The new edition of the Yellow Pages will be distributed hurled intrusively onto your driveway soon. The project — which wastes enormous amounts of fuel as drivers deliver a product that wastes enormous numbers of trees, and which no one uses these days anyway — begins around September 22.
If you’re one of the 100% of Westporters who believe the Yellow Pages — and if not them, their current distribution system — should go the way of the Flivver and the fax, you’re in luck.
According to the 1st selectman’s office, you can opt out of “future phone book deliveries” by visiting www.YellowPagesOptOut.com. If you opt out 60 days in advance of the delivery, you will not receive the current publication. (Today is July 27. I know, I know…)
Westport’s official town nuisance.
Supposedly, data submitted will never be used for marketing purposes, and will not be given to third parties.
You can also use those links to request directories. As if.
If you have “concerns” about the Yellow Pages, email sbconcerns@teampdc.com. Provide your name, address, contact information and specific details about why you’re concerned.
Meanwhile, if you’ve got any strategies for stopping the even more intrusive — as in, every week — Minuteman, click “Comments” to share.
Nice idea … except that you have to register with them and give all sorts of personal info. Total scam.
Very helpful Dan, thank you i opted out (again, I have to do it regularly or they keep coming back!)
Thank you for the public service announcement Dan.
The only personal info they asked for is your name and address. Hey, they have that already in the book. I opted out. Thanks, Dan!
Too bad you missed the date on a timely notice to the public. You could have done a great service. Oh well, maybe next time!
Sorry, Ryan. I got the email from the selectman’s office at noon and posted it a couple of hours later. I guess no good deed go unpunished.
PS: It says the delivery will START September 27. They generally take a month or two deliver. So stop reading this and do it now. You might be in luck.
I prefer the printed yellow pages. No need to share, one copy will be enough for me.
Such an anachronism today… They should be required to ask for an Opt-In… Does Anyone actually ever open a printed Yellow Pages book any more? And then there are “private” versions, not from Ma Bell… All this is really is advertising deployment. And recycling bin filler.
Anything to reduce the “fire load”.
Junk mail next? At least, all this useless paper can be collected for recycling.
great PSA Dan…thanks Just opted out – saving trees!
Any merchant dumb enough to shell out advertising dollars for this albatross would be the last place I would visit.
Thanks for laugh Gil. That was very funny.
Look again: First Name, Last Name, Address, email address, zip code. With that info, they can find out much, much more, sell it, trade it, and … guess what … they didn’t offer any privacy protection. Opt out by their method and you hand over the beginning of endless assaults online and by email.
Sounds like a bit of trumpian paranoia.
Paranoia? That’s an interesting way of looking at giving away personal information. Perhaps on the part of anyone who likes to give out their name, address, email address, etc., I would call it denial. Good luck with that.
Well, if asked for your SSN, yes, that would raise a red flag.
Trust, these days, has become theatrics.
Thanks!
It was easy to do and all they asked for was the usual stuff, no SS# anything. I never knew you could opt out, so thanks, Dan, for the heads up.
I tried to get in by adding our zip but the system kept asking for the zip. So I tried the email but got an out of office reply. Oh well. Will bring the book up to the dump…
We’ve always been able to opt out of receiving dead trees in yellow plastic. I opted out last year. Got one anyway. Chased the delivery guy down and asked to see his opt out list. Yup, I was on it. Handed the dead tree plastic fantastic back to him. As I waded back home through the tide of little yellow alien babies, the futility of my effort became apparent.
Expressed perfectly. Thank you.
Some members of the RTM have been working on this for about a year. We tried first for an “opt in”, but that turned out to be a first-amendment problem. The current opt-out notice is not placed prominently enough, so many people miss seeing it. We are now working on trying to have that corrected. Industry reps abound and we (thank you Liz Milwe, Matt Mandell and Jeff Wieser) are all trying to find consensus. Thanks Dan, for the info-boost.
“a first amendment problem”?
Yes, believe it or not, the “right” to disseminate this info in this format (the yellow pages) is considered an aspect of free speech.
Now if I could just opt out of the giant Restoration Hardware catalog…