I've written previously about this topic here ... but wanted to do a follow-up diary, as there's new confirmation of a way out of the deluge, that I think we all should take advantage of.
And while the pro-spam argument previously has been "well, at least it works and helps us elect Democrats!" ... there are some pretty clear signs that the chickens are coming home to roost and donors are burned out. When you continually strip-mine an ecosystem, don't expect your harvests for the next few years -- if ever -- to be very good.
What can we as activists & donors do about the situation?
First, simply clicking unsubscribe is a waste of your time. If you never subscribed in the first place, why do you think they're going to respect an unsubscribe request? Your email has already been sold to multiple other campaigns.
The ONLY (current) solution to stop the deluge of spammy and scammy fundraising emails that you never signed up for ... is to repeatedly click spam (or "junk") on them.
When you click spam on messages you never asked to receive, it sends three very important signals:
a) to your mailbox provider (MBP - i.e. Gmail), that an email sender added you to a mailing list without your permission...letting the MBP know that maybe the rest of that sender's emails belong in the junk box too.
b) to the company (such as EveryAction/NGP-VAN) hosting that sender, that the sender is violating the company's terms of service and has uploaded a list of unpermissioned emails ... letting these companies know that maybe they should be a little stricter in enforcing their rules around uploads.
c) to the sender, that you DON'T consent to the widespread selling/renting/trading of your email address ... letting them know that you're going to be a pain in the neck, and they should probably stop selling your address around.
Other notes:
-
If the companies spamming you with unpermissioned emails don't like getting complaints, they could easily — and should set up a national "Don't sell or swap my email address" list, akin to the national Do Not Call registry. I invite them to do so, and then provide a link to it in all their fundraising emails. When the spam stops ... we'll stop clicking spam.
-
The latest fad seems to revolve around using AI to generate even greater volumes of spammy fundraising content. IMHO, wrong solution to the wrong problem -- unless your goal is just to send more spam at a lower cost by cutting human writers out of the equation.
-
Depending on your state, you may have new rights to privacy this year, that you may wish to exercise however you see fit. More info here: https://www.isipp.com/blog/connecticut-colorado-virginia-utah-email-consent-laws/
-
Texting spam is also a plague, and for multiple reasons is a harder nut to crack. If I've never heard of the sender or signed up for their text list, they get blocked or reported as spam too. More helpful tips here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzzm7/this-guy-sued-a-spam-texter-and-got-dollar1200-and-you-can-too
-
Many nonprofit and political advocacy groups (including Daily Kos & others who do joint, permission-based petitions) DO respect the privacy of your email address, and the goal here is to get your primary inbox back to a permission-based ecosystem - so these groups actually deserve your support.
-
If you're looking for groups that assess candidates and races, respect the privacy of your email address, AND know where grassroots donations are most strategically applied to elect more & better Democrats … allow me to recommend ForceMultiplier.us and Donor Organizer Hub.