Every so often, the Google news alert that feeds me a steady diet of spam-related news throws up an article written by someone who we might charitably call a 'non-expert'. Sometimes it's a junior journalist who has been told by his editor to go away and write something about spam. Sometimes it's a columnist who wants to share their own frustration or some folksy wisdom on the subject.

In the best cases, there's usually little new or actionable information in the piece. The better junior journalists just summarize a few other articles on the topic, while the columnists let their readers know that spam is making them sooooo mad. In the less good cases, the writers obviously haven't quite understood what they read, so the article is full of misinformation. And in the worst cases of all, the writer may try to offer advice, usually based on their own cursory study of the issue. These are the ones that have me screaming "No!".

Today's horror piece comes from the Honolulu Advertiser, where there is an article about unsubscribing. The author has just made the amazing discovery that many 'spam' messages contain an unsubscribe link at the bottom, and she is thrilled. She writes:

I have been tolerating these electronic marketing campaigns for the longest time, under the ignorant impression that "delete" was my only recourse. I had no idea I could simplify my inbox so easily and put a stop to the endless barrage of enticing offers to save and spend and click and shop. All I have to do is look at the fine print, follow a few simple directions and I have successfully been removed from the roster.

OK. I'll give you a few moments to stop screaming and weeping. Try taking deep breaths and thinking hard about your happy place. If that doesn't work, a stiff drink may help. If necessary, make it two.

I've already said everything that I think needs to be said about the folly of just hitting 'unsubscribe', so I won't repeat myself here. But if you have a few moments, maybe you could drift over to the Honolulu Advertiser website and — politely — share the benefit of your own expertise in the comments section. This meme needs to be nipped in the bud, now.