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They either give you a telephone number to call, or a snail
mail address to write to for further information. Very seldom will you see
a return email address as they know it will be shut down before the end of
the day or many times it is
forged.
Now the "nasties", aggravated with all the spam they get, go
on a crusade, and make complaints to all the ISP's that send this junk.
The ISP's dutifully accept the complaint and investigate it. Their level
of frustration raises however, every time they receive word that the
address was forged and the ISP can't do anything about it. So they go
after anyone they can.
They might even subscribe to a newsletter, forget that they
did, and complain when they get it. Worse yet, they may simply "not like"
an article that was in the Newsletter.
Now the real "nasties", instead of merely unsubscribing, may
make a formal complaint to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) that they
are being spammed.
Most ISP's will investigate complaints of this nature. Many
will give the person being complained about, the chance to "plead their
case". Some however, will summarily shut down their account. In other
words, you are deemed guilty by the ISP and they simply cancel your
account. This is not only unfair, but you may have legal recourse against
an ISP that does this.
When someone subscribes to my newsletter(s), it
automatically triggers a response to them, thanking them for subscribing,
and telling them a bit about the newsletter. They can immediately
unsubscribe if they don't want to receive it. If they do choose to
receive it, and then decide they don't want it, they can easily
unsubscribe by simply clicking on a link at the end of the newsletter.
Recently, I had a complaint lodged against me because my
email address happened to be at the end of an article I had written, (like
this one) and someone had included it in their newsletter. They also filed
a complaint against every email address they could find in the newsletter,
including all the advertisers. Some people simply will not follow
unsubscribe instructions and will summarily file a complaint.
I have seen a number of "opt in"
newsletters accounts cancelled because of a complaint. But as times
change, so does the attitude of the more progressive ISP's. They do not
presume guilt. If you are on the "up and up", most spam complaints will be
dismissed.
They also realize that there are "nasties" out there and
will work with you to solve the problem. In point of fact, one of my ISP's
has informed me that they will legally pursue someone who makes a false
complaint.
So - what can you do to protect yourself from this? Your
best bet is to use a list server to send your publication. If they have to
confirm that they subscribed, there is no question that you are in the
clear. If you are using your own email to send it out, be sure to keep a
copy of their request to subscribe.
| Never use the ISP
that hosts your web page to send out your newsletter. If they cancel
your account, you will also lose all your web pages you have on
their server. |
If someone is too lazy to follow your unsubscribe
instructions, make your best effort to take them off your list. If they
are not on your list, and having it forwarded from another address,
(usually a free email account) explain the situation and ask them to give
you the address they subscribed under. While it may not solve the problem,
at least they know you are trying.
There are "nasties" out there and if you are going to send
out a newsletter or other bulk email, make sure you protect yourself from
"Web Rage".
About the Author: Bob Osgoodby
Reprint from: Internet Tip of the Week by Bob Osgoodby
bob@adv-marketing.com free subscription at:
http://adv-marketing.com
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