[pmmail-list] Spam -- your definition

[David M. Nelson]

On Thu, 30 May 2002 10:03:18 -0500 (CDT), Robert Gammon wrote:

>Phone service is NOT free.  Telemarketers who call me are using 
>an analogous avenue of access (i.e. we pay for both phone service 
>and internet access).  The distinction between telemarketers and 
>unsolicited e-mail is lost on me.  Both CAN be objectionable, and 
>both can be perfectly acceptable.

I agree with you in that there is little distinction between
telemarketers and spammers. The difference is that I have legal
recourse in stopping telemarketers. In the US, they are required by law
to maintain a "do not call" list. Not maintaining that list can result
in a $10,000 fine. Once I have requested placement on that list, it is
illegal for them to call again, and there is a system in place for
recovering damages from them.

The Federal Trade Commission maintains a web site with all sorts of
information on telemarketing and consumer protection.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-tmark.htm

Now granted, similar rules are beginning to show up for spam, but it is
much harder to enforce, especially since it is not cost-prohibitive to
send spam from over-seas.

One last thing. I agree that both *can* be objectionable, but I have
yet to have an "acceptable" telemarketing call. I *am* occasionally
contacted for phone surveys in which I sometimes choose to participate,
but I do not consider those telemarketing. A proper sample set is
critical to the accuracy of a survey, and some even offer compensation
for my time. A telemarketer just wants to find people from whom they
can make money.

David M. Nelson


- pmmail-list - The PMMail Dicussion List ---------------------------
To POST to the list, send your message to:
pmmail-list@blueprintsoftwareworks.com

To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to mdaemon@bmtmicro.com with the first 
line of the message body being...
UNSUBSCRIBE pmmail-list@blueprintsoftwareworks.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------