I don't make any specious threats. But yes, we have engaged lawyers on a
couple of providers whose techs threatened illegal blocks. We've won on
those occassions without even going to court. In each case, once the
lawyers for those providers became involved in the discussion, their own
lawyers immediately repudiated their techs (specious) threats, and assured
our lawyers that no illegal blocking would be done. Basically, their
lawyers said I was right, and that the techs were wrong.
I define "kook" as someone who is out of touch with reality. By that
definition, you are the kook, as are all radical antispammers.
Regarding ACM "spam", maybe I was too short. When you give someone your
email address, you've opted-in. The simple answer is to either
subsequently opt-out (as they instructed), or don't give them your email
address if you don't want anything emailed to you. Having given them your
email address, email from them is not unsolicited. Solicited bulk mail is
not spam.
As Exactis Vs. MAPS demonstrated, if you give someone your email address,
you've opted-in, and there is no requirement for double opt-in.
Blackholing such a site is not permitted. As the court ruled in that
case, blackholing (boycotting) is not protected free speech, and in fact
is subject to a variety of laws that prohibit group boycotts from harming
businesses.
What the ACM is doing is completely reasonable, and is not spam, since
there is no "unsolicited" aspect to the email they sent.
--Dean
On Thu, 19 Sep 2002, Richard Johnson wrote:
> At 10:27 -0400 on 2002-09-19, Dean Anderson wrote:
> > But I presume you are an ACM member, and that you gave them your email
> > address. In that case, they have a right to spam you. You paid for that
> > with your membership fees.
> >
> > --Dean
>
>
> (Keep in mind the above is coming from the well known kook who threatens
> specious legal action against those who have null-routed his networks
> and/or banned his domains from reaching their own equipment.)
>
> In fact, membership in an organization can not and does not implicitly give
> that organization the right to send bulk email to you.
>
> Any such terms should be explicit, if only to avoid misunderstandings. You
> can also negotiate them separately, as those of us who have joined SAGE
> Members have done. But it's certainly not a given.
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