I think for Ezine automatic responders are good. For joining your blog, twitter, etc., it doesn't make sense. - Shevonne

Nope. - Akiva Moskovitz

We send out a confirmation and acceptance notification when you subscribe. Most people don't respond negatively to them. - Terence

Lighter Footstep is more ezine than blog (though the differences are pretty arbitrary). I get way too many Twitter follows right now to send a personal DM. Hadn't considered that it might be bugging new users, but I had a complaint today. Would sure welcome more feedback on this. - Chris Baskind

I get those occasionally from people and I'm neutral -- they don't bother me. - Trish R

Like Jason, I expect them too. - AJ Batac

For email, that's cool. I almost expect it anytime I sign up for anything now. For Twitter, GAH. No way. I don't need a "welcome message" to your Twitter stream. I didn't accidentally hit "follow" and I know how to unsubscribe. - Shawn Farner

I expect them as a confirmation that the system worked. What I do hate is when I get sent more than one email from the service when I sign up. Some send an account info mail, a welcome letter, then some other random mail. Just incorporate all of that into a single email. - xero

like - Susan Beebe

I like it because it reminds me to go through my subscriptions and subscribe back. - Katie: Witch Of The West

The consensus seems to be either they're liked or expected (with some dissent). I think the solution here, though, is to use the DM to offer something of value right away. I have an ebook in the works. Will hook that up when it's done. - Chris Baskind

How about an Amazon gift card? - Trish R

Doesn't bother me any! I kind of like the confirmation. - Rochelle

I think if you use the DM to push something on someone, it comes across as even *more* spammy than a "thank you" message. - Shawn Farner

Shawn, saying "thanks" isn't spamming or pushing something on someone. If it was, I wish I received more of that kind of e-mail spam than the Viagra kind. - Trish R

Also, for cases like FriendFeed and Twitter, it gives me a list of people to go through that are interested in me so I can see if I'm interested in them enough to subscribe back. - xero

Trish, it keeps bouncing back and forth between email and Twitter (it seems to me). I was talking about Twitter, not email, since he brought up DM's. Email, I don't really mind because as I said, I almost expect it to come when I sign up or subscribe to something. - Shawn Farner

xero, that is when they follow you. He's saying that they send an automatic message back to you when you subscribe to them. So it isn't like you're getting that email that says "so and so is now following you on Twitter". You'd get a DM. - Shawn Farner

I'm thinking of it as email because I get my twitter DMs by email and that's how I read them. - Trish R

As far as Twitter goes, Kyle Lacy pretty much nailed this. - http://kylelacy.com/why-i-h... - Shawn Farner

wouldn't unfollow someone but the overt marketing and fake interest is tiresome. For more thoughts on this try http://tweetabix.com - Richard McKay

It was Kyle Lacy who complained. But I'm largely unconcerned with the opinion of social media specialists on this. What I want to know is what real people think. Most, I bet, are not followed by hundreds or thousands of friends, and are not inundated with automated DMs - Chris Baskind

One welcome message is fine with me. "Remind me" that I use your service once a week without telling me, and... grr! - Andy DeSoto

Yeah, that *would* be annoying to me. - Chris Baskind

Yes, annoying please stop them. - Kol Tregaskes