The Problem
In the past several years, the Internet has exploded with
commercial activity. The breaking down of barriers between
businesses and consumers has been facilitated by the rapid
development of new technology, removal of 'middlemen', and
tax rates favorable to online entrepreneurship.
We at Elite Webs are proud to support responsible commerce
on the Internet - this is represented in our service offerings
and unparalleled support. However, it has become apparent
that the same environment that has helped this trend take
off has also contributed to numerous cases of fraud and
abuse of network resources.
In particular, "spam" has proven to be a major
problem for many of our customers and the Internet at large.
Spam is a common slang term referring to the sending of
unsolicited email, instant messaging, or other communication
to a large group of people at once. Variations on this practice
include off topic (and usually promotional) messages on
bulletin boards, guest books, Usenet newsgroups, or chat
rooms.
Spam is strictly against our Terms and Conditions, and
will result in the immediate disablement without refund
of any customers who are found to have used spam in conjunction
with their Elite Webs account.
The following policy dictates in specific terms what is
considered acceptable use of bulk email/messaging by Elite
Webs:
Subscriptions
1. Mailing list subscribers must specifically
opt-into the list they are subscribed to. This applies to
both new subscriptions and the bulk addition of addresses
already subscribed via other means. Confirmation is handled
using a single confirmation message sent to the subscriber's
email address. This mailing must contain a URL to the site's
privacy policy, a brief description of the mailing list,
and a URL that the user must follow to confirm the subscription.
2. Mailing list subscriber information
must include the date and time that the subscription was
confirmed, as well as the IP address of the subscriber at
the time of the subscription. The user must be able to present
this information at Elite Webs request.
3. The nature of email address use must
be fully disclosed, either on the page the subscription
is made from or with a prominent link to the site's Privacy
Policy. It must be made reasonably clear how a user's email
address will be used and in what circumstances it will be
shared.
4. Lists cannot be procured from outside
parties unless the email sender has procured a list from
an organization that sells or otherwise shares email distribution
lists, and all of the following conditions are met:
1. The selling organization maintains a
publicly viewable privacy policy disclosing that such sales
may occur.
2. The privacy policy is prominently linked
to from the page the subscriber signed up from.
3. The privacy policy has not changed substantially
since the user signed up.
4. Records are kept of the date, time,
IP address, and from location where the subscribing user
signed up.
5. Lists procured from outside parties
must have been consistently handled in a manner comparable
to Elite Webs policies.
6. Users cannot populate lists with addresses
obtained for a substantially different purpose than was
originally disclosed to the user.
7. All subscriptions must be re-confirmed
in the manner described in Subscriptions (Section 1) before
being sent bulk email messages.
Mailing Practices
1. Users must not modify the headers
of any message in such a way that purposefully obfuscates
the origin of the message.
2. Undeliverable addresses must be removed
from all future mailings after not more than 5 bounces.
3. Users are responsible for the practice
of affiliating program members they solicit the help of,
as, if they were hiring an outside advertising agency.
4. Users using either outside advertising
companies or 3rd party mailing programs must abide by the
same policies and practices as those using Elite Webs own
bulk mailing list tools.
5. All mailings must provide clear and
simple to follow instructions for opting-out of future mailings,
and all reasonable attempts must be made to facilitate the
removal of a mailing list subscriber at their request.
6. The user is advised and acknowledges
that Elite Webs electronic mail service equipment is located
in California. In no event shall the user use Elite Webs
equipment in violation of California's anti-spam laws including
California Business & Professions Code sections 17538.4
and 17538.45.
Spamware
1. It is strictly prohibited in conjunction
with your Elite Webs account to sell software designed specifically
to facilitate the practice of spamming.
Other
1. Predominately promotional messages
must not be posted to bulletin boards, discussion forums,
guest books, Usenet newsgroups, or any other similar service
unless the operator of that service explicitly allows such
messages. In the case of Usenet newsgroups, such messages
must be specifically allowed in that group's charter.
Disablement
1. Elite Webs reserves the right to disable
any account at any time should it feel there is a reasonable
suspicion that it is being used in conjunction with the
practice of spamming.
2. Customers must substantially address
all spam related inquiries by Elite Webs personnel within
42 hours. Failure to respond within a reasonable period
of time may result in the disablement of the user's account.
By following these guidelines and respecting the privacy
of your visitors, you can gain much from the responsible
practice of commerce online. Of course, should you have
any questions regarding the proper way to use bulk email
with your web site, please mail us at support[at]elite-webs[dot]com
for more information. |
