https://warzel.substack.com/p/the-case-for-inbox-infinity
I've done various stuff like have a catch-all email domain so I can sign up for stuff with email addresses like ttf@myemaildomain.com, use dedicated email addresses for online shopping, etc., but simply ignoring email altogether has been the most relaxing option.
it kind of sucks what email's become (it's definitely no longer a medium I use to communicate on a personal level with anyone), but oh well. anyone have an unread count higher than 10k?
i keep my email weeded down so that it's still usable. but more and more places abuse it.
for example, i sometimes would buy blue bottle coffee. lately i was shopping and added some items to my cart. then i decided against buying it and left the website.
From: Blue Bottle <pleasereply@bluebottlecoffee.com>
Subject: 17ft Ceiling Espresso is in your cart
Blue Bottle Logo ( https://bluebottlecoffee.com/ )
Complete Your Checkout
We noticed you left some items in your cart.
Follow the link to make it official, and we’ll ship these out to
you in no time.
Your Cart
2xGkhxnpntcaonvebez1ys
17ft Ceiling EspressoWhole Bean, 12 oz Bag
$42
View My Cart
( https://bluebottlecoffee.com/cart?utm_campaig … ce=bluebit )
Keep in Touch
-------------
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions,
please email us: support@bluebottlecoffee.com
Facebook logo ( https://www.facebook.com/bluebottlecoffee )
Instagram logo ( https://www.instagram.com/bluebottle )
Twitter logo ( https://www.twitter.com/bluebottleroast )
© 2022 Blue Bottle Coffee Inc.,
All rights reserved.
Blue Bottle Coffee Inc. 476 9th Street, Oakland, CA 94607
i consider it my duty to respond to every one of these and generate a ticket and follow it through.
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2022 18:10:43 -0500
To: support@bluebottlecoffee.com
Subject: Re: 17ft Ceiling Espresso is in your cart
Please unsubscribe me from these emails, or let me know if you cannot.
Thanks,
Lucas
## Nick replied, on Jul 25 @ 5:49am (PDT):
Hi Lucas,
Thanks for reaching out!
I just took a look at your account and it seems like you've
unsubscribed from all emails.
If you ever need to add emails back, you can always adjust your email
preferences [1] in your account.
Please let me know if there is anything else we can do.
Thank you!
Links:
------
[1] https://bluebottlecoffee.com/email_preferences
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2022 13:36:21 -0500
To: "Blue Bottle Coffee Customer Support" <support@bluebottlecoffee.com>
Subject: Re: 17ft Ceiling Espresso is in your cart
Hi Nick,
I still received this "Complete Your Checkout" email, though. How can I =
ensure I do not receive these in the future?
Best,
Lucas
## Nick replied, on Jul 26 @ 12:22pm (PDT):
Hi Lucas,
I apologize! I thought that would work.
A couple things, I'm working on to see that you don't receive those
transactional emails:
First, I went in and removed the item from your cart so you shouldn't
receive those emails for that particular item.
Second, I reached out to our transactional email team to see if
removing people from transactional email lists is possible and provide
the feedback that you do not want to receive them.
I'll let you know what I hear back but wanted to at least update you
with what I've been working on.
Please let me know if there is anything else we can do in the interim.
Thank you,
Nick
Blue Bottle Coffee [1] || FAQs [2]
Links:
------
[1] http://bluebottlecoffee.com
[2] https://bluebottlecoffee.com/help/
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2022 16:49:38 -0500
To: "Blue Bottle Coffee Customer Support" <support@bluebottlecoffee.com>
Subject: Re: 17ft Ceiling Espresso is in your cart
Hi Nick,
Any update on this? Once I have the ability to permanently opt-out of th=
ese emails, I will begin adding items to my cart again.
Best,
Lucas
I lied, though. I probably won't ever buy from Blue Bottle again. Verve Coffee has a better deal on free shipping, better prices on coffee, and is not substantially owned by Nestle.
that's what i'm leaning toward.the personal email would be identified as such (like with my personal name in the email address). the other email address (devoid of any personal identification) would be used for all accounts, business transactions, lists, and with anyone who cannot be trusted to not add it to a list or automated systems.
then at least you get to keep personal communications separate from everything else. those communications deserve a sanctity to me. i still write many letters by hand, but it doesn't always make the most sense, so some people i will email instead.
Welcome to Galaxy Brain — a newsletter from Charlie Warzel about technology and culture. You can read what this is all about here. If you like what you see, consider forwarding it to a friend or two. You can also click the button below to subscribe. And if you’ve been reading, consider going to the paid version.
One thing I plan to do on occasion is turn this newsletter over to people whose writing or ideas I love (or to voices you may be unfamiliar with). My first guest blogger is the great Spencer Hall. I asked Spencer for a short bio and he provided the following: “I write about sports and people who crush houses with trees.”
If that’s not enough for you, here’s my attempt: Spencer is a genius and one of my favorite word writers on the internet. He’s a master of the blog form and started the delightful and beloved college football site, Every Day Should Be Saturday, which moved to SB Nation in 2010. More recently, helped launch Banner Society, a separate college football site for SB Nation. He's a co-host on the Shutdown Fullcast podcast. He writes westerns about college football. He’s been on Sportscenter a bunch. He’s very good at Twitter. He’s one of the most creative and original voices out there. I’m thrilled to have him write a 100% smart and correct manifesto about email.
this is further evidence of warzel being a giant turd. he wrote for the NY Times. he knows damn well what a by-line is. when i read this italicized prelude, i was required to infer that the subsequent text was actually written by this guest writer, spencer hall. the prelude is vague:
"i plan to publish guest writers on this blog...
"my first guest will be this guy spencer...
"he gave me this bio...
"here's my bio of him...
"i'm thrilled to have him write about subject X"
and then there is an essay about subject X, but without a by-line.
i was forced to infer that this essay was what hall wrote. warzel could have added "his essay follows." to the end of his prelude.
it seems to me that warzel just loves to read his own writing. i bet he would love to host his own podcast; then he could easily listen to himself on spotify whenever ED strikes.
But at this point in history, a personal email inbox is essentially an ad server that is occasionally interrupted by chippy emails from older relatives too techphobic to use Facebook.
Nope.
1. I don't want to store anything important in the cloud, unless it is with a company who I pay to maintain my data and privacy without exploiting it (e.g., Fastmail and perhaps Apple iCloud).
2. I will hopefully never use Facebook on a regular basis. It is what's wrong with the direction of the world.
:/
I generally trust Apple because most of their money comes from hardware. If they lose people's trust with software and cloud services, then their hardware business will be hurt. Also I think they have a good track-record (although I could easily be wrong).
this is kind of where I've ended up. I have a couple of personal email addresses, one which I use more than any of the others. and a separate, dedicated email just for online shopping/commerce, which gets an absurd amount of email.
I agree with what you said about the prelude/byline. I actually didn't realize the post wasn't by Warzel.
Fastmail and 1Password have a private email thing as well. I use both of these things but haven't tried it. https://www.fastmail.com/1password/
And I just learned about this one from DuckDuckGo a few days ago, which seems neat. I created a @duck.com address but haven't used it or the random/anonymous email feature yet. https://duckduckgo.com/email/
## Nick replied, on Aug 9 @ 5:56am (PDT):
Hi Lucas,
Thanks for checking back in on this!
I heard back from our transactional email team and they explained that
at this point there is no way to opt out of transactional emails like
the "Complete Your Checkout" email. They did say that they will be
looking into better ways to send transactional info and reduce the
amount of emails sent without the option to opt out.
I know this doesn't resolve your issue right now but it sounds like we
should have a resolution in the near future.
Please let me know if there is anything else we can do.
And, thanks for the feedback!
Nick
Blue Bottle Coffee [1] || FAQs [2]
Links:
------
[1] http://bluebottlecoffee.com
[2] https://bluebottlecoffee.com/help/
is there a way to rain hellfire on these corporate abuses of my poor, solemn inbox?
under the heading "Why You Should Trust Us" they might write:
We spent three hours researching currently-available brands of fountain pens. We also spoke personally with numerous fountain pen stores. (Yes, stores actually specialize in fountain pens!) Finally, we spent twenty hours learning how to use the fountain pens (and subsequently using them).
god they're a bunch of idiots. but i'm so glad they overlooked my beloved lojel luggage brand recently when writing about what they consider the best luggage. i'm glad because it was already sold-out frequently, and i might want to buy one. however they did miss one of the best available pieces. perhaps lojel didn't offer a good referral commission. instead they recommended hard-case luggage with zipper enclosures. (not secure at all! but cheap to produce the garbage!) and in their carry-on article, they only review the lojel hard-case with zipper expansion and complain about the zipper expansion--they should have reviewed lojel's classic and sturdy hard-case without zippers. jfc. idiots. but like i said, better for me.
haha
> ttf eating emojis strikes again.
bwahaha
> I put a surfing person emoji
aw
> and also said that I'd like to read your update, lucas.
i wonder what my idea of an update was at that time.
it might be related to this:
---
so i bought a huge box of window envelopes on amazon. i made a latex template for letters, with everything being positioned properly for the windows.
\documentclass[
paper=letter,parskip=full,fromalign=left,fromrule=afteraddress,
fromphone=false,fromemail=false,fromurl=false,backaddress=false,
foldmarks=BTp,firstfoot=false,addrfield=topaligned
]{scrlttr2}
\usepackage{fourier}
\makeatletter
\setplength{firstheadhpos}{0.625in}
\setplength{firstheadvpos}{0.625in}
\setplength{backaddrheight}{0pt}
\setplength{toaddrhpos}{0.5in}
\setplength{toaddrvpos}{2.25in}
\setplength{toaddrheight}{0.75in}
\setplength{toaddrwidth}{3in}
\setplength{toaddrindent}{0.125in}
\@setplength{sigbeforevskip}{4\baselineskip}
\renewcommand*{\raggedsignature}{\raggedright}
\makeatother
\begin{document}
\setkomavar{fromaddress}{Addr 1\\Addr 2}
\setkomavar{fromname}{sig}
\date{}
\begin{letter}{Line one\\Line two\\Line three}
\opening{}
\end{letter}
\end{document}
with the window envelopes and the template, i can send a letter nearly as quickly as i can send an email.
so i now fire off hardcopy letters because i think emails are easier for people or companies to ignore.
sometimes my letters go to businesses because i keep unsubscribing from their emails to only be resubscribed again.
30 \date{22 November 2022}
31
32 \setkomavar{subject}{Please stop re-subscribing me to your newsletters}
33
34 \begin{letter}{Spire Climbing and Fitness\\13 Enterprise Blvd\\Bozeman MT 59718-6912}
35
36 \opening{Hello,}
37
38 I have repeatedly unsubscribed from your newsletters. Yet somehow I keep getting email newsletters from your company. You probably keep a list of email addresses that you manually re-subscribe on occasion. Please stop!
39
40 Please do not ever email me again. The email adress you have been contacting is [email].
41
42 Please confirm in writing via post that you have received my request and will honor it. Thank you.
43
44 \closing{Best,}
45
46 \encl{Example email}
47
48 \end{letter}
49
50 \end{document}
this was sent to a small business in bozeman, montana. they actually did write back! :)
most other companies do not write back.
29 \date{29 December 2022}
30
31 \setkomavar{subject}{Request to unsubscribe from commercial emails}
32
33 \begin{letter}{Blue Bottle Coffee Inc.\\476 9th Street\\Oakland, CA 94607}
34
35 \opening{Hello,}
36
37 I am a returning Blue Bottle customer.
38
39 In July, I added some items to my cart but did not complete the purchase, as I was going to be out-of-town for awhile. I then received an email notifying me that I should complete my checkout. I detest these obnoxious emails. I logged in to my Blue Bottle account to check my email notification settings. I appeared to be unsubscribed from all emails. So I contacted your support team. This email thread is attached, labeled as ``Email thread with customer support.''
40
41 According to your team, I am unable to opt-out of these ``transactional emails.'' Note that the content of these emails is commercial---not transactional---per guidance from the Federal Trade Commission.\footnote{See https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resourc … e-business .}
42
43 On December 10th, 2022, I received your email (also enclosed) with subject line ``A Limited Release Coffee from Kenya.'' After receiving this email, I again logged into my Blue Bottle account and verified that I was \emph{already} unsubscribed from all marketing emails (attached as ``Blue Bottle account settings''). So then I clicked the unsubscribe link in this marketing email. I was shown the webpage depicted as ``Blue Bottle unsubscribe link result on 2022-12-10 at 22:38:52 CT.'' Notice that this webpage says I was successfully unsubscribed from ``dedicated transactional messages.'' Your email notice of a new product release is \emph{not} a transactional message. I doubt I was truly and reliably unsubscribed from all commercial messages.
44
45 You must give me a way to opt-out from your emails with commercial content.\footnote{Ibid.} I no longer wish to receive these emails. Please confirm via postal mail that you will cease sending commercial emails to my email address \texttt{[email]}.
46
47 Thank you for your cooperation.
48
49 \closing{Best,}
50
51 \encl{Email thread with customer support\\
52 Email with subject ``A Limited Release Coffee from Kenya''\\
53 Blue Bottle account settings as of 2022-12-10 at 22:30:46 CT\\
54 Blue Bottle unsubscribe link result on 2022-12-10 at 22:38:52 CT}
55
56 \end{letter}
57
58 \clearpage
59
60 \thispagestyle{empty}
61
62 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=1,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email thread with customer support (1 of 4)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--0}
63
64 \clearpage
65
66 \thispagestyle{empty}
67
68 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=2,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email thread with customer support (2 of 4)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--0}
69
70 \clearpage
71
72 \thispagestyle{empty}
73
74 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=3,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email thread with customer support (3 of 4)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--0}
75
76 \clearpage
77
78 \thispagestyle{plain}
79
80 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=4,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email thread with customer support (4 of 4)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--0}
81
82 \clearpage
83
84 \thispagestyle{empty}
85
86 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=1,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email with subject ``A Limited Release Coffee from Kenya'' (1 of 3)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--1}
87
88 \clearpage
89
90 \thispagestyle{empty}
91
92 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=2,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email with subject ``A Limited Release Coffee from Kenya'' (2 of 3)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--1}
93
94 \clearpage
95
96 \thispagestyle{plain}
97
98 \includepdf[scale=0.85,offset=0cm -0.5cm,pages=3,pagecommand={\begin{tikzpicture}[remember picture, overlay, below right]\node[xshift=2cm,yshift=-1.5cm] at (current page.north west) {2022-12-29 encl: Email with subject ``A Limited Release Coffee from Kenya'' (3 of 3)};\end{tikzpicture}}]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--1}
99
100 \clearpage
101
102 \pagestyle{plain}
103
104 {2022-12-29 encl: Blue Bottle account settings as of 2022-12-10 at 22:30:46 CT}
105
106 \fbox{\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--2}}
107
108 \clearpage
109
110 \pagestyle{plain}
111
112 {2022-12-29 encl: Blue Bottle unsubscribe link result on 2022-12-10 at 22:38:52 CT}
113
114 \fbox{\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{../images/encl/2022-12-29--Blue Bottle--Enclosure--3}}
no response. fwiw, i don't get blue bottle emails anymore. i quit buying coffee from them regardless. verve coffee roasters became my go-to.
30 %\date{}
31
32 \setkomavar{subject}{Your acquisition of my full name and postal address}
33
34 \begin{letter}{Thuma\\1169 Gorgas Ave Suite A\\San Francisco, CA 94129}
35
36 \opening{Hello,}
37
38 On May 24, 2023, on Google.com, I searched for ``japanese joinery bed.'' I clicked on a sponsored link to
39 https://www.thuma.co/pages/about .
40
41 On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, I received direct mail marketing from Thuma (or agent thereof, henceforth
42 ``Thuma''), 1169 Gorgas Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129.
43
44 The address provided to Thuma may have been either (a) [my old address] or (b) [my new address].
46
47 The mail-piece I received was addressed to the latter address (depicted on the next page). If Thuma was given the former address,
48 Thuma may have obtained the latter address from the USPS National Change of Address database using
49 the former address.
50
51 Did Thuma acquire my full name and address from Google or Google Ad Services? If not, from which party did Thuma obtain my contact information?
52
53 Thank you for your assistance.
54
55 \closing{Sincerely,}
56
57
58 \vfill
59
60 {\emph{Below:} The addressed page of the actual direct mail as received.}
61
62 \fbox{\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{../images/encl/2023-06-16--Thuma--Direct_mail}}
63
64 \vfill
65
66 \end{letter}
67 \end{document}
no response. fwiw, i haven't received direct mail from them since.
34 %\date{}
35
36 %\setkomavar{subject}{}
37
38 \begin{letter}{Oil Perfumery\\Attn: Marketing\\304 S Jones Blvd\\Las Vegas NV 89107}
39
40 \opening{Hello,}
41
42 I have received three spam emails from you. I never signed up for anything on your website. I never completed a purchase. I was \emph{considering} purchasing something from you. I added two items to my cart. I began filling out the order form. I entered my email address. I never submitted the form.
43
44 But your company is a master harasser! No matter that I didn't submit the form! You captured my email and have emailed me \emph{every day} since then. This is disgusting.
45
46 I won't ever purchase anything from you.
47
48 I'll recommend others avoid your company.
49
50 \closing{Sincerely,}
51
52 \encl{Most recent email received}
53
54 \end{letter}
55
56 \clearpage
57
58 \thispagestyle{empty}
59
60 \fbox{\includegraphics[width=1\textwidth]{../images/encl/2023-08-29--Oil-Perfumery}}
61
62 \end{document}
i'm mean. :(
but you gotta fight for your inbox zero.
32 %\date{}
33
34 \setkomavar{yourref}{Accounts ending: ****, ****\\SSN ending: ****}
35
36 \setkomavar{subject}{Confirm my email}
37
38 \begin{letter}{[FINANCIAL INSTITUTION]}
39
40 \opening{Hello,}
41
42 On May 3, 2023, and again today, you emailed me to confirm my email address. You claim that I have not opened recent emails from you. (Just because I do not load beacon/tracking images in your emails does not mean that I do not open your emails.) I had already attempted to confirm my email address on May 3.
43
44 Today I clicked the link to confirm my email. Your website prompts me to log-in at \footnote{\url{[URL]}}. After log-in, the webpage takes me directly to \footnote{\url{[URL]}}, as one would anticipate from the referring URL. This page \emph{does not} indicate that I have successfully confirmed my email address, and I have no reason to think that it had.
45
46 I attempted again by clicking the confirmation link in the email. It was the same process, even asking me to log-in, although I was already logged-in successfully.
47
48 Please (1) confirm my email, (2) remedy your technological errors on this matter. Please write me via post to confirm that you received this letter and indicate the actions you have taken.
49
50 \closing{Sincerely,}
51
52 \encl{Example email}
53
54 \end{letter}
55
56 \end{document}
no response. fuckers. i'm their _active customer_. they really should respond. maybe i'll start trolling them hard. because i am entertained with the lamest shit and love wasting time.
36 \begin{letter}{Comfort Inn Lafayette I-65\\
37 4701 Meijer Ct\\
38 Lafayette IN 47905}
39
40 \opening{Dear Manager,}
41
42 I write about my stay at your hotel (check-in on August 15, check-out on August 16). I avoid posting negative reviews online because constructive feedback can help you with your business, and it also gives you the ability to reconcile the matter with me. I wasn't able to easily locate your email address online, which is why I simply print and mail this to you; please feel free to reply to me via email at \textbf{[email]}.
43
44 I had driven into town very late at night and was expecting only a few hours of sleep before I had important meetings at Purdue, where I work in the School of Business (I live out of town). I checked-in at about 5:40 a.m., which was a quick process (and much appreciated). My first meeting was at 9 a.m. I asked for a wake-up call at 8:20 a.m., to which the receptionist agreed.
45
46 I hoped for a glass of ice water before bed---I searched the entire length of the hallway with the ice bucket in hand, but could not locate an ice maker. I returned to the front desk, but no one came to the desk to help me. I gave up and went to bed.
47
48 The wall between the bed and the bathroom clicked loudly. It seemed like a mechanical clicking. It was not coming from an adjacent room, so I didn't try to complain to the desk, even if I could have found someone there. It kept me awake for over 30 minutes despite me being exhausted. I typically fall asleep within a few minutes.
49
50 I finally fell asleep sometime after 6:20 a.m.
51
52 At 6:50 a.m., the phone rang loudly. Jarred awake, I picked up the receiver, and a recording said ``please stay on the line.'' After waiting a minute, I wondered why I bothered, so I hung up, hoping to return to sleep. The wall continued to click loudly. Returning to sleep took at least 20 minutes.
53
54 I didn't receive a wake-up call.
55
56 I chose your hotel because of the Comfort Inn brand. I usually try to stay at Choice Hotels. I thought that the \$200 cost would be worthwhile, because those few hours of sleep were much needed for my meetings.
57
58 I would have gotten more sleep in my car. The hotel room actually made me worse off. It was a bad deal for \$200.
59
60 I hope you agree and are willing to settle this. I also hope you fix the loud mechanical clicking in the wall for the next guest!
61
62 \closing{Best regards,}
63
64 \end{letter}
65
66 \end{document}
on this one, i used my business school address, hoping to curry favor. they called, left a voicemail saying that they'd give me an inconsequential amount of "reward points." i want the $200 back. i need to fire off a follow-up to the district manager. but who has the time?