Coping With Spam Accusations

Coping With Spam Accusations
by Laurie Rogers Copyright July 2002

More and more publishers are consistently getting accused
of spamming. Whether there is any truth to some of these
accusations is yet to be seen, however in MOST instances
these accusations are nothing but a complete farce! We
as publishers seem to get picked on MORE so than anyone
else online. I am not certain as to WHY exactly that is, but
we do.

All in all what it boils down to is ABSENT minded people
who go around signing up for "programs, products and
services" and don't bother to pay ATTENTION to what it
is that they are getting themselves into. Is this YOUR fault?
NO it's not but, for some reason these people like to think
that it is. Instead of them taking RESPONSIBILIY for their
OWN actions, they bear the grudge on to us -the publisher.

Almost EVERY single publisher I know (I know hundreds)
has at one point been FALSELY accused of spamming. I
have seen publishers lose their web hosts, their ISP's and
their ENTIRE businesses in a blink of an eye in the past 3
years. All of which took place, because some "MORON"
forgot they subscribed. Today I am going to give a few tips
on HOW to avoid this from happening to you, but in some
instances you MUST realize it's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE
to avoid.

1.) Make copies of EVERY subscription request that you
receive. Get into the routine of saving them to disk, every
day before you close up "shop" for the evening. There is
currently NO system that is absolutely, 100% "fool proof",
always keep that in mind. Every evening, I go directly to
my listserver and copy ALL of my subscription requests
and unsubscription requests. I put them into my text editor
and copy it disc.

2.) As soon as someone cries "SPAM" send them a copy
of their request with FULL headers in tact. And if possible
tell them WHERE it was EXACTLY that they got on your
list. It will save YOU a lot of hassle in dealing with them.

3.) Record their IP Address, you do not have to tell them
that you are doing it, but do it. Although IP Adresses CAN
be forged, if they are not aware that you ARE doing it, the
chances are it will be REAL. If you do NOT know how to
do this, just copy and paste this code into your subscription
form. Copy - input type=hidden name="env_report" value=
"Remote_host,Remote_Addr"

4.) Make all fields on your form REQUIRED and if someone
has a FISHY looking email address, don't add them to your
list. Here is the code necessary for making all of your fields
required. input type=hidden name="required" value="first
name,lastname,email"

5.) If they persist that your ezine is "SPAM", your best bet
is to contact your ISP and web host immediately. Make
them aware of the situation and also forward them a copy
of the persons subscription request (with full headers) and
ALL correspondence with the complainant (full headers).
In most cases your ISP will appreciate your honesty and
nothing will come of it, even if the person DOES complain.

6.) My last bit of advice is, try to maintain a good working
relationship with your ISP and web host. Both my ISP and
web hosts are all well aware of what I do online, they also
know I take ALL of the precautions that I can in respect to
my businesses. Over the past few years I have gotten to
know them on a "personal" level - which is nothing but a
BENEFIT to me in the long run, should a situation such as
this should arise. And I encourage you to do the same ;o)

If you have been falsely accused of spamming or are now
being blocked because of it, you CAN fight back! Go to:
http://www.e-crucible.org and file your complaint, as there
is a pending lawsuit against "Anti-Spammers", ISP's and
hosts that utilize these programs.

Article by Laurie Rogers Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved