Re: Thinking outside the box

On 17/03/13 17:03, Jose-Marcio Martins wrote:
> mathew wrote:
>> On Mar 17, 2013 9:44 AM, "Jose-Marcio Martins"
>> <[email protected]
>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>>  > Only to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, we had to change
>>  > the email address of our IT hotline as most messages received there
>>  > were messages sent by respectable marketers
>>
>> You seem to have a very strange idea of what constitutes a "respectable
>> marketer".
>
> A respectable marketer is an entreprise specialized in sending 
> marketing messages. A legal business runner and not the traditional 
> spammer using botnets and similar methods and tools.
>
>
Late reply here. Just want to nip this one properly.

The general definition I use is from ISPA (http://ispa.org.za/spam/):
>
> All unsolicited bulk e-mail is spam with the following exceptions:
>
>   * Mail sent by one party to another where there is already a prior
>     relationship between the two parties and subject matter of the
>     message(s) concerns that relationship, is not spam.
>   * Mail sent by one party to another with the explicit consent of the
>     receiving party, is not spam.
>
If you send me a mail, that's not bulk.
If a subscriber sends a mail to the list, that's solicited.
If my bank sends me a mail, even if I don't particularly appreciate the 
mail, chances are they have a signed document where I gave them 
permission to send me the mails and, technically, that's solicited.

However:
If a marketer sends me mail and I have no idea who s/he is, chances are 
its bulk - but it is definitely unsolicited and warrants being 
categorised as spam.

If your "respectable marketer" sends me a mail and he hasn't got proof 
of opt-in from me, he's not a respectable marketer at all, he is a 
spammer. In the past I have found this to be a very painful process for 
naive customers when we've had to explain to them why we've shut down 
their spam operations:
- "How can you let my mail be spam?" <-- actual quote ;)

-- 
__________
Brendan Hide
http://swiftspirit.co.za/
http://www.webafrica.co.za/?AFF1E97