NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> E-Mail & Spam (Focalink/Marketwave issue)
ONLINE-ADS>> E-Mail & Spam (Focalink/Marketwave issue)
BULMASH.COM Sales (sales_at_bulmash.com)
Wed, 10 Sep 1997 11:48:36 -0800
POINT: It is questionable for Focalink to assume that users of their
service should be on their mailing list for such offers by default.
Like a number of companies, it might be best for them to ask if it's
okay to notify their users of such deals from the outset, making the
list opt-in rather than opt-out.
POINT: Unlike most unsolicited commercial e-mail which is from dubious
sources, promising to make you rich or submit your site to 500 search
engines for ONLY $290, or whatever, where the only point of contact is
a P.O. box or an autoresponder, this mailing was done responsibly,
non-anonymously, and the list was compiled of existing customers, not
gathered from Usenet or by some other illicit means.
The mailers were up-front, conspicuous, and had nothing to hide. This
demonstrates that they were of a strong belief that they were mailing
this information to people who would accept it and perhaps be
interested in it. Unlike many spammers who know what they're doing is
wrong and try to hide, Focalink and Market Wave were extremely open.
POINT: As a web publisher, I expect a certain amount of e-mail from
companies with whom I have done business or whom I have contacted in
the past. If a company can't legally mail you, call you, or knock on
your door, how are they supposed to get your attention? Should they
fly planes around with banners on the back, hoping you might be looking
up?
It's general practice in junk-mail and telemarketing law that the
first call or letter is okay. If you request not to be contacted
again, then they must respect that and can be sued if they do not.
It's only the junk-fax law that prohibits even the first contact.
If TCPA is applicable, then Focalink's behavior was illegal, but if
other laws regarding unsolicited commercial contact apply, then they
were acting responsibly and fully within the bounds of the law.
POINT: I think the most important part here is how we define
"unsolicited." Was Focalink, in an attempt to communicate news that
they thought would be of interest to a client who was listing his
site(s) with their service, truly sending "unsolicited" mail?
Where do we draw the line at what is an acceptable level of
solicitedness or unsolicitedness?
-Greg Bulmash
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