| Unsolicited email ("spam") forces unwanted and
objectionable materials into our mailboxes, impairs our ability to
communicate freely, and costs Internet users billions of dollars
annually.
The SpamCon Foundation protects email as a viable communication
and commerce medium by supporting measures to reduce the amount of
unsolicited email that crosses private networks, while ensuring
that valid email reaches its destination. |
Mailing
lists have a long and venerable history on the Internet. Mailing
lists are an excellent vehicle for distributing focused, targeted
information to an interested, receptive audience. Consequently,
mailing lists have been used successfully as a highly effective
direct marketing tool. Unfortunately, mailing lists are also
vulnerable to misuse through a variety of means. An all-too-common
example is where an individual is forge subscribed to a high
number of mailing lists and must take extraordinary measures to be
removed. Also, some marketers misuse mailing lists, often through
a lack of knowledge about longstanding Internet customs and rules,
or because they attempt to apply direct paper mail methodology to
the electronic realm. The guidelines below are intended to assist
list administrators in establishing basic list management
procedures that should help them avoid the most common pitfalls.
Good list management also pays off in other ways such as
maintaining a high response rate and reducing costs associated
with complaint handling. |
This
memo offers useful suggestions for responsible advertising
techniques that can be used via the internet in an environment
where the advertiser, recipients, and the Internet Community can
coexist in a productive and mutually respectful fashion. Some
measure of clarity will also be added to the definitions, dangers,
and details inherent to Internet Marketing. |
