I am sure youve received messages from mailing lists and wanted to
unsubscribe. Perhaps you do not remember subscribing in the first place, or
maybe youve just grown tired of the subject. For whatever reason, you just
want to get off the list, and you want off fast.

On virtually every list, it is common practice to put the unsubscribe
instructions at the bottom of every communication (Yahoo groups, also called
egroups, is an exception in that sometimes there are no unsubscribe
instructions at all). You simply do what is described and you will be
removed from the list.

In most cases, a simple blank e-mail to an e mail address or a clicked link is
all you absolutely need to do. Sometimes you absolutely need to incorporate the word "remove" or
"unsubscribe" in the subject or body of the communication . It just depends upon
the conventions of the list.

Now, this article only applies to mailing lists to which you have subscribed
(opt-in). Before you click on any hyperlink or send an electronic mail off to parts unknown
that the communication is not spam. Never reply or click on any links in spam -
just delete the message unread.

Dont get mad about receiving mailings from various lists. Most of these now
require double-opt-in, which pretty much means you have to want to be
subscribed. This is very safe for the list owner because not only do the
list members subscribe to the list, but they must also do something else
(usually return a blank electronic mail ) to verify that they indeed do want to
subscribe.

Its often not a dazzling idea to try and reply asking to be removed from
the list. Most lists have distinct unsubscribe functions and simply writing
an e mail quote "please remove me" will not work. Quite fairly often, in fact, a
reply will instead be sent to ALL members of the list, which simply makes
you look foolish.

Also, the list owner is using one of the list services because it automates
everything. Think of the effort that he or she would have to do through of
all requests we are handled manually. Thus, it is in everyones best interest
to spend a couple of minutes to learn how to unsubscribe so it is done
properly.

If you send an e mail to unsubscribe from a list and it doesnt work, you may
have subscribed under a different email address. Take a look at the message
from the list to see were it was sent. If it was sent to another electronic mail
address (lots of people have more than one) you might have to send a blank
email from that address to unsubscribe.

Egroups - This has merged with Yahoo groups. See that section for more
data .

Listbot - Listbot is no more. It has been shut down.

Onelist - This has merged with Yahoo groups. See that section for more
experience.

Smartgroups - To remove yourself from one of these lists, simply send an
electronic mail to groupname-unsubscribe@smartgroups.com. Groupname is the title of the
smartgroup. You might also log in and unsubscribe (or change your e mail
settings) from the web.

Topica - To unsubscribe from a Topica e mail list, scroll down to the bottom
of the e-mail. Simply click the unsubscribe list. Alternately, you might send
an e mail to the specified address. It does not matter what the electronic mail
contains. Do not reply to the message that you received, as this will simply
go to the person who posted and will NOT unsubscribe you.

Various message boards - The unsubscribe function varies, but is virtually
always explained at the bottom of the message. Ive found that most message
boards use a clickable backlink (this is because they are frequently installed
on web sites which do not allow for returned e-mail messages). Sometimes
communication boards require you to log in and change your settings to stop
receiving emails.

Yahoo Groups - Unsubscribing from egroups is brain friendly, but the commands are
often hidden or missing entirely. This seems to be especially true of the
digest form of lists. To unsubscribe, simply take the name of the egroup
(usually in the subject surrounded by square brackets) and create an e mail
address of that title followed by "-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com". For
example, to unsubscribe from "[toms-list]" send an email to
"toms-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com".