One day, I started receiving emails to something called the “StoneZone”. I didn’t subscribe to it, and I didn’t want it. But still, it came. My assumption is that this was another of those websites that signs up blawgers on its own to spread it’s name in the hope that someone will care. I didn’t.
The other day, there was a blawgversation about receiving press releases started by Kevin O’Keefe, which most blawgers could do without. While not exactly a PR, this is pretty much the equivalent. So after deleting the first few StoneZone emails, and still they kept coming, I decided to “unsubscribe”.
After clicking the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email, it took me to the website, where I was informed that my “request” to unsubscribe had been submitted, but that there was a final step to the process. I would be receiving an email to “verify” my unsubscribe request. This was a new one on me.
Now intrigued by who, having “subscribed me” against my will, demanded that I perform like a trained seal to stop receiving their self-promotional emails. You gotta admit, that’s chutzpah.
But chutzpah barely captures this one. Stone turns out to be someone named Roger Stone, a neocon psychopath. So enraptured he is with himself, that he has dedicated a page to publications that mention him as being someone so disreputable, such an unmitigated disgrace, that he embodies all that the public despises about politics. Well, not everyone in “the public,” I guess, since there are some who likely believe he’s the necessary hammer in the war against thinking people.
I admit to reading one of Stone’s posts today. It was a surreal experience, with no connection between the garbage he spews and any semblance of legitimate thought. Clearly, he’s got his finger on the pulse of people who have none. It’s a flagrant play to ignorance, prejudice and anger, seeking nothing more than to contort those inclined to only visceral reactions into paroxysms of hostility. It would be goofy, but for the potential that someone, somewhere, will heed his intellectual vomit.
Do you get the idea that I don’t care for this fellow’s thoughts? You are correct.
So StoneZoners, whoever you may be, please stop sending me your promotional emails. Though by mentioning you here (though note that I’ve not included a link to your main website because you don’t deserve a single eyeball on my account), you will likely be thrilled. You seem to thrive on being despised. The more controversy you stir up, the more you exist.
But you don’t stir up controversy, because you offer nothing legitimate. You are just a refuge for the ignorant, those who wonder why society’s problems can’t be solved by hating others.
Now, just leave me out of your warped world, and stop sending me emails. I will never mention you again.
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They put me on their list too, and my unsubscribe attempts have been completely unavailing. (No “verification” email ever arrived.) At what point do mailings of this sort become indistinguishable from simple spam? And has longtime public figure Stone reached the point where he would rather be buzzed about as a spammer than not buzzed about at all?
I found the verification email on my spam folder, but then I looked for it there. I certainly don’t know enough about Roger Stone to suggest the level of desperation to which he will stoop to have buzz (yes, my characterization is openly biased, but I make no bones about it), but this unsolicited subscription effort smacks of spam from the outset. This seems quite telling to me.
Be careful out there. Supposedly some of that “unsubscribe by clicking” stuff is just a way to get you to verify that they have a live email address, so that they can send you more spam.
I think that’s especially true in cases where you didn’t “subscribe” in the first place.
That’s what I was thinking about, particularly with that unsubscribe verification crap. This could be some kiddy porn scam, for all I know. There’s no other way to unsubscribe, so the choices are bad and worse.
Yup; it’s why I always characterize such stuff as spam, and let my filters deal with it, rather than alerting the spammers. As it is, I get a lot of spam, but the filters seem to do a good job of getting to it, although new variations in the Nigerian scam always do make their way through. For awhile.
I really hated that Nigerian scam stuff too, until I got an email from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller assuring me that this one was legitimate. Now I’m going to be rich! Rich, I say!
Asshole-
If you dont get Roger Stone’s writing at Stonezone.com it’s because you cant read. Tough to remove your name from our list if rant at us anonymously.
Over 135,000 people go to the Stonezone every week. Maybe it’s you who are fucked up?
Our removal system works fine and all requests are promptly honored.
A. Miller
WEBMASTER
Stonezone.com
[Ed. Note: Ordinarily, I would not permit language like this, but I’ve made a special exception in this case. I didn’t want to do anything to change the flavor of Andy’s comment.]
Thank you, Andy, for saying it far better than I ever could, with the full degree of depth and intellectual clarity that the stonezone brings to political thought. Clearly, the Stonezone is the right place for an erudite indivual like you.
Wow. That’s…that’s perfect.
Let’s say someone wanted to make these guys look really, really bad. Like total criminals and scum bags. What might that person do? He might forge a comment like the one Andy left. And yet, I suspect that comment was authentic.
Like Windypundit say: “Wow. That’s…that’s perfect.”
Andy, I think you’re lying to your boss. Stonezone has a PR5; and only 104 blogs (via Technorati) link to StoneZone.
So there’s no way in hell you’re getting 135,000 weekly viewers. Unless you have some scam way of counting visitors. If I were your boss, I’d fire you for lying to me about the site’s traffic.
Having access to the “inside information,” it is indeed authentic.
I seem to get ‘spammed’ all the time – (in fact, I’d have to say that anyone with an email address in this day and age will get spammed) by websites. I constantly receive many from places I NEVER dreamed on signing up for, including this hog-wash website. But I take it all in stride as this to me is the modern way of communication. Is it truly any different than getting all the paper flyers in the mail? (No, and it’s at least better for the environment and our trees!) Many times I wonder ‘how’ they got my email address… I figure that someone ‘signed me up’ – whether it was for a joke or some other reason – like they wanted me to read something – so I take it in stride and, either way, I figure out a way to stop the unwanted mail, unlike many of you. The fact that you all spend more time complaining, answering this type of wasteful communication, not to mention a complete waste of time, when you could do something pro-active in less time, baffles me. I put it down to a bunch of stupid people who have nothing better to do than blog about nothing of any importance – that’s what I see.
You all should be ashamed of yourselves – how sad you all are. Instead of spending one second deleting the unwanted mail, you’d spend hours writing and reading this pathetic, nasty, and of no real substance, information, that quite honestly, I don’t give a crap what your opinion is. In fact, I read & get STONEZONE.com (and I enjoy it), as well as the Wall Street Journal, NY Times and many other important publications – do you? All have a viable and different perspective which allows me to decide what I choose to believe and shape my personal opinion. Do you honestly think this is the type of hog-wash blogging communication is positive or helpful to anyone? Or is this just a sad way for you lonely people to be hopefully heard? Or are you stupid enough to believe every written word? Make your own opinion, keep your own opinion to yourself, and instead of having a conniption fit because you are receiving ‘unwanted E-mail’ and the ‘unsubscribe isn’t working,’ you could have spent less time, and less negative energy, by picking up the phone and speaking to someone to have yourself removed. But I guess there are just way too many sad and lonely human beings in this world that have nothing better to do than bitch and complain about everything instead of taking action.
In closing, it is MY OPINION that you all are just as bad, if not worse, and definitely have less class, than issue you are discussing. A bunch of pathetic lost souls who need to find some fun in their lives before it’s too late.
This is the first time I have ‘blogged’ – and definitely the last. So far, this wasteful type of communication has taken 10 – 15 minutes to write – and that is without proofing. I could so think of many more positive ways to spend my time – I hope you all do too!
Peace and happiness!
LF out!
Ps. Did you ever think that you might have a different email signed up?
Wow. And here I thought Andy represented the true voice of the stoner. You are way cool.
Yeah, shame on YOU Scott! Wasting your TIME telling other people YOU don’t want to hear WHAT they’re saying! You MUST be a loser to HAVE so much time on your HANDS!!!
Could you expand on that? If you continue to be so brief, you hardly qualify as a windy pundit.
That’s it. I need to find some fun in my life before it’s too late. On second thought, I have!
You must not be reading my blog…
Read it? Not only do I read it, I broke it.
If you broke it, the least you could do is fix it.