Comment by zephen
8 hours ago
> So by your own description, ANYONE sending you a newsletter, by complying with Google’s rules, they piss you off and make you mark their email as SPAM because, according to you, they made “javascript execute on your computer”.
Are you deliberately being obtuse, or is it natural? I don't need to use gmail's web interface if I don't want to, but as it happens, I do let google's javascript execute on my computer.
> The mandatory unsubscribe LINK uses HTTP, not even HTML.
Two links are required. One in the header, and one in the email. As I wrote, if I read to the end of the email to make a decision, then I will click on the link in the email. Which often goes to a webpage with javascript on it.
> It is an unwinnable situation.
Did I write that I mark everything as spam? No? Why not, I wonder? Did it ever occur to you that if I am describing when I mark things as spam, that there are things that I don't mark as spam? No? Do you even read what you yourself write? No? You should try it sometime.
> With all respect, why would I care what an impossibly hardass tech person would do if I sent them an email in an unwinnable situation?
With all respect, if you wrongly believe the rules I gave are unwinnable, you shouldn't care. I won't be receiving further missives from you, and nature will take its course in determining whether I was an outlier or the canary in the coalmine.
To quote your own words:
>So here's where I'm a hard-ass and maybe even worse than google's rules. If I see the RFC8058 unsubscribe link, it is too late. I only notice that link after I've decided to mark your email as "spam" and google asks if I'm sure, or if I merely want to unsubscribe.
The way I read it, this is an unwinnable situation. We must supply this link, in order to comply with Google's rules. If you see this link, it's too late. You're making it as spam. Because I may run javascript on your computer.
Having re-read it, it sounds instead like: you're likely mark it as spam before you get to this link (even though the web interface surfaces the unsubscribe button right in the list of emails -- but you don't use that interface).
Well, I guess there is a narrow path to "victory": mention that it may have been someone else who signed up, then if you see the unsubscribe link, you click it, then I'm supposed to say "thank you" and not serve any javascript. Anything else, and you click SPAM. Or maybe you already did.
> The way I read it, this is an unwinnable situation. We must supply this link, in order to comply with Google's rules. If you see this link, it's too late.
That's an obtuse reading.
I am looking at the email. The email has a different link, mandated by the can-spam act in it.
Gmail has a bunch of icons at the top. There is not one for "unsubscribe".
So, I read your email, decide it is legitimate but I am not interested. I click on the link (not RFC8058) in the body of the email message itself to unsubscribe.
If that link takes me to a page that does nothing because it wants to execute javascript on my computer, then we are done.
Look, I'm not a terrible writer and this isn't that difficult.
> Well, I guess there is a narrow path to "victory": mention that it may have been someone else who signed up, then if you see the unsubscribe link, you click it, then I'm supposed to say "thank you" and not serve any javascript.
Oh, well, you did understand. Sort of. Except I view this as a common-sensical extremely wide path. If it's the first time that you're emailing me, you damn well better realize that it might have been a fake signup, and how the fuck am I supposed to know your intentions if you attempt to serve javascript? What part of removing me from your database requires you to execute shit on my computer?
And by the way, about this part of that statement:
> if you see the unsubscribe link
If you're playing "hide the link" then you've already shown that your intentions aren't honorable.
> Anything else, and you click SPAM.
I don't actually click spam all that often. Only on, you know, spam.
Look, you're the one who mentioned that you might have collected some of these email addresses 10 years ago. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Not only may they have forgotten about signing up, but the addresses themselves might have been recycled by now.
> Or maybe you already did.
Nope. I've been upfront and transparent. I thought you were being that way, too, given your first comment. I even upvoted it because I thought all the downvoting was a bit excessive.
But the intransigence and mischaracterization here is stunning.
Look, there are two possibilities here. (1) is that I'm not that extreme, in which case you're probably fucked. (2) is that, yes, I'm an outlier, and if you satisfy my needs, then you probably won't have enough emails marked spam to trigger google's filters.
Now, if you truly feel that my conditions offer only a narrow path to victory, then you're probably not really someone I should be offering this advice to in any case, because our interests are not congruent. My only solace is that maybe you won't take the advice and you'll receive a banning for your efforts.