13 March 2008
Register with the e-Mail Preference Service

Reclaim your inbox!

We're all sick of spam messages... those emails we don't want from people we don't know offering services and products we don't need.

Well, here's a tip that may help you to eliminate some of that unwanted email.

The Tip:
Register your email address with the e-Mail Preference Service (e-MPS).
The e-MPS is a consumer service sponsored by The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Many companies, including many of the nation's largest direct marketing companies, participate in the DMA. As DMA members, they are also required to use e-MPS.

When you register with e-MPS, your name is placed on a "delete" file which is made available to member companies four times a year. The companies will match their email lists against the e-MPS list and remove your name and email address. This prevents you from receiving further emails from these companies and, just as importantly, from any other companies to whom they may rent their lists.

Registering with e-MPS won't stop all commercial emails, but any reduction in volume is good, right?

Register!
You can register with e-MPS for free at www.dmaconsumers.org. Your subscription to the "delete" list lasts for five years and you'll receive an email to let you know when it's about to expire so that you can sign up again if you like.
When you visit the DMA Consumer's website, take some time to look around -- you'll also find out how to purge your contact information from the (snail-)mailing lists and the telephone lists of those companies that are DMA members.