Those (retired) relatives who Forward stuff to you

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Please tell me I am not alone. After enduring an ever growing volume of inane seventh generation emails I finally couldn't take it. I composed myself first and then composed a note along these lines.

"I am not retired. The two of us run three separate small businesses. I am canceling magazine subscriptions to free up time. My inbox is loaded with emails of a business nature that need attention. Please take me off your list of people you Forward stuff to. I love to hear from you if you want to send an email, but I need you to type it. Thanks for understanding."

Believe me, there was a very different way that my sin nature wanted to compose it but I refrained. Thanksgiving would have been awkward.

OK so chime in - all together now: "Nope, you are ALLLL alone there - never had an issue with it. By the way, Forward - what is a Forward?"

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I was in college when forwarding silly emails was popular... I wrote an email similar to yours and people stopped. Facebook came out after college and thats where all old email forwards go to get recycled. Or internet forums with joke sections!

 

[Wingnut]

I'm right there with you, Captain, but I have it even worse: most of my useless and annoying forwarded emails come from my employer! When I ask a business-related question in an email I get ignored for days or weeks, but she has time to forward me these pictures of cute puppies and sunsets?! Needless to say Im a bit peeved...

Maybe when I need a response to a business question I should send it to her in the form of a lolcat!

 

[Jawaburger]

I not only used to get forwarded Emails, but every picture that my mom thought was cute or funny was sent to me as well! After never responding to any of them they finally stopped coming. You are not alone.

 

[JaDo]

I had to set up email filters to keep messages from certain people out of my inbox. It got out of hand - like 10 + MB / 20 + emails a day out of hand. Now, I wouldn't know if I got a genuine email from any of these people because their messages have been filtered. Guess if they really want to communicate, they can call.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

My dad was the same way. Forwarding chain emails to everyone in his address book. It cost him a long time friend because he doesn't understand proper email ettiquite. I polietly asked him to ask me before he sent anything to my inbox. It didn't work. I then told him not send me anything. I then gave up & got a new email address that I didn't give any family member. I'm much happier now.

 

[Firewalker]

+1, get a second email address.

 

[gaseousclay]

my brother's wife used to pull this crap all the time. she'd always send me the usual stuff like, 'support our troops,' 'god bless our troops,' etc, etc. of course I support our military. both my dad and brother served 20 yrs each in the Air Force, but I sure as hell don't need my sister in-law forwarding emails to me that say I should.

 

[Patman27]

I get dozens of emails per day because our list serve won't respond to the sender unless you cut and past the sender into a separate email. Instead, it automatically replies to all on the list even if you click 'reply'. I have gotten some hilarious email responses about sig others, NSFW videos, deep seated career aspirations, self loathing, .... Mostly, the list serve stinks, and I delete 90% of what comes through without reading.

 

[Seraphim]

 

[ouch]

I continuously get decade old emails forwarded to me by knucklehead relatives, such as this:

WARNING!!!!!
If you are driving at night and see a car approaching you with its lights off, do not flash your high beams at them!!!! This is a gang initiation. In order to join the gang, they must kill an innocent person!!!! This is real!!! If you flash your lights at them, THEY WILL FOLLOW YOU AND KILL YOU!!!!
Please forward this email to anyone you care about.


Mind you, the person who sent me this has a master's degree from a well respected university (well, Penn State at least) and held a senior management position at what was once the world's largest corporation. I usually hit "reply to all" with:
"Please ignore this nincompoop", along with a link to snopes. http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/maryland.asp

 

[Seraphim]

I continuously get decade old emails forwarded to me by knucklehead relatives, such as this:

WARNING!!!!!
If you are driving at night and see a car approaching you with its lights off, do not flash your high beams at them!!!! This is a gang initiation. In order to join the gang, they must kill an innocent person!!!! This is real!!! If you flash your lights at them, THEY WILL FOLLOW YOU AND KILL YOU!!!!
Please forward this email to anyone you care about.


Mind you, the person who sent me this has a master's degree from a well respected university (well, Penn State at least) and held a senior management position at what was once the world's largest corporation. I usually hit "reply to all" with:
"Please ignore this nincompoop", along with a link to snopes. http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/maryland.asp

Don't place all your eggs in on e basket, Ouch...

 

[rajagra]

I can't believe you guys are complaining about one or two dozen nuisance emails a day. I get more than that through my GMail account, and I have never given that address to anyone.
At my last job I would get several hundred company emails a day - all legit and I had to deal with them (at least by reading the Subject title to screen them.*)

For private use, just set up filters. Give each person their own mailbox, and send their mails straight in there. Then ignore them if you wish.
If you are using an email app that won't let you do that (Outlook Express??) you probably deserve to suffer the consequences!

EDIT> * Always ignore emails that don't have a Subject line. If they can't be bothered to spend (a little) time telling you what the email's about, why should you bother spending (much more) time to read it?

 

[AACJ]

Both my wife and I get these emails, multiple times per day from my mother. We won't complain to her thought because she JUST got access to to email. She hardly knows how to operate a computer so we will take what we get from her.

 

[reboot]

I hate to get forwarded email where there are a couple of hundred email addresses to scroll past before getting to the body of the email.

If it's important enough that I need to see it, send it in a separate email.

I usually solve the problem by telling the person that I'm selling all of those addresses to spammers.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Ahem

 

[BrianL]

I have won several international lotteries and have a lot of packages waiting to be delivered.

 

[rushchairman]

+1, get a second email address.

+1, and then get a third.

 

[Toothpick]

i have no problem telling people not to forward me things. i've sent out "stop forwarding me emails like this". and that's it . no other message, no apology, no please and thank you. just stop. simple and to the point and it works. I do it on facebook too. people used to tag me in photos or their posts, and of course it would send me an email and alert me. so annoying. a simple "stop tagging me in your posts/photos" comment and done.

 

[rajagra]

I do it on facebook too. people used to tag me in photos or their posts, and of course it would send me an email and alert me. so annoying. a simple "stop tagging me in your posts/photos" comment and done.

I thought the whole point of Facebook and Twitter was to be bombarded with worthless information. "Working as intended."