I sent out my ezine last week and received a copy back. It was sent to me by a customer. The subject line is a two-word sentence; Since most publications and websites do not like vulgarity, obscenity, and obscenity, I have given you the exact words. Rest assured, however, that Miss Manners would not agree.

It’s understandable how frustrated people get when they are inundated with unsolicited commercial emails. I have earned more than my fair share.

Even though my internet service provider (ISP) has a spam filter enabled and I have configured my own email program’s filter, I still get spam.

However, my client’s situation is different. He came along and confirmed his subscription. I use external services to manage my mailing list, in part to protect against bogus spam complaints.

There are several options here. Perhaps my dear subscriber forgot that he is subscribed and seriously thinks that he received spam.

Another possibility is that he doesn’t like the content. The correct answer when someone offers you something you don’t want is “No thanks”, not “Export removed”.

If a host offers you dessert after dinner and you don’t want it, just say “No thanks.” If you accept a piece of cake and are then offered another, you can accept or decline it.

My subscribers could easily unsubscribe. Instead, he fired back (either because he thought I was spamming him or because he didn’t like the newsletter).

She said “yes” when she signed up; he can always say “no” by signing off. Again “No thanks” not “Export removed”.

Coupled with this rudeness is the ignorance of some America Online, Inc. (AOL) customers. By ignorance, I mean that if they report an email they don’t like as spam, they may not even realize they’re doing something wrong.

AOL makes it easy for customers to report spam. I would say they make it too easy for themselves.

Just click the “Report Spam” button. Unfortunately, there isn’t a note near that button that says “If you’re signed in, just sign out”. No, just “report spam”.

And they did. Instead of unsubscribing, some AOL subscribers report your ezine as spam. Your vote and subscribe. They confirm their subscription via email. Your name, email address, IP address, and subscription date and time have all been logged. However, they report you as a spammer.

To me, this is rude as it can affect the reported person’s reputation and livelihood.

I wish I could say that it’s rare to receive profanity or threats via email. Unfortunately, this is not the first time for me.

Among the many messages I received were some stating that the email I was trying to send (from a weird or nonsensical name on my domain) could not be sent or was blocked and bounced back to me. Of course, I never sent that email.

I occasionally receive offensive (sometimes threatening) emails from people who believe I sent them some of these fake emails. This is tantamount to swearing at and threatening someone you think is letting their dog defecate in your yard. The only problem is the guy doesn’t have a dog.

Again, I sympathize with those annoyed by spam. I just wish they would direct their anger at the spammers, not me. Miss Manners will remind us all that there is never any reason to be rude.Learn more Business News in thehellenicvoice.