I am sure youve received messages from mailing lists and wanted to
unsubscribe. Perhaps you dont 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
commands 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 electronic mail to an electronic mail address or a clicked backlink is
all you need to do. Sometimes you 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 link or send an e mail off to parts unknown
that the communication is not spam. Never reply or click on any links in spam -
just delete the communication 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 e mail) to verify that they indeed do want to
subscribe.

Its fairly often not a great idea to try and reply asking to be removed from
the list. Most lists have specific unsubscribe functions and simply writing
an e-mail saying "please remove me" will not work. Quite commonly, 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 electronic mail to unsubscribe from a list and it doesnt work, you can
have subscribed under a different electronic mail address. Take a look at the communication
from the list to see were it was sent. If it was sent to another email
address (lots of everybody have more than one) you can have to send a blank
email from that address to unsubscribe.

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

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

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

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 electronic mail list, scroll down to the bottom
of the e-mail. Simply click the unsubscribe list. Alternately, you can send
an e mail to the specified address. It does not matter what the e mail
contains. Do not reply to the communication 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 communication . Ive found that most message
boards use a clickable link (this is because they are frequently installed
on web sites which do not allow for returned electronic mail messages). Sometimes
communication boards require you to log in and change your settings to stop
receiving emails.

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