NYCPHP Meetup

[bzcoder]

bzcoder wrote:
> keep yahoo's from cycling through every charector combination for 
> userids and unsubbing all your users!  

Ack!  I complete forgot to mention why you can't do simple stuff like 
confirm the unsubscribe request via email, or send them to a second page 
after the first is submitted to confirm them again.

Note: you should not do that anyway to be a good, responsible emailler, 
it is against best practices and common courtesy to make people jump 
through hoops to unsubscribe.

However, the Can Spam act guidelines were recently updated and it is now 
/illegal/ to make people jump through hoops.  You cannot require a 
person to go to more than ONE web page or send ONE email message in 
order to unsubscribe. (ok, technically they go to two web pages, one web 
page to submit their data, and one page for that submission to be 
processed.  However, even if they never see the second web page, 
submitting the first unsubscribed them so their gone.  This avoids 
unscrupulous:
Are you sure you want to go?
Look at our spammy Ad
Click next to contine

Followed by
We'd like to know why you want to go
Look at our spammy Ad
Enter your reason
Click next to continue

Followed by
But we love you, you should stay
Look at our spammy Ad
Click next to really really unsubscribe


[Opinionated about spammers?  Me?  Never.]

Ok, enough yaking, I just didn't want someone to mistakenly think that 
an email unsubscribe confirmation[you can send the email to let them 
know, you can't require them to do anything with the email to confirm] 
would be acceptable.  I know for small lists its not such a big deal, 
and honest mistakes happen.  But considering the consequences....