Add a rule against signing up users to "subscription" marketing messages without their consent.
tracked
Abyss Monster
Like many other users, I periodically get spam notecards and IMs from SL business owners advertising their new products. I have NEVER signed up to any notecard mailing list, I have always been added automatically without my knowledge.
There's already a feedback post here about the ability to block these objects: https://feedback.secondlife.com/feature-requests/p/blocking-an-avatar-should-also-block-blacklist-all-of-their-rezzed-objects however I think that is only a band-aid solution.
Signing users up onto your "subscription" service without their consent should not be allowed in the first place. It falls under spam, yet every time I have submitted a report against these objects, & explained in the report that they are spamming me (and others) without my consent and sometimes without a way to opt out, nothing seems to come of it. So I can only assume that, currently, this isn't against the SL TOS, or for some reason the reports are falling on deaf ears.
Every time this has happened to me, the ads I get are from a brand that I don't recognize. This is because every time this happens it's nearly always happens one of two ways:
- I was added to the mailing list because I bought ONE item from the store in question; often a long time ago, sometimes years or more, from the Marketplace. This implies that the store owner is manually adding all Marketplace customer usernames to a mailing list or automating the process somehow.
- I visited the sim one time, and my mere presence was enough to get me on their mailing list.
I need to stress that not only do these users add you to lists extremely easily, but they often make unsubscribing very difficult. At best, it'll be through a system like "KioskNet" - which at least has an inworld location you can go and get a HUD from, and unsubscribe from any mailing lists using that system.
But if they use their own system, you're often out of luck. Some tell you "unsubscribe in the mainstore" but when you go there, there's no unsubscribe button, no matter how you look. Others say "contact me to unsubscribe", meaning that you have to actually talk to the person to convince them to take you off.
And even if you find a way to unsubscribe, some will automatically put you back on their list later! I periodically check the KioskNet thing because every 6 months or so, a store has added me back as a "subscriber."
As the other thread on this issue says, though, blocking either the user or their mailing object usually doesn't work because they tend to rezz multiple copies of the object, and keep going. Once you're in their system, you will be contacted by any object they rez going forward.
I ask that Linden Labs considering making these unprompted spam subscriptions disallowed on the platform, and actually punishable. You should ONLY be able to get a "subscription" by opting in. Intrusive ads we did not ask for are spammy, disruptive, and extremely annoying.
Log In
Teresa Firelight
I agree with the issue stated above. It is EXTREMELY annoying. And blocking the owner doesn't work because they seem to keep creating new objects to send the unwanted notices out on and those seem to be immune to the block. I would like to see a rule that if you get unwanted spam, you can reply with remove me and MUST be removed within 72 hours of that request and cannot be added back without your consent.
SL Feedback
Merged in a post:
A zero tolerance policy regarding spam
Coyote Enthusiast
Second Life has a spam problem, and Governance doesn't do anything about it regardless how well or many times it is reported.
I am requesting that Governance takes a zero tolerance policy regarding spam, or at least actively enforce a anti-spam policy.
People have been sending unsolicited IMs and notecards for years on Second Life, and it goes unpunished.
Telling people to opt-out is not a solution, Residents should not be subscribed to a list unless they explicitly subscribe to it.
I understand tackling such an issue can be complicated, as some people may claim that they were non-consensually added to a list, even if they subscribed. However, once enough reports come in from people saying they are receiving unsolicited spam, that should be a signal that people are being subscribed non-consensually.
If
anyone
tried this on any other platform, they would be kicked off immediately. The fact we can't name and shame said people who do this spam, because the name and shame policy is enforced more than spam which affects thousands of residents daily is disheartening. Not because we want to name and shame these people, but because it comes off that it is regarded higher to protect problem causing residents than it is to protect residents receiving abuse from others.Alisa Drachnyd
How is this tracked for over a full year now without action? If anything, these people are becoming more brazen, using a seemingly endless number of spam objects and slackjawed alts to get around any and all system blocks.
They refuse to unsubscribe you from the thing you never signed up for, laugh at any mention of abuse reports, and continue to be a plague upon the grid with LL's unspoken support since nothing is ever done with those reports.
One particular annoyance has been reported in-world and discussed in the forums for probably close to 2 years now, yet still continues to harass people with his abusive spam system to this day; apparently this does not qualify as "abuse" for those reports.
Extrude Ragu
I have been getting more and more spam lately and I never sign up for mailing lists. I think LL needs to come down a bit harder on this to be honest.
jessica111 Clary
i mean to be Fair...... they are annoying.... buttt you can aways Block, the object and never get a message again.
JuniperDawn Resident
jessica111 ClaryI've blocked some of these multiple times they send from a different source after
squidpaladin Resident
jessica111 Clary I've blocked some from a store in particular years ago and even unsubscribed and blocked the owner, I still get them constantly.
LVRXNZ Resident
When i send out updates, they always carry a 1-click op-out link and those who click it will never be receiving any updates or marketing messages again.
-> Simple rule, make it mandatory to insert 1-click unsubscribe links into any update/marketing message.
Alisa Drachnyd
LVRXNZ Resident Even simpler rule: no unsolicited spam.
Fionne Burleigh
I was on a subscriber list for an adult furniture store when I'd never been there - I'm guessing I was on the sim and their store subscriber system grabbed my name. I'm not a prude, but I have zero reason to buy their products. I blocked the object sender - they'd just send from another one, I blocked the owner - didn't affect a thing. I even went to their store to look for a way to unsubscribe but to not avail. Finally I sent the store owner a demand to remove me from their list or I would report them to LL for harassment. That seemed to work because I haven't received a notice from them since. I shouldn't have to go through all of that. I shouldn't be harassed by stores any more than by individuals. I can assure these store owners - I'm not spending a red linden in their stores. Ever.
prissypaw Aldrin
i agree with this one espeicaly for services that don't make it easy to unsubscribe.
SL Feedback
Merged in a post from Monroe Ghost:
Title: Aggresive gaming sims need controlling
Details: I have an alt that stay on one gaming sim. That alt logs in there, plays the games, speaks to no one and logs out.
Other random gaming sims send free credits in order to get my custom , not only to that account but to all my accounts , even the ones that never go gaming. I have to then contact the owners to ask them to stop. One said they had no idea how to do that! Some have stopped but really its not my job to opt out where I should never have been opted in in the first place. Some places have a board to click to opt out, some dont but yet again I shouldnt have to go anywhere unless I choose to
I can block of course and do but I still get messages to mail. I dont want to lose that feature as its important to me so Im still bombarded with spam from these sites
LL if you cant stop them then please insist every site has an opt out. That is ofc only second best as I mentioned but its a start.
This is a very annoying situation and its impacting on my enjoyment in SL. Im paying $99 a year to be hassled!
SL Feedback
Merged in a post from Prisqua Newall:
Title: Opting-Out Shouldn’t Be a Treasure Hunt
Details: I’d like to raise an issue about in-world spam and the lack of any straightforward way to remove our names from creator mailing lists. Right now, if we buy a product once, some creators treat that single purchase as permission to send every future update, release note, or promo message. That isn’t consent. It’s just sloppy practice.
There needs to be a stronger, explicit policy in the TOS: buying an item should not automatically enrol residents into a marketing list. If someone wants updates, they should opt in. If they don’t, creators shouldn’t get to assume perpetual access to their IMs.
Residents also shouldn’t have to play detective just to figure out how to get off these lists. Hunting through vendor profiles, notecards, or scripts to find an “unsubscribe” option is unreasonable, and blocking the avatar doesn’t even stop the messages.
Spam is not “customer service.” It’s not “community building.” It’s just spam. And creators who still believe a single purchase entitles them to message people indefinitely need to offer a simple opt-out, visible and functional.
We need both stronger rules and better enforcement so that residents have a real choice in what they receive and from whom.
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