dkatz (01/04/83)
In his book "Always Bear Left" (recommended reading), Ken Cooper makes an interesting suggestion re Junk Mail. Whenever you subscribe to any service - e.g. magazine, club, association - use a different middle initial. Keep track of which initial belongs to which subscription. If you receive junk mail with one of the phony middle initials, you then know who gave out your name. You can then write a letter to the source of your problems DEMANDING that your name not be given out. GREAT IDEA. Thanx to Ken!! SENDING MY LETTERS TO THE RIGHT BAST*RDS D. Katz
dkatz (01/15/83)
The basic assumption in the idea posted was that there are certain people to whom you are going to give your name as a matter of course - eg: Credit Card Co's, State/Prov Driver's License Bureau, ... - and that these people will peddle your name to junk mailers once they have it. Once that happens, you want to know who to complain to. You use a superfluous and unique initial to allow you to identify who sold your name AND FOLLOW IT UP. You should also follow up with anyone who is sending junk mail to you (if possible). In other words, the idea aloows you to get one step ahead of the people who are misusing the priveledge of having your name. You haven't lost anything in doing it. Dave Katz
tead (01/17/83)
One note to those planning to use the suggestion on junk mail - while changing you're address or initial may help you spot who's selling your name, complaints often fall on deaf ears. I tried this plan a few years ago, and still receive mail under those false names. Take my word for it, if receiving junk mail isn't bad enough, getting it under 3 different names is worse. Stan Tead
mjb (01/18/83)
I find it very hard to believe that any significant number of netnews readers
object to receiving junk mail.
mike braca, junk {mail,news} junkiegh (01/18/83)
Since mailing lists are often copied, identifying and plugging the source
of the leak doesn't help -- there are already lots of copies out there
continuing to replicate, often mutating with the help of computers and sloppy
keying. Some examples:
(1) I once used the phoney middle initial trick, and became Graeme I. Hirst
to one magazine I subscribed to. After a while Raeme I. Hirst also started
receiving mail. Recently Graeme I. Hirst received an ad for subscriptions
to the original magazine; apparently they had sold my name to a mailing list
company and then bought it back in a list of people with the right interests
to be potential subscribers.
(2) On one list I put myself down as "G Hirst, Vice-Pres, Pro-Lix Text
Systems". After receiving some mail with that address, I found that I had
become "G Vice Pres", ("Dear Mr Pres", the letters would start). A smart
program that kew about titles apparently fixed that, and I became simply "G"
("Dear G").
(3) I once ordered a CRT by mail, and since UPS can't use our Department's
PO box address, gave the slightly simplified address "Brown Computer Science,
151 Thayer Street, Providence". Some time later, I received from a stationery
company a felt-tip pen imprinted "Compliments of Brown Computer Science, 151
Thayer Street", with the suggestion that it looked so nice that I should buy a
few gross more.
Graeme Hirst (A prolix text system in his own right)
Dept Computer Science, Brown University
...!{decvax, vax135}!brunix!gh