Re: legitimate unsolicited commercial email vs. Spam
KEN DARDIS WROTE:
> I'm wondering how many people are beginning to see the
> difference between any unsolicited' email and that which
> comes from a source exercising common business courtesy.
> There have been times when unsolicited email was near to
> my needs, and I was grateful to receive the tip. There have
> been far more times (tens of far mores,) when it was plain
> spam.
The basic problem with even "nice" UCE is that, in contrast
to direct mail and telephone calls, you are putting the
resource burden on the receiver of your communication. His
ISP is paying for the bandwidth that the sender is using.
Now obviously just one e-mail from one company doesn't make
a dent, but thousands upon thousands of spammers can
significantly reduce an ISP's speed. This is not to mention
the fact that in some cases, internet users are paying for
their time on the 'Net--either because of telephone costs,
or because their ISP charges them by the hour. Spammers are
effectively charging these people to see ads they may or may
not care for.
> As the Internet matures and the business implications
> become more clear, fewer people will take such an
> across-the-board distaste for unsolicited email. Besides,
> are we to call someone and ask if they will accept email?
I signed up with a service several weeks ago that would pay
me to see commercial advertisements by e-mail. I have
received a total of one. It seems that most spammers just
want to get free marketing off the backs of their potential
customers. If there are so many businesses who want the
ability to "cold e-mail" someone, they should be willing to
pay that someone for the privilege.
> But I don't mind receiving something that increases my
> knowledge, and I'm beginning to think others share this
> feeling.
> Where do you draw the line?
You draw the line at unsolicited e-mail. It is in bad taste
for the same reasons that junk faxes got banned: they're
using your ink and your paper to give you their ads. It's
tantamount to theft.
Akilesh Rajan
shivohum_at_nobletree.com
Received on Fri Nov 05 1999 - 12:10:08 CST
