I still remember the day when pure dirty greed engulfed me. There comes a day in everyone?s life ? when we all forget that greed is something which should be avoided like the plague. Anyway let?s cut the crap and get to the point.
Some months back it so happened that I was following live cricket from the office using http://www.indiatimes.com. While checking the scores, offer of cheap Air Tickets on Indiatimes auctions caught my eyes, the prices offered seemed too good to be true ? on hindsight that?s what probably got me sucked in. (Yeah Sucked in that?s the right word) Checked out the auction promptly registered, it never ever crossed my mind that giving my business email id might be a bad idea. (Come on don?t think of me as a fool, I thought ?Time of India? was a decent group)
Never got to bidding in the auctions, but that?s another story. What started after that fateful day (the day greed took over my senses) is anybody?s guess. I started receiving a lot of junk mail from Indiatimes.com, advertising books to consumer durables of all hues and colors. I got offers for books I will never read - obscenely expensive Flat Televisions I cannot afford ? offers for residential schools I can?t send my kids to, since don?t have any at present.
Initially I ignored the mails, hoping that they would get tired (I am so naïve!!!!!), plus I also thought what the heck if I can get 3 offers a day on different types of Viagra(from other spammers), and other such products ? I can safely handle the much safer junk from indiatimes.com.
Then came a point where Indiatimes.com decided to make a relentless attack on my mailbox, I was flooded with offers of goods, products and services I had no intentions of availing. I decided enough was enough, I needed to take some strong action ? so I meekly started to click on the ?Unsubscribe? link found at the bottom of most junk mails. I thought my problems would stop here, but some people like me never learn. The offers never stopped, in fact I times I thought they had increased.
Decided should complain about this to indiatimes.com (after all they are from the ?TOI? group) they would surely offer some forum to complain and stop this menace. Scanned the site for some ?Contact Us? link, some option where I can request them personally to spare my mailbox. To my utter surprise, nowhere on Indiatimes.com did I manage to find any such link. Is this responsible behavior? No Sir I don?t think so.
In fact anyone visiting Indiatimes.com must have noticed the numerous PoP-Up windows that spring up as soon as you open the site. Wonder what sort of marketing strategy is this? I am sure that I would never buy a product or avail a service, which springs up its marketing blitzkrieg on me without any warning. I hope the advertisers resorting to such means on Indiatimes.com are listening??
Well moral of the story is:
1) Don?t fall for greed, it can and will destroy you.
2) Don?t follow Cricket Score during office hours.
3) Don?t trust the ?Times of India? group.
4) Don?t go in for the auctions, only other people win all the auctions and more importantly ?winners are the biggest losers on Indiatimes.com?
5) Stop using ?Internet Explorer for your browsing, try ?FireFox? ? it?s got an in built pop up killer ? an instant end to all the Pop Up Windows when you visit sites such as Indiatimes.com.
As far as I am concerned, I have decided to fight back. As a result I have changed my email address?..he he he that?s some fighting back.