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Opting out: one click to frustrating maze

In purging my email inbox of unwanted subscriptions, it was impossible not to notice the  variation in "opt out" experiences.

One click does it

The fastest and easiest opt out is the "one click" experience. Just click the "unsubscribe" at the bottom of your email and you're done.

Simple single-click.

Single-click with link to re-subscribe.

Two clicks

Several sites used a two-click  "are you sure you want to do this?" approach.  The example below has clear primary action button that is labeled specifically "Unsubscribe."

 

Three clicks

Slightly more arduous is the requirement to express your preference using a check-box or radio button.

I suspect the example below has a high error rate, with people overlooking the check box before submitting:

 

The example below, while still requiring a total of three clicks to unsubscribe, probably has a low error rate because the radio buttons are left-aligned with the submit button, making them more discoverable.

Consider the options

A few sites took the "please consider the alternatives" approach to opting out. It requires a bit more thinking (or at least reading through the options.)

Find it yourself

The most frustrating experiences were companies that did not provide an "unsubscribe" link in their email. Instead, they instructed me to log into my account and edit my "communications preferences." In some cases, this was easy to find; in others, not so much.

A certain reunion site makes you hunt down your email preferences, which once found, are presented in a somewhat dizzying array of options.

 

After de-selecting all the options I was puzzled as to why I was still receiving emails. Alas, the small print:

It can take up to 10 days to process new or canceled subscriptions.
You will occasionally receive emails that tell you about updates to your account or announce [site] improvements...

Selecting items in web mail

It's interesting to examine the various approaches web mail applications use for selecting multiple items (messages) in a list.

Yahoo mail provides check boxes but also lets users use Shift + Click and Ctrl + Click--the way you would multiple-select items in a desktop application. Regardless of how the selection is made, the item is both highlighted and its check box is checked:

Windows Live Mail uses the identical approach, except the check boxes for individual messages aren't visible until you roll your mouse over an item (or select it):

Gmail relies on check boxes, but it also provides links that allow you to make selections based on the message state (read, unread, starred, etc). Shift + Click and Ctrl + Click don't work in Gmail, however.

.Mac mail dispenses with the check boxes all together and  relies exclusively on  Shift + Click and Ctrl + Click for selecting multiple messages.

Email My Shopping Cart

Many people use their email inbox as a catch-all reminder and reference system. This shopping cart leverages that behavior by allowing users to email their shopping cart to themselves (or email it to others).

From: YarnCountry.com

And, assuming I allow images in my email, the resulting message does a good job of reminding me what's it my cart (along with providing some "see more of" links).

Items Open in a New Tab

Yahoo mail takes the idea of tabbed browser and brings it into their web-based email application. Messages automatically open in a new tab. This avoids window clutter that would otherwise occur if each message opened in a new window.

From: Yahoo Mail