Topic: "Welcome to The Weather Channel" email??

[SLOweather]

Has anyone else received an unsolicited  "Welcome to The Weather Channel" email from twcwxalerts@weather.com recently?

I got one today. I certainly haven't signed up with them.

[hankster]

I did but I had an account with them.

[waiukuweather]

I got one too. not sure why that is for sure
I wonder if linked to your WU account?

[vreihen]

For the past month or so, they have been sending welcome to TWC emails when a new account is created on WU.  The new WU credentials did *not* work on TWC.  Another WU bug, or perhaps someone uploaded the wrong message template?????

[cospringswx]

I wouldn't trust it. I had a scam email from them years ago.

[chief-david]

not yet. I have a membership but it may go to spam

[SLOweather]

Well, I just received a second "Welcome..." email for another account I have for some WeatherElement stations. Based on that, it's clearly related to WU. I replied, asking, "Please explain how I "signed up" for this?".

I don't expect a response.

[chief-david]

It could also be a virus in their system. Last weekend, my school email sent out an email to everyone one I have ever sent an email to.

As always, if you don't trust it-don't open it.

[BeaverMeadow]

I received two of those emails also. The links in the email go to weather.com so it is apparently legitimate (but spam nonetheless).

[miraculon]

The log-in seems to be broken. I tried my WU credentials and it said that the email didn't exist, despite the fact that it is how I received their email!
Facebook gave me the standard image on my page and my username, but it "doesn't exist".

Greg H.

[vreihen]

I just received one at 7:00 AM EDT to my secret alert email address, that is only known by WU and is tied to my ancient WU account.  Tearing the headers apart, it originated in the Amazon AWS cloud and passed SPF verification as an authorized sender of @weather.com emails.

My guess is that TWC is trying to import WU user accounts into TWC's web site, in an attempt to coax WU users to use weather.com.  As they import batches of users, these "new TWC user" messages are automatically generated.

Reading between the lines, it probably means that WU's days are numbered.....

[stevebrtx]

Got one, unsubscribed.

[saratogaWX]

I just received one at 7:00 AM EDT to my secret alert email address, that is only known by WU and is tied to my ancient WU account.  Tearing the headers apart, it originated in the Amazon AWS cloud and passed SPF verification as an authorized sender of @weather.com emails.

My guess is that TWC is trying to import WU user accounts into TWC's web site, in an attempt to coax WU users to use weather.com.  As they import batches of users, these "new TWC user" messages are automatically generated.

Reading between the lines, it probably means that WU's days are numbered.....

I got one this morning too to the email I use for WU.

I agree.. I think they used the WU signups imported into their setup.. makes some sense as both entities are owned by IBM and it looks like merging is taking place.  It's interesting that weather.com never had an API while wunderground.com has an API, and weather.com had no PWS info, while WU does. Maybe they're going to merge it all together in one site.

[vreihen]

I agree.. I think they used the WU signups imported into their setup.. makes some sense as both entities are owned by IBM and it looks like merging is taking place.  It's interesting that weather.com never had an API while wunderground.com has an API, and weather.com had no PWS info, while WU does. Maybe they're going to merge it all together in one site.

I am under NDA as a tester for a few equipment manufacturers and software developers as a side gig.  While I have no inside information regarding what TWC and WU are up to, I can offer my opinion that the silence from one development team has been deafening over the past few months.  To quote Clara Peller (of "Where's the beef?" fame), I don't think there's anybody back there.....

[CW2274]

Got one, unsubscribed.

Same.

[broadstairs]

I had one of these as well this week. I have a WU account but never The Weather Channel. I had not realised that both of these had become part of IBM. I am an IBM retiree although one in the UK not the USA and had obviously missed these acquisitions. I find it quite sad that part of IBM could effectively spam folks because of their membership of of one of these companies. As a member of WU I would have expected some communication about this change of ownership and perhaps clarification of how they use our details, although I suspect this is a little naive, but would expect better of an IBM aquisition. I have today deleted my membership of WU and stopped uploading, to be honest I dont believe it was of much use being outside of the USA anyway.

Stuart

[stevebrtx]

I think we can pretty well assume that morals and business ethics of the past are unknown in today's world. I'm 74 and - well, I'll just leave it at that.

[alanb]

According to Wikipedia, Weather Underground and weather.com are both part of the Weather Company which has been owned by IBM since Jan. 2016. The Weather Channel (cable TV network) however is a separate entity not owned by IBM. I always thought weather.com was part of the Weather Channel since they show the Weather Channel moniker on the web site. It is kind of confusing what the relationship is between the Weather Channel and Weather Underground (if any).

[Beaudog]

It is a blatant attempt to trick WU users into signing up to Weather.com.    Lots of WU users who do not own PWS will just think it is another WU change and start using weather.com.

Poor practice a best.

[saratogaWX]

Wikipedia hasn't quite caught up with the actual ownership:

http://www.theweathercompany.com/ (an IBM business) owns The Weather Channel (cable channel and  weather.com), and Weather Underground at this time. 

As a test, I tried my WU credentials on the weather.com login.. no go.  They probably just used the email addresses associated with WU members to do a mass mailing, hoping to get signups.  I declined to sign up there..

[Jáchym]

I liked WU many years ago, if this means its end all I would say is "finally" - people will stop asking for support of highly unreliable and highly inconsistent API and we will not have to deal with absolutely useless support

[CW2274]

I liked WU many years ago, if this means its end all I would say is "finally" - people will stop asking for support of highly unreliable and highly inconsistent API and we will not have to deal with absolutely useless support

They're like a bad habit, hate to drop it, so maybe they'll oblige us all.

[waiukuweather]

it has been mentioned here on this forum re IBM ownership in the past

[WeatherHost]

Got my Spam today.  Have never been to TWC that I know of and have not been to WU in many years.

[WeatherHost]

Wikipedia hasn't quite caught up with the actual ownership:

http://www.theweathercompany.com/ (an IBM business) owns The Weather Channel (cable channel and  weather.com), and Weather Underground at this time. 

I thought the cable channel was excluded from the sale?  I'm not sure about the associated website.  I know they took everything else though.