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I got on a mailing list for something from IBM. The unsubscribe link took me to a page that always said it was "temporarily" unavailable I should try again later. The first time I gave them the benefit of the doubt. After a few tries over the course of months, I decided that it was permanently unavailable, and if it really was broken, they didn't have any motivation to fix it. So I set up a filter to automatically delete everything from that domain.

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You should email them and tell them they're not in compliance with that regulation. IBM will have lawyers who care, so you might be able to stop that spam not just for yourself but for everyone.

Even better, just report them to he FTC; they could (but probably won't) be liable for up to $50,000 per email.

It would be nicer if individuals had a cheap and accessible way to initiate civil action against spammers with "broken" unsubscribe flows, or those who work around the law. I'd love a service where I could forward them all my spam and then a few days or weeks later receive $100 from each spammer for each unwanted E-mail. Obviously it wouldn't work for spam that crossed borders, but it would at least help stop domestic spam.

Those lawyers know all about it, and why it's legal. If you want a lawyer to elp you, hire one.

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