Everyone hates spam except spammers. It hurts consumers and businesses alike. It costs time and money and it’s just plain rude. But there’s another cost to spam. It’s inflicted by ignorance. It can cause a legitimate website to shut down in 24 hours. It can un-do everything a hard working business-minded law abiding citizen has spent years building. Yep, it’s that uninformed email recipient that thinks every email they receive that’s not from Aunt Norma or Uncle Joe is SPAM. They’ll hit that ‘Report Spam’ button in a second without any consideration at all what they may be doing.

Bulk email IS NOT necessarily SPAM.

Email from some one you don’t know IS NOT necessarily SPAM

S.P.A.M. (unsolicited bulk and commercial e-mail)

What is spam? There is absolutely no limit to available information on the subject. In fact, there may be too much. It can be very confusing. Just look at the term ‘SPAM – unsolicited bulk email’. That is very miss-leading because it insinuates that every unsolicited bulk email is spam and that’s not true. The word ‘SPAM’ is thrown around so generically it’s no wonder everyone’s confused.

If you receive an email with a subject line something like, “Re: Your requested information” or “Please help this starving family” and it’s actually an email advertising Viagra then you have probably just received spam. If you get an email offering a $50 discount on a three day Florida vacation from someone that you have never heard of did you just receive spam? Maybe – maybe not.
:: Was the subject line accurate?
:: Did it have some way of ‘unsubscribing?
:: Did it say that it was an advertisement or solicitation if it was?
:: Did it include an address for contact information?
If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions you were probably not spammed. Just because you didn’t want the email or weren’t expecting it doesn’t make it spam.

So please be careful when reporting SPAM. Did you know that many ISP’s and Hosting companies treat their customers as ‘guilty until proven innocent‘? Because of the seriousness of the subject and our insane nature to overreact, providers have gone overboard and punish possible offenders without any investigation to the claims. And to be fair, why should we expect them to bear the expense of such an investigation. With the pure volume of reports received few if any companies would have the resourses to look into every claim. Many legitimate and well-meaning businesses have been shut down because of consumer ignorance and over-reacting.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not pro spam. I hate spam as much as the next person and I want it to stop too. We MUST be responsible when accusing someone of wrong doing. Be sure you are right is all I’m saying. Below I’ll include a few resources if you would like more information on the subject.

Chain emails

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/chainmail/index.html

The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

www.consumer.gov/idtheft

www.OnGuardOnline.gov

ftc.gov/spyware

www.ftc.gov/onlineshopping

www.ftc.gov/spam

www.ftc.gov/kidzprivacy