WANT TO HIT A SPAMCOP HARD?

In the film, "Cool Hand Luke," the vicious, sadistic prison warden was fond of saying, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." In the end, prisoner Paul Newman came to "understand" the true meaning of this comment.

A while back, a friend of mine copied a message to me that had been sent to a list of SpamCops and others. I was the object of the exercise to come. The subject line was, "We have another list owner here that [sic] needs to be educated."

Not much difference in the two statements, actually, for "educated" in this context means "business destroyed."

The Source Of This "Complaint"

I had distributed a brief article advising against requiring confirmation of subscription requests. In it, I described the results of two attempts at using them. In the first trial, 40% of new subscribers did not confirm. In the second, a longer trial, 37% failed to confirm.

I can't be certain this article triggered action, for I was never informed. But it was appended to the message received as mentioned above. It appears I was added to the "get-him" list because I recommend against requesting confirmation.

Radicalism Is Rising In Popularity

Sure, we've had some bad times in this country. When Senator Joe McCarthy got you up to the stand, you were guilty before you sat down. Since the early 80s, there has been an awesome increase in small, organized, targeted extremist groups which cram their views right down your throat.

Never mind they ignore your rights in doing so. Never mind you may be seriously hurt, even destroyed, by their unilateral actions. Never mind they make the judgement of your guilt in a manner you can not contest. You are guilty. Period.

In "True Believer," Eric Hoffer years back clearly pointed out the dangers of such groups to democracy as we know it. His concerns have proved to be justified, as have his predictions about such groups significantly reducing individual freedom over time.

SpamCops In Perspective

To put SpamCops into this category is absurd. They are trivial. They hide behind false names, as others have done for centuries behind masks and robes. They violate the very rules they claim to espouse. Compared to other forces at work in this country, SpamCops and like minded people offer only a gnat sized threat in a hawk-filled sky.

With one real exception. On a single unjustified and unsupported claim, a webmaster can find his ISP and website shut down without prior notice. And without recourse. For a small business just making it, this can amount to the "straw" that brings total collapse.

Small business people are the target. And SpamCops have been effective at doing vicious damage to many. The nature of the vicarious thrill they get in doing so escapes me.

This is real power. And it appears to be used for its own sake. In all else, SpamCops are utter failures.

Impotent Phonies

They are powerless to prevent real spam. The junk overflows our mailboxes, and we stand helpless before it. So do SpamCops. They can't shut down an ISP or a host owned by spammers. Or those they sell their lists and services to.

So they've taken a giant step and essentially redefined spam as anything received you did not request. A target-rich environment. Requests made, then forgotten, bring messages called spam.

I was pounded by SpamCops regards an article sent with my name on it. I pointed out the only way to get that article was to send an email to an autoresponder address. I was ignored, of course. Their continuing innuendos and implied threats were disturbing.

Two Giant Leaps

They took a giant step by taking advantage of specialized software now available. It scans any document and automatically sends their "spam" to every URL and email address found. Fascinating. I'm now a spammer because my work appears in an ezine they have defined as spam. Nuts. This usually amounts to someone forgetting they subscribed.

Their latest step is even more absurd. You are now "spamming"
with a 100% opt-in list if no confirmation is required. What in the world does confirmation have to do with unsolicited bulk email?

My thanks-for-subscribing message includes URLs to the goodies. And a URL that can be clicked to automatically unsubscribe.

When you open your front door to a knock, do you close it and require another?

Facts About Subscriber Counts.

You're bound to lose a few list members along the way. Some choose to unsubscribe. More make a change in their email address and do not think to subscribe again. Thus you will inevitably lose membership each month. Possibly 2% of your list.

So long as the number of new subscribers exceeds the number lost each month, your list will continue to grow. But try a confirmation request, and you may find the number of new members does not replace those lost.

Now explain to me how I'm going to grow a business in such fashion. And further, explain how SpamCops can decide that a list that doesn't require confirmation is sending spam. Then go on and make it clear just what SpamCops intends to accomplish with this demand. I don't think they know. They simply delight in hurting people.

So What's Next On The Agenda

Right. You guessed it. Content. If SpamCops can make confirmation indirectly the "law," what's to prevent them from judging the content of a given newsletter as unsuitable, and thus spam? Maybe a piece such as this one directed at the evil done by such a rag-tag bunch of low-lifes.

A scary thought to me. This would open a whole new world of opportunity to destroy helpless individuals.

Fighting Back

Don't even think about it. If you are attacked by SpamCops, respond minimally and politely as required, and get on with your business.

These people absolutely thrive on conflict. They glow with inner "strength" in the heat of battle. They can amass an array of other right-thinkers against you.

Forget it, for it's a battle you can not win. It is impossible to reason with irrationality.

Hitting Where It Hurts

However, you can now hit back. And in the right place. Their pocket book.

In a recent issue of her ezine, "The iCop Whistle Blower," jl scott offered a neat piece about the absurdities of SpamCops. She wrapped with a positive and powerful suggestion. I want to do the same here.

Serious minded people are joining in a class action suit against these people. You can contribute information or choose to participate. Here are some key links.

Victim Form - Explain How You've Been Hurt

Notes about how this all got started

Keep up on what is happening

In Closing ...

Here's a comment from jl scott. "I salute the people who are determined to organize this class action suit. Clearly, if we don't do it ourselves, these wild-eyed lunatics will continue to hurt decent and ethical businesses."

I applaud her stand. Come join in; the water's fine.

Bob McElwain, author of "Your Path To Success." How to build ANY business you want, just the way you want it, with only pocket money.

"SPAM And The Art Of Marketing Maintenance..."Roger J. Burke

Here is my latest article. It may be freely used in ezines, on websites or in e-books, as long as the Resource Box is left intact.

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I detest SPAM, but there's an awful lot of it going around the Net, as you know. Co-incidentally, there's an awful lot of another-four-letter-word-that-starts-with-S going around with it (just so there's no mis-understandings, I'm talking about porn)!

If you don't know what SPAM is, most Netizens would maybe say "any unsolicited commercial email". Others, more strident, would say "any email I didn't want", which sort of begs the question, doesn't it?

Now, it (almost) goes with saying that unsolicited, bulk, commercial email is - to put it delicately - a pain in the posterior. We've all been getting a lot of it already through our regular, bricks-and-mortar mailbox for years, so why should we have to put up with it over the Net?

Well, the short answer is, of course, we don't! What do you do now with the SPAM in your real mail-box? So...do likewise with the electronic variety and leave it at that: problem gone.

Not "solved" of course, just gone - until next time. And, that gets pretty tedious and annoying, right? Right...

Enter the anti-SPAM legislators.

And, quite properly too. However, granted that there should be, and must be, some form of penalties applied to repeated offenders (offline and online), still I think we have to be careful - to use a fractured phrase - not to crack the egg that the golden goose laid!

Picture this: You operate a successful bakery and are doing alright. You don't have a website yet, your profits are good and you're holding your own against the competition in town. There you are, busily getting the next batch of muffins into the oven and this guy walks into your store. Happily, you put down baking tray, take off your baker's hat, and turn to what you think is the next customer.

Only, he isn't.

Instead, after politely introducing himself and establishing his credentials as the new kid on the block from the Better Baking Soda Company, he then calmly tells you that he can improve your profits by 25% if you use his fantastic new baking soda.

Are you going to start throwing week-old muffins at him, for having the audacity to interrupt your work? Or, knowing what your costs are, vis-a-vis the whole baking process, are you going to stop and think for a bit - and then start throwing the muffins, but only maybe? ;-) On the other hand, maybe your business isn't doing too well, or you want to do better. Instead of throwing those muffins, maybe you should think about how you can make them last longer?

That's a very simple scenario, but one that is repeated thousands of time, every day, in all forms of business. Indeed, it's how many businesses must operate, being those types that sell only to other businesses. And, one of the most important tools of business is marketing, its proper operation and its effective maintenance.

With apologies to Robert Pirsig, I have slavishly copied the style of his very famous book - "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - into the title of this article. That, of course, is where any further comparison stops.

I do, however, have a good reason for concocting my title.

I recall that Mr Pirsig's book explored themes for an improvement in self (in particular) and society (by inference), and one of those themes was QUALITY. Applied to every aspect of our existence, the quality of what we do can have a profound effect, from highly positive to lowly negative. Whatever we say and do, write and send, can have those effects, obviously.

So, maybe it's not so much the quantity of SPAM that we all get that is the problem (although, there are limits, right!). Maybe, we should be concerned more with the quality - in the broadest sense - of the message? In particular, I'm thinking of messages that are relevant, appropriate, targeted and - dare I say it - even helpful!

However, the SPAM we all love to hate - shot-gun style, bulk commercial email, splattering all through the system - would obviously rate very low in the quality stakes, for most people (although, just quietly, I understand there is a secret network of SPAMmers who simply delight in sending each other into lowly orbit every day?), but business-to-business email must surely have its proper place. And, that would include all businesses, of course, not just Blue Chip and Silicon Valley...

Which, very soon (if not already), will begin to trouble the strident anti-spammers even more: as more and more people set up their own online e-businesses all over the world, there may come a time when there are more businesses online than there are mere consumers.

Hmmm...now, there's a thought! ;-(o)

You are no doubt aware that many agencies - government and private - continue to grapple with the SPAM genie, but ultimately it is, I think, impossible to "get it back in the bottle".

In that regard, I have read a number of articles - and have even received an unsolicited email about "permission marketing"! I have responded to some but, try as I might, none have returned with an unequivocal, "dyed-in-the-wool", "shake-it-till-it-breaks" definition for permission marketing. I suspect it will be a while before I do.

But, I would be eternally grateful to anybody who can supply it!

Somebody once said, "Nothing happens until somebody sells something." Well...fatuous as that may sound, we are all trying to "sell" something to somebody. Right?

By all means protect the consumer to a reasonable and effective degree, with appropriate legislation and penalties. But, it would be shooting ourselves in the foot (or worse) to burden e-business with self-destructive restrictions and penalties.

Roger Burke has been involved with computers since 1967, and has managed to break quite a few, over the years. He, and his wife Sherry, are now actively engaged in online self-publishing and promoting specific affiliate programs at http://online-wealth.com . If you have any comments or questions about this article, please send emails to mailto:webmaster@online-wealth.com .
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