Hey, I didn't sign up for that newsletter! Well... maybe I did?

January 28 2009, 1:08am

"Being fearless":http://blog.otherinbox.com/2009/01/be-fearless.html with my email has shown me how different companies handle their newsletters. There are many areas of improvement needed. For example, do not send a confirmation message that does not state where it is coming from. That seems obvious, right?

Another issue in particular caught my eye today.

I signed up for a newsletter from "4inkjets.com":http://www.4inkjets.com/, hoping to get a heads up on coupons or great deals on printer ink. I have never heard of the site before, but I have no worries: 4inkjets gets its "own OIB email address":http://blog.otherinbox.com/2008/09/a-different-email-address-for-every-website.html.

A few days later, I see that my 4inkjets mailbox has a new message. I am in need of some ink, so I take a look. Here's what I see:

!/entry_images/ldproducts.png(LD Products newsletter)!

It's a newsletter about printer ink, but what is LD Products?

It turns out that "LD Products":http://www.ldproducts.com/ has been doing business as 4inkjets.com since 1999 (according to their "About Us":http://www.4inkjets.com/aboutus.php page). It has been 10 years! How many people have deleted these messages during that time, since they had never heard of the company before?

If I saw it in my regular inbox (and not my OtherInbox), I would have never made the connection. Maybe I would have checked it out. Most likely, I would have marked it as spam and waited for my 4inkjets newsletter that would never come.

It's a big world out there. I am certain there are other oddities to find.