Vetting email list. What's with that?

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

Sorry all, the humor in such a practice for a non distinct chess club/group/what have you (not officially called a club, but yet a club does meet there that maintains their own email list, with a mixing of activities and funds flowing through together), the humor is just to darn much!!!!!

I have to take a moment to pause, regain my strength to type on.

"Email Lists
The Greater Memphis Chess Center maintains a few mailing lists for those people interested in chess tournaments.

.....

To prevent people from signing other people up for these lists, registration for these lists is done by emailing j.beatty@greatermemphischess.com with “MAILING LIST” in the subject. Please include the lists you’d like to sign up for in the body of the email. Any number of lists can be signed up for at once."

Tell me folks, how do you think this all works? Do you submit your email, then you get a questionnaire back to make sure you are you? I mean really, how would anyone know if you were you? How do you really verify anyone with just an email?
Or, is this just a big to do about nothing?

It could almost seem to make the general public think that there is an overwhelming interest in their activities - to think that they are getting pounded by so many request! Or, it could be that they are just trying to seem somewhat concerned about just who or whom may want on their list of top billing events, after all, I have yet to see any problems with "limited space" on any events.

Here again, it all seems a bit of the outer limits. If anyone wanted to know about events they could just ask someone they know who is already a member about the low down on what's going on. Then again, there are some people who just delight in spreading the word or happening, you don't even need to ask, they just spill the beans, so to say!

Right! Who really needs to be on an "EMAIL LIST" to know what goes on. Are their members instructed not to divulge any "TOP SECRET/ORIGINAL" activities?

I am just sure that there is an overwhelming submission of request to jump right on this selection of email lists. After all, Memphis is just a booming chess metropolis!

Hundreds if not thousands must have rushed for these outstanding lists by the sounds of vetting them. I mean really come on. At the most I would guess there are very few beyond their own, known members, that have submitted to be on these list. I am also going to guess that not even all of their known members want to be on these list.

After all can't people interested go to their websites. There is the Memphis Chess Club site, the GMCC site, and other various ways to get information. I mean you can always get information from a friend or someone you know who hangs with the group already. As for tournaments, many are listed with the USCF, so you can also get information there.

So, whats really the bottom line with this type of stress about "outsiders maybe getting on an email list"?

Some possible reasons:

1) You really want to keep the "Riff Raff" out of knowing about your events ( I have no way of knowing what would qualify someone as being "Riff Raff", but maybe they do.)

2) You have millions of request and just have to shorten your list, can't afford the bandwidth from sending millions of emails. Nor do you want to spend the time maintaining emails for millions of requests.

3) Your email client doesn't allow millions of emails to be sent out for fear you are a spammer, (quite frankly folks, I'd be more worried about this one, after all are they selling these huge amounts of emails from all of the email requests they must be acquiring? Don't know, but, it's a possibility, I guess.)

4) They are having "TOP SECRET CHESS EVENTS" that the world maybe in peril if anyone of a dubious nature finds out and may want to participate in a "world changing" battery of chess games.

5) They have first hand knowledge of persons submitting other persons emails. Maybe they have tried it as a joke or humor on someone else (surely not maliciously although the possibility is there), or maybe they themselves have been the target of such joking or humor causing for some way outer limits sense of fear for email list.


I don't know about you, but I find it hilarious that there seems to be some sense about their email list that causes such worry and fear. Now, what could that be? After all, could they really be getting that many request beyond those of people they already know? I doubt it!

Are they doing "TOP SECRET, ORIGINAL, NEW METHODS or TIME CONTROL GAMES" that are of an earth shattering nature? No, I doubt this one for sure, doesn't seem to be too much originality to worry about there.

So, in closing, I would suggest that I would be more worried about the location of the building, safety and the nature of activities, rather than, if I am on an email list or not!


Good luck with that boys!