Folks,
The following message is the boilerplate that moveon.org is providing
to help get the word out about what they're calling an "email tax",
under which large emailers can basically buy the right to spam AOL
users.
I've been on AOl since 1990, and my email address (my last name
@aol.com) is something that I enjoy because I never, ever have to
repeat it for anybody. So many people have stupid email addresses
like [EMAIL PROTECTED] or some such nonsense. Mine is 12
characters, made up of two parts that anybody who knows me and has a
computer can remember.
But it's not *all* about me, is it?
Anyway, here's how to put some pressure on a big dumb company to try
to stop 'em from doing a big dumb thing.
Dave
-----
I just signed an important online petition because the very existence
of online civic participation and the free Internet as we know it are
under attack by America Online, and we need to fight back quickly.
The petition's at:
http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax/
AOL recently announced what amounts to an "email tax." Under this pay-
to-send system, large emailers willing to pay an "email tax" can
bypass spam filters and get guaranteed access to people's inboxes--
with their messages having a preferential high-priority designation.
Charities, small businesses, civic organizing groups, and even
families with mailing lists will inevitably be left with inferior
Internet service unless they are willing to pay the "email tax" to AOL.
The petition says: "AOL, don't auction off preferential access to
people's inboxes to giant emailers, while leaving people's friends,
families, and favorite causes wondering if their emails are being
delivered at all. The Internet is a force for democracy and economic
innovation only because it is open to all Internet users equally--we
must not let it become an unlevel playing field."
AOL's proposed pay-to-send system is the first step down the slippery
slope toward dividing the Internet into two classes of users--those
who get preferential treatment and those who are left behind. We must
preserve the Internet for everybody.
Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online?
http://civic.moveon.org/emailtax/
Thanks!
_______________________________________________
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