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Using Chrome's developer tools shows the form submits your email address when it checks your username. It's possible it's going into Marketo and then you are getting emailed automatically when the record doesn't end up updating. It could be intentional, or it could be accidentally mixed with other site behaviors. I'll check on it for you and figure out what's going on. Regardless, I agree with you assertion you shouldn't be emailed if you didn't click submit.

Thanks for mentioning it!

Okay, I understand if the form is sending my email address to check if I am an existing customer. I can understand if it wants to check if the username I want is available. Both of these are valid actions and usually helpful for new customers.

However, I can assure you that the email is intentional. Here's the text of the email:

> We noticed that you started signing up for Rackspace Cloud, but you didn’t finish. Your cloud is ready for you, and it says it’s getting lonely.

Apart from the cheesiness of the text and the language, one thing stands out clearly: The process that handles your form submissions knew that I didn't finish signing up.

> Don’t let your cloud be lonely and sad – finish signing up for Rackspace Cloud and start using it to spin up a website, an app, or any awesome new project.

> You can finish your sign-up HERE.

[ed. I have removed the link associated with `HERE`]

Again, ignoring the cheesiness of the text, this sentence clearly indicates that the email is triggered when someone (like me) DOESN'T finish signing up. While I appreciate your proactive attempts to acquire potential customers, this definitely veers into creepy...

> If you have any questions about signing up or our products, give us a call or shoot us an email. We're here to help!

One question: How do I ensure that my email is NOT added to any of your newsletters that I MOST DEFINITELY - NOW OR EVER - DID NOT SIGN UP FOR?

(Apologies for the all caps. I am a little unnerved by this. I never expected RackSpace to do this sort of a thing.)

No apologies necessary - it's your data. You have a right to say how it makes you feel.

I opened a ticket on it for you: https://github.com/rackerlabs/devsite/issues/99. The dev code (which is on Github) doesn't actually implement the signup flow, so keep in mind there won't be a resulting commit for it. However, we will update you there on what we find out!

Thanks for raising the issue. Will follow it on GitHub as well.

Also, thank you for understanding and accommodating my outburst, as well as acting on it speedily. I sincerely hope (and would like to believe) that this was a one-off phenomenon and the resulting mess was completely accidental and unintended.

I would also like to request you to not judge me if I reserve my opinions until I am assured otherwise. I assure you I am not holding a grudge; I am just being cautious, that's all.

I hear you, and agree with prudency when dealing with trust issues. Tell me what you think about this: http://www.stackgeek.com/blog/kordless/post/a-code-of-trust. It's an important topic!

Just like kordless said: I concur, this is not good. I'd be just as annoyed as you, so please accept my personal apology. Kord has already filed a tracker issue for this, and I am emailing this straight to the internal teams that control signup.

Again: I'm sorry

I just replied to kordless' post.

Thank you for the apology - it does mean a lot, given the circumstances. I saw the issue on GitHub and I am following it. As I mentioned in the other post, I sincerely hope (and would like to believe) that this wasn't intentional.

Please understand that, as a consumer and a newbie developer, I will (kinda) hold you guys to high standards. A large part of my learning process involves 'watching' you guys make stuff, which I eventually try to emulate.

Therefore, when something like this happens, it is quite unnerving. I hope you understand that, I am not holding a grudge; but merely being cautious.

Are you a Racker now? Bio still mentions Loggly.

I'm a contractor. Thanks for mentioning my profile - I updated my email address to the correct one!

> Why would you assume that if I semi-filled a form I would probably go ahead and register? Maybe I don't want to register at this very moment?

I think that is pretty smart. There is a very good chance that people that half filled out a form, but closed down their browser wanted to register. Mountain lion kernel panics on me all of the time, so that's one case where i could get interrupted.

> How do I know you are not going to spam me with your promotional offers in the future? How do Iknow you are not going to sell (or worse, 'inadvertently leak') my email address to some third party?

That's silly. How would you ever know that anyway? One email is a little early to start worrying about spam.

Actions frequently illustrate behavioral intent. Especially given he's a developer, there's nothing wrong with him being concerned a form is doing something unexpected with his data. While I agree with you on saving a form, I'm not sure pestering you via email is the best experience.

But they didn't spam you, or sell your e-mail to anyone. They just sent you a quick note because you abandoned a submission form.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get one. I expected it.

Sure enough, I just got this email from a half-filled form. Seems they've had a few hours to fix it:

Subject: Oops! You Forgot to Complete your Cloud Sign-Up

Rackspace - The Open Cloud Company

Oops! You Forgot to Complete your Cloud Sign-Up

We noticed that you didn’t finish signing up for a Rackspace account. Rackspace Cloud helps thousands of customers scale their technology.

Joe runs a local pizzeria and serves thousands of customers. He uses his website to get updates and menus to his customers and fans, and host a lot of delicious images. Here’s a great example of what he can do with Rackspace Cloud:

    2GB Linux Cloud Server  
    1GB Cloud Database  
    1 Load Balancer  
    8GB Cloud Files  
    1 Monitoring Check  
    5GB bandwidth

All of these resources keep Joe’s business constantly running for his customers. He pays about $370 a month for this configuration. And he also gets Fanatical Support®, our promise to answer questions, offer advice and help each customer.

That’s just one example of what you can do with Rackspace Cloud. Want to know more? Call us to walk through your configuration needs and get a detailed cost estimate.

Ready to get started? You can finish your sign-up HERE.

    Rackspace Hosting  
    1-800-480-4982  
    ols@rackspace.com

Yeah, we ran this all the way up to the executive level. We hear you and will address it as soon as possible.

Time to submit that dark UX pattern: http://darkpatterns.org/submit_a_pattern/. :)