ChooseYourMail.com, SAFEeps, the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial
Email (CAUCE) and the Forum for Responsible Ethical Email
(F.R.E.E.) launched a joint project enabling consumers to recycle their
“spam” e-mail into money-saving offers from online retail sponsors.
The anti-spam advocates and companies said they have joined forces behind the
Spam Recycling Center (SRC) in an
effort to fight spam, raise public awareness and promote responsible e-mail
marketing practices.
Internet users may forward their unsolicited commercial e-mail to the SRC,
where it will be cataloged and forwarded to the Federal Trade Commission and
shared with filtering organizations for use in the development of better
anti-spam software.
After going to the Spam Recycling Center, Netizens are given instructions on
how to forward their spam and, if they choose, get the featured special offer
from a retail sponsor. The first retail sponsor is CDnow, which is offering
$5 off a new CD to participants. Users also get the opportunity to sign a
petition asking Congress to restrict spam as well as read summaries of the
current anti-spam legislation pending on Capitol Hill and in state
legislatures.
“It is clear that spam has hindered the growth of electronic commerce, but
just saying ‘spam is bad’ isn’t enough. We have to mobilize the public and
provide alternatives to the Internet retail community,” said Ian Oxman,
president of ChooseYourMail.com.
While in the Spam Recycling Center, Internet users are also given the
opportunity to have their e-mail address included in the SAFEeps “opt-out”
database. The SAFEeps system from Phoenix, AZ-based American Computer Group [ACG] allows
e-mail marketers to purge their lists of individuals or organizations that do
not wish to
receive unsolicited commercial e- mail.
