It is amazing how often I not only get asked this question but also how frequently it appears in the Answers boards on LinkedIn.  If you think of connecting to someone as their joining your virtual world, if the relationship does not work out because you feel you are being spammed or for another reason, you do have the option of disconnecting from them on LinkedIn.  Connecting with someone is not a marriage by any means!  Hopefully this gives those who want to build out a large virtual network on LinkedIn some sense of security in doing so.

Disconnecting is as easy as going to the “Connections” screen, pressing “Remove Connections” at the top right-hand side, and then choosing and confirming who you want to disconnect from.

The beauty of disconnecting is that:

• Your connection will not be informed that you disconnected with them.
• Should your disconnected connection wish to invite you again, they will get an error message saying something to the effect that “This user cannot be invited at this time”.  If they contact you directly about this be prepared to explain (I have been in the same situation in the past so you will have to explain in your own words). 
• You can re-invite the person you disconnected from, in which case the connection will be fully restored. 

The ability to disconnect should give you the confidence that should, for whatever reason, you want to disconnect with someone, the option is there.  And it is easy to do as well.