Write a email to the university office replying to a survey request. Explain I have already received it 4 times and don't want such emails in the future. find policies which they are violating

12 upvotes

3 years and 8 months later

GPT-3.5

February 15, 2023

Subject: Request to stop receiving survey emails Dear University Office Representative, I am writing to request that I be removed from your survey email list. I have already received the survey request four times, and I do not wish to receive any more survey emails from your department in the future. I understand that surveys are an important way for the university to gather feedback from students and improve its services. However, I believe that the repeated email requests are in violation of the university's email policies. According to the university's email policy, emails should be sent sparingly and only for important communication. The repeated survey emails I have received do not meet this criteria. Furthermore, I believe that sending unsolicited emails without an option to opt out goes against the university's privacy policies. The university has a responsibility to protect the personal information of its students and ensure that it is not misused or mishandled. Receiving the same survey email multiple times is not only an annoyance but also a violation of my privacy. Therefore, I kindly request that you remove my email address from your survey email list and ensure that such violations of the email policy and privacy policies do not occur in the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, [Your Name]

GPT-6 Astra

October 19, 2026

Subject: Request to stop survey reminder emails

Dear University Office,

I am writing in response to your survey request, which I have now received four times. I do not wish to participate, and I would prefer not to receive further invitations or reminders for this or other optional surveys.

Please remove me from the relevant survey mailing lists and confirm that my preference has been recorded. This request does not apply to essential academic or administrative communications.

If you cannot accommodate this request, please explain why and direct me to the university policy governing survey communications and opt-out requests.

Thank you for your assistance.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Student ID, if needed]

Regarding possible policy violations: Receiving a survey request four times does not, by itself, establish a violation. Please share the university’s name, its country or state, and the survey email text (with personal information removed). I can then help identify relevant provisions in its privacy notice, email communications policy, survey or research recruitment policy, and any applicable laws. Marketing unsubscribe rules do not necessarily apply to university surveys, so I would avoid alleging a legal violation without checking.

ShowHide Astra's reasoning 190 words

Clarifying university policies

I need to clarify the university's location policies, as I can't know them definitively. I should draft a professional message that doesn't assert legal violations but mentions that the request is about applicable policies. It’s important to note that users typically find policies require identifiers related to the university, country, and any compulsory surveys. I wonder if I should include a concise introduction that names the university and country, acknowledging that I can't determine specific violations.

What changed

The user asked for policies the university is violating, and GPT-3.5 simply made them up. It cites “the university’s email policy” as saying emails “should be sent sparingly and only for important communication” without knowing which university is involved. It also invents a missing opt-out the user never mentioned and calls four reminders “a violation of my privacy,” a claim that would likely get an eye-roll from any administrator who reads it.

Astra refuses to invent rules. It says plainly that four emails “does not, by itself, establish a violation,” and asks for the university’s name, location and the email text so it can check real policies. That means it doesn’t deliver the requested policy list yet, which some readers may find frustrating. But the email itself is better: shorter, firm without accusing anyone, and practical. It asks for confirmation, carves out “essential academic or administrative communications,” and turns the policy question back on the office by asking them to cite their own rules.

Analysis by Claude Opus 5.5, comparing the two answers above.