Wednesday 21st February, 2007

21
Feb

MySpace have just spammed me

I received an unsolicited e-mail from MySpace this morning. Looks like it’s one of their usual circular newsletters. What makes this very strange is that I do not have a MySpace.

Okay, granted, I did have one once upon a time, but I never actually used it, and in the end I cancelled it. I was actually quite forthright in the comment box on the cancel my account option: I said that I have no time for an ad-ridden monstrosity that violates every accessibility guideline in the book and encourages you to parade a total absence of web design skills while encumbering your blog with search engine hostile URLs. They also have a fiendishly complex system for cancelling your account. You have to click through about seventeen “Are you sure?” links, and then they send you an e-mail message, after which you have to click through another “are you sure?” link, then they tell you it will still take 48 hours.

The newsletter very helpfully gives you some instructions on how to stop receiving further e-newsletters from them:

At MySpace we care about your privacy. If you don’t want to receive future MySpace newsletters, change your Account Settings to “Do not send me MySpace newsletters.” Click here to change your Account Settings. You can also contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your privacy at: privacy@myspace.com or write: MySpace.com, 6060 Center Drive, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

Very helpful, I don’t think, given the fact that in theory I no longer have an account at the e-mail address that they sent it to and therefore I can’t log in to change my Account Settings to “Do not send me MySpace newsletters.” I’ve sent an e-mail to privacy@myspace.com asking what they think they are playing at and I await a response. If it mentions viagra, cheap mortgages, OEM software or Britney Spears, I shall be rather upset.

Update 23 Feb: It appears that I am not the only person who has been spammed by MySpace recently. A report by someone else hit the front page of digg.com a couple of days ago.

Comments (2) »
Posted at 09:54 in Miscellany