More emails trying to get a link on your site - this time it's attempted emotional blackmail

 "...Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak." - Aesop's fable The North Wind and the Sun

There are many ways to ask someone to add a link back to your blog or website. People ask this because if you link to their site, when Google indexes all the pages and links on your website, Google 'reads' the fact that you've linked to a site as a recommendation, potentially helping that site to get a higher place in search results for particular keywords.

One of my pages receives a disproportionate number of requests (it's a popular page, though not my most popular) from people requesting that I add some link or other, much like a cuckoo leaves its eggs in other bird's nests. 

Of course I'm not having any of it but I am interested in the methods used. 

Recently I wrote about false copyright infringement requests (basically implying a DMCA take-down if you don't add a link) and today, after a BlueSky 'skeet'* from Jenny Shipway about the 'emotional blackmail' variant, decided to blog some examples. 

They're... rather similar (and some of them (one of the examples shown but a common feature in others I've had and since deleted) have an unsubscribe link at the end - why would they have that?!).

I've redacted names and email addresses, and the spam links. 

__________
*skeet is what Bluesky people call their Tweet equivalent [edit 29 April 2025 - to be honest this has fallen from favour since I first published this blog post]

Example One - to me

Image first then text below it

From: [Name and email address redacted]
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2023 at 17:03
Subject: A note from Ms. [Name redacted]'s class.
To: <Jo>

Hello,

I'm Ms. [Name redacted], a homeschooling teacher, and we wanted to express our gratitude for your helpful webpage: http://brodiesnotes.blogspot.com/2009/07/amrc-member-charities-websites.html. It has been an invaluable resource for our class.  (Edit - this is the page on my site that gets a lot of this!)

During extra credit research, one of our students, [girl's name redacted], came across this informative site: [irrelevant link redacted]. [girl's name redacted] believed it would be a great addition to your page and asked me to reach out to gauge your interest. Your consideration would mean a lot to [girl's name redacted] and our entire class.

We kindly request your thoughts on including this resource. Please let us know your decision, and we'll be eager to share this exciting news with [girl's name redacted] and her peers.

Thank you for your support!

Best regards,
Ms. [Name redacted]
Teacher & School Counselor

 

Example Two - to Jenny

From: [Name and email address redacted]
Date: Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 12:40 PM
Subject: AstroBoost, Activity ideas and resources
To: <Jenny>

Hi,

My name is [redacted] and I instruct an Astronomy Club for K12 students and just wanted to send a quick email and thanks. I was able to take advantage of some of your activity resources for my lessons (astroboost.org/external-resources). Thank you!

While exploring your page, one of my students, [girls name redacted], noticed you don't have an astronomy page we found together as a class. She thought it'd be a wonderful reference for students or other aspiring astronomers! :) I'll include it in my email below.

Anyways, I hope it's not too much trouble to ask to include it to your page? [Redacted link about space elevators]

[Girl's name redacted] is very shy and doesn't speak up much. I'm so proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone and recommending a resource!

We meet as a class again tomorrow afternoon and I'd love to show how our recommendation is up for others to explore and learn from! I'm hoping it'll break her out of her shell and volunteer more wonderful ideas in the future. :)

Thanks again!
[redacted]

 

Example Three - to Jenny

From: [Name and email address redacted]
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2024, 18:03
Subject: Can You Help (Your Resource Page)?
To: <Jenny>

Hi,
 
I am [redacted], an educator currently guiding a group of science students on their educational journey. As we explore the world of astronomy, we came across your resource page https://www.ips-planetarium.org/page/resources, and I wanted to express our sincere appreciation for the invaluable information on your website that has greatly benefited our studies.
 
One of our diligent students, [Girl's name redacted], who has a keen interest in data science, discovered an excellent resource on the role of data science in astronomy and interstellar exploration at [Data science in space link redacted]
 
She suggested sharing it with you, believing it could enhance your webpage. We kindly request your consideration even if it's for a short while as it will also inspire our students.
 
Please let me know if you're able to add it to your page so that I can show it to my students. Thank you for your time and potential collaboration.
 
Regards,
 
[Name redacted]
Teacher and advisor at [link redacted]

If you don't want to receive emails like this from me, please let me know here [link redacted].

Example Four - to me

From: REDACTED@communityclassconnect•••com
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2025 at 15:42
Subject: Resource Recommendation for Your Page
To: me

Hi,

I’m a volunteer teacher focused on STEM knowledge through adventure-based learning experiences. While researching resources, we came across your page brodiesnotes.blogspot.com/2009/07/amrc-member-charities-websites.html. Thank you for compiling such helpful information.

One resource my students love is [REDACTED, about STEM and cruise ship talks etc]. It highlights STEM-related activities available on cruises, including astronomy nights, stargazing opportunities, observatory visits, and interactive astronomy sessions. You can find it here: [REDACTED, for the purposes of thwarting this sort of spam]

Would you consider adding this guide to your page? I believe it could be a relevant resource for your visitors.

We deeply appreciate your efforts and your valuable contributions to the community.

Warm regards,
REDACTED

(My page linked there is a list of organisations' Jobs pages. It has nothing to do with STEM activities).

 

Example Five - to Jenny

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Redacted
Date: Tue, Apr 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Subject: Dr. Shipway Girl Scout Space/Astronomy Question!
To: <jenny>


Hi Dr. Shipway!

My daughter, REDACTED is involved in Girl Scouts and she is working on earning her Space Science Researcher badge. Since the topic piqued her interest, her leader encouraged her to do some research at home.

Luckily we came across the AstroBoost site. REDACTED is really enjoying looking through the Activity resources page: https://www.astroboost.org/external-resources

She really seems to be loving everything about space and astronomy so far… we actually went to the planetarium this past weekend and she had the best time. We bought her a telescope and some space books for her birthday last month that she's been using a bunch too! :)

REDACTED has struggled to find hobbies she really enjoys which is the reason we got her involved with the Girl Scouts program. It's been great to see her find something she likes – I haven't seen this big of a smile on her face in awhile.

During our research we came across another great resource and REDACTED was hoping you could check it out: WEBSITE REDACTED

It has a bunch of info about astrophotography and she thinks it's so fascinating! She would be so excited to see it included on the site... and I know her troop leader would be extremely proud of her for going above and beyond.

Is this something you're able to include on the Activity resources page? If so, her next meeting with her troop isn't until Friday. It would be wonderful if you were able to add it before then.

Please let me know if this is something you are able to do! Thanks for the help and support.

Have a great day,
REDACTED