Sunday.

The fees, which would range from 1/4 cent to 1 cent per e-mail, are the latest attempts by the companies to weed out unsolicited ads, commonly called spam, and identity-theft scams. In exchange for paying, e-mail senders will be guaranteed their messages won’t be filtered and will bear a seal alerting recipients they’re legitimate.

 

[Verto]

AOL and Yahoo said the program, which is being offered through a company called Goodmail Systems, will target banks, online retailers and other groups that send large amounts of e-mail. In exchange for a payment and a pledge to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, the companies would be ensured their e-mails aren’t diverted to spam folders or have images or Web addresses filtered out.

 

[MacEffects]

Yes, Yahoo! is horrible, and DON'T USE GeoCities either, its a rip-off, and sucks too... Yahoo! Mail is horrible I had used Yahoo for over 6 year then out of necessity I had to change to someone else... Also, this maybe very important should you be dumb and use Yahoo! GeoCitites you won't get PHP/CGI Support or anything like that with out paying "$29.95" per month hosting!

Well, there are more things that could be said but... Well, I don't have time to write a long paper on how crappy Yahoo! is.

 

[jeremy.king]

As a seasoned Yahoo! user, I don't really see the issue. Just learn to use the mail rules, and it will help you manage your inbox a little better.

OMFG! I can't believe that Yahoo is trying to make money other ways by offering me a COMPLETELY FREE service! Besides, the way that new paid spam article is written makes me think you still have the option to opt out by making sure you don't have any subscriptions to any of the Yahoo! promotional lists.

Weird thing is I only notice about 3-5 messages a week get through to my inbox You are still clicking the SPAM button when you ditch those right?

Even still, I do have a gmail for backup...

 

[d_saum]

As a seasoned Yahoo! user, I don't really see the issue. Just learn to use the mail rules, and it will help you manage your inbox a little better.

OMFG! I can't believe that Yahoo is trying to make money other ways by offering me a COMPLETELY FREE service! Besides, the way that new paid spam article is written makes me think you still have the option to opt out by making sure you don't have any subscriptions to any of the Yahoo! promotional lists.

Weird thing is I only notice about 3-5 messages a week get through to my inbox You are still clicking the SPAM button when you ditch those right?

Even still, I do have a gmail for backup...

Trust me, I am a seasoned yahoo user too. 10 years to be exact. And yahoo is not in any financial difficulties right now and obviously, if they want to make money, thats understandable, BUT.... giving spammers a clean shot at anyones inbox without having the filter catch it is just wrong.

Yes, I click the spam buttom. Yes I block certain addresses. And yes, Im getting a TON of spam in my inbox. Because I've had the same address for almost 10 years, Im sure Im on a million mailing lists, and I get email from a ton of friends/family/associates/etc etc etc... So setting up rules is not really an option.

I think Yahoo could have approached this a different way and avoided giving spammer a free pass to my inbox. And no, there is no "opting out". Basically, if a spammer wants to spam, they just pay, and bam! no filtering!!! (I'm simplifying of course, but thats the basics).

I will say this though, I've switched to Gmail and so far I am VERY impressed. I like the interface, the notifier, and the options it gives you. I think Im hooked on google now.

 

[jeremy.king]

Trust me, I am a seasoned yahoo user too. 10 years to be exact.

Of course, by 10 you mean 8.25 since they didn't even offer email service until Oct 1997

I too like gmail, but I'm not a Yahoo! hater just yet - they provide a lot of free valuable services for me to leave...

PS - you should update your Yahoo! profile...your links are outdated.

 

[Verto]

I think Yahoo could have approached this a different way and avoided giving spammer a free pass to my inbox. And no, there is no "opting out". Basically, if a spammer wants to spam, they just pay, and bam! no filtering!!! (I'm simplifying of course, but thats the basics).

I thought it was made clear in the articles written about this, that companies using this feature will only be allowed to send these direct-to-inbox emails to those people who have signed up to receive their emails. I doubt Yahoo is going to let some random schmuck get this.

 

[d_saum]

Of course, by 10 you mean 8.25 since they didn't even offer email service until Oct 1997

I too like gmail, but I'm not a Yahoo! hater just yet - they provide a lot of free valuable services for me to leave...

PS - you should update your Yahoo! profile...your links are outdated.

haha, ok, you busted me... lol I thought it was just a little over 9 years and was rounding up to 10. Im not a yahoo hater either.. but Im on my way in regard to the email fiasco. I still like yahoo messenger, and some of the other services, but gmail has won me over for email.

and what links are you talking about? youreafreakinwanker? lol if so, thats just a joke.

And Verto... This is from the article:
Yahoo Inc. and America Online, plan to introduce a service that would charge senders a fee to route their e-mail directly to a user’s mailbox without first passing through junk mail filters.

So no, you don't have to sign up for their services, just have to be on their list. The funny thing is... if you click on the thing to have them take you off their list, that just verifies your email and you end up getting more!

 

[dotdotdot]

That sucks, but Yahoo is free. AOL, on the other hand, has no excuse.