Re: circumventing any possible accusations

Hi Susan

>I am a part of a not-for-profit organization who regularly sends out
>e-broadcasts to their contact base. Most of these contacts are opt-in,

OK - that immediately suggests that not all of your "contacts" have
chosen to receive your mailings.  If that is true, then I'm afraid
that you are sending out spam, defined variously as UBE - Unsolicited
Bulk Email - or UCE - Unsolicited Commercial Email.  Since you are
sending the same thing to everyone on your list, it is bulk, and since
the intention is to sell your program, it is also commercial.  Either
way, the key is that if your "contact base" contains email addresses
which the owners did not request to be added to your mail list, it is
unsolicited.  And therefore it is spam.

>but
>the current system is not very reliable on the opting-out part,

People really shouldn't have to opt out of something they didn't opt
in to in the first place, and if attempts to opt out don't work, that
simply makes it worse.

>and we do
>occasionally send e-broadcasts to those we think will be interested in
>participating in our program (www.investinakinderworld.com).

You should only be emailing those who have expressed a definite
interest in receiving the information.

>Our list-serve provider warned us yesterday that they could shut us down
>without a moment's notice if any red flags come up where we are being
>accused of spamming. (Nothing has happened yet, but consider us warned just
>in case it ever does) We certainly don't want that to happen, but who knows
>if a disgruntled contact ends up reporting us for any given reason.

It would be for a very good reason and they would have every right to
feel disgruntled if they didn't choose to be in your contact list.

>My question is, is there any kind of disclaimer or opening statement that we
>could use explaining we are not-for-profit and are sending the emails with
>the best of intentions and as a courtesy to eligible recipients? Would this
>help us in any way to circumvent any SPAM rules where our provider could end
>up being shut down?

As Dominique pointed out, spam is spam, regardless of who is sending
it out.  Unlike Dominique, if I were to receive an unsolicited
bulk/commercial email, I would report it as spam and *then* dump it in
the trash folder.  A growing number of people are reporting spam, so
it can only be a matter of time before someone reports one of your
emails.

>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I really do recommend you review and revise the methods you use to add
email addresses to your mailing list - confirmed opt in (sometimes
wrongly called double opt in) is the only ethical and safe way to
acquire addresses, and you should keep records showing the date on
which each email address was submitted to your list, along with the IP
address from which it was submitted, and proof of the address user's
confirmation.  That way, if a genuine contact forgets that they
requested your mailing and reports your email as spam, you will be
able to show that they did opt in.

[Note:  "SPAM" (all upper case) is a trademark belonging to Hormel Inc
and relating to their processed meat product - a trademark they defend
vigorously.  They do, however, allow the use of the word "spam" (all
lower case) to refer to unsolicited bulk/commercial email.]

Regards,
Donna

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