Letters and emails to the Editor

Letters and emails to the Editor: “No Junk Mail” notices …

We received an email on 2 May to the editor@launton.org box. The main body of the email is at the end of this post, as it raises an issue that has worried us since Launton Lines was launched nearly 30 years ago.

Of course, there is much in the email that we won’t agree with, but it does raise how we should ask our delivery volunteers to respond to “No Junk Mail” or “No Circulars” notices on houses. We asked when we launched the newsletter how we should respond to these notices, and the overall view was that Launton Lines was not “Junk Mail”. Many people have said that it is useful and informative and have asked us to deliver even through there is a “No Junk Mail” notice. This email is the first time in nearly 30 years and 282 issues that this has come up.

We replied to the email, asking for the address where we should not deliver, and have had no reply as we go to print, so we suspect that this may be some scam email, as the gmail box it was sent from is based in the USA, and the writer did not reply. But we still want to ask how we should respond to these notices.

We also pointed out that Launton Lines has been available online since November 2019. We are planning a more widespread reader questionnaire later this year, but for the moment, can readers please respond to this simple question.

• Should Launton Lines be delivered to households where there is a “No Junk Mail” notice?

Please reply to https://tinyurl.com/lldeliver where there is a simple Yes/No form to click.

There is, unfortunately, no legal definition of “Junk Mail” to help us in making a decision.

Here is the email we received on 2 May 2024

To whom it may concern,

My house mate and I have recently moved to Launton and have been inundated with junk from your publication to the point where we’ve had to put up a no junk sign on our letterbox. However it seems that whoever is delivering your junk appears to think that they’re not included in the “nojunkmailorsoliciting” note.

I am writing to you today to give you a friendly and polite warning, we do NOT want your junk coming through our letterbox and it says so in big bold black letters on the letterbox.

Your “Launton Lames Magazine” is in fact junk mail, and not only is it junk mail it’s also a thick as catalogue in 2024? Seriously think about the world, save the trees and my patience by moving to online publication.

Should your junk deliverer ignore it again in the future we will be forced to take matters into our own hands.

This is the only time I will have anything to say about this matter, should it continue then I won’t be held responsible for the ensuing escalation.