On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Charles Goldsmith <[email protected]>wrote:
> Gill, why not simply put it on the webpage, with an optional form to > fill out name, location, contact info, etc. The information should be > free to all, the more people who get it, read it, the better. If > people have to jump through hoops, it could possibly scare a few off. > Getting the information out there into the hands of potential new > members and cavers. > Yes, basically right. But getting them information is only half of the goal. We want their info as well. We want to identify them. They are our target cavers--the ones we want to encourage to not only go caving safely but to join the TSA, the NSS, and to become an active part of the great unwashed caver community--not rogue warriors in the caving world. So, we need their information and we need to keep in touch with them. The hassle of filling out a subscription (which can be minimal) is itself a small filter to weed out trivial inquiries. We want accountability from both ends. > > Everyone is worried about spam, we have plenty and will only get more. > If you are worried about people getting your email address out of a > PDF, then don't put it into the PDF, its that simple. > I personally am not worried about hard copy (such as pdf) lists being snagged for spam. Manually transcribing them is a bit more effort, though not a whole lot. It's the electronic files which can be manipulated in the computer to harvest email addresses that I don't want to see posted. Again, I guess they could be hidden. > Contact info in the TC should point to the website contact page, it's > just that simple, no more worries about spam. > Yes > Sometimes it is really best to keep things simple, especially when > trying to attract new members. > > I'm OK with simple. Just keep in mind OUR needs from them and don't cut us off short from the value we place on our target audience. --Ediger
