talkmagic.co.uk

This really does make me weep!

I, like several others on this forum, just got an email from Merlin's of Wakefield detailing new stuff. Nothing wrong with that. It's nice to be kept in the loop.

Hang on a moment! How come I know that some other TM members got this too? Because Merlin's, instead of setting up a mailing list alias and addressing the email to it, have chosen to send it to a long list of private addresses that I now have! I'm not commenting on the list itself, just the fact that 90+ strangers (and possibly address grabbing viruses) have it too.

I've sent Merlin's an email explaining this.

e-mails from merlins?
dear dear, I'm in that shop every other weekend and never knew they had any form of mailing list. guess i don't really need it mind.
gotta love that shop!
apart from the time i asked them to get me some d'lites and then when i went to get them he'd taken them to some convention and i had to spend an extra few quid having them posted. and they never have ghost decks in! tut tut
/rant

Even easier is just to send everything through a blind carbon copy, BCC.

Perhaps someone needs to have a word with Merlin's and point out the potential problems? I had to ask to be removed from a couple of (non magic) email uipdate arrangements for exactly the same reason - and all the Spam I got as a result.

Yeah, I emailed them and explained that there are Data Protection Act implications to just splurging out addresses.

Hopefully it's just a case of not realising the implications of the way things were done. I suppose I'm the same as most folks and get automatic updates from Alakazam, emagictricks and cards4magic but they all seem to keep the listings a secret - in the best traditions of Magic!