It’s something that’s been a Washingtonian issue since way back in 2005, but one which has never gotten resolved: if you don’t want the Examiner delivered to your home, how do you stop it? Recently, members from the Cleveland Park listserv have taken up the task of trying to figure out exactly how to cease the unwanted circulation of the ubiquitous free daily, claiming that the paper is overly wasteful and an easy indicator of who is on extended vacations in the neighborhood.

They provide some simple schemes, but most fall short.

Calling the Examiner directly to complain? Best of luck. (The number’s 703-839-8320, if you’ve got some time on your hands you’re just looking to kill.)

Attempting to get the Mayor’s office involved? Trust us, they already know. In fact, Gilberto Solano, the Community Outreach and Services Coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services told listserv recipients that the Mayor’s Office wants you to keep forwarding those concerns to him. (Although what they’re doing with that big collection of angry emails is anyone’s guess.)

But if you really want to get a taste of some good ol’ fashioned consumer protest, one listserv respondent had some modicum of triumph with this idea:

I had some success last year in calling the Examiner’s circulation department and telling them I would contact their advertisers to inform them I would NOT patronize them because of the Examiner’s obnoxious insistence in delivering where it’s not wanted.

But of course, even with his hit-them-in-the-pocketbook strategy, this unwilling subscriber was once again unwillingly subscribing to the Examiner within a few months. If you’re looking for a more minimalist approach, you might be better off taking a cue from the above photo by sophiagrrl and exercising a bit of well-placed repetition. Feel free to enlighten us in the comments if you’ve got any success stories of your own.