I thought that LSTOWN-L folks might be interested in these snippets
from a current NETTRAIN thread since they touch on the topics of
list spamming and invasion of list subscribers' privacy. I have
whittled them down quite a bit from their original lengths. But
LISTSERV rejects receipt requests, doesn't it?
Glee
<[log in to unmask]>
X-posted from NETTRAIN:
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 1994 21:06:47 -0700
From: Seth Ross <[log in to unmask]>
The question has come up as to whether email "read
receipts" represent poor netiquette. [stuff deleted]
Like many email features, read receipts can be
either extremely useful or extremely annoying, depending on
how they're used.
On one hand, they represent improved communication: one of
the problems with most email systems is that you never know
whether or not someone received your message. Good
communication involves call-and-response, and in that
light, receipts are valuable. I sometimes put read receipts
on important messages just so I know they got through OK.
On the other hand, they can be truly bothersome. I once had
an editor who read receipted all his outgoing mail (NeXT
Mail allows you to do this). At that time, my only
connection to the net was a long-distance UUCP account, and
every time I received one of his mails, my system would
make a long-distance call to send out the receipt. I got
used to lurching over my desk to turn off my modem before an
unnecessary connection was made.
[stuff deleted]
Finally, it's possible to use read receipts to acquire the
addresses of mailing list subscribers, whether or not the
addresses are public info. Just send a receipted note to
the list, and wait for the receipts to roll in. While many
mail systems don't honor the receipts, many do: a big list
will likely yield a significant number of "hits." Wait 'til
the spammers catch on to that one.
Yours,
Seth
---
A\ Seth Ross \ Publisher \ Albion Books
A A\ 4547 California St., San Francisco, 94118
A A\ 415-752-7666 \ fax 752-5417 \ [log in to unmask]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 1994 17:45:33 -0500 (CDT)
From: Albert Lunde <[log in to unmask]>
[stuff deleted]
I would not say that putting requests for receipts on an Internet
mail message is, in general, rude, but it is a practice novice
users might do well to avoid, in part because it may not have
the anticipated effect. There are some cases where it might
be considered rude. (In general, it is more a sign of ignorance
of the complexity of Internet mail.)
[stuff deleted]
* A second reason to avoid using automatic receipts is that,
if it is on by default, one could accidently send such
a message to a listserv or other mailing list.
* Sending a request for an automatic receipt to a list is
a very bad idea because:
1) If it works, one will get a large volume of replies
and generate fairly pointless network traffic.
2) With some combinations of software, the receipt
messages may go to everyone on the list.
3) You often don't have the kind of need-to-know
relationship with other list members to make
it polite to request this information.
* This brings up a final point, which does pertain to rudeness.
Some people might consider it an invasion of their privacy
for you to try and find out when they read mail.
This is less likely to apply to people working in the same
organization or on a common project, but more likely to be
the case with relative strangers one meets on the nets. This
is another case where norms developed using on local e-mail
systems could be misleading when applied to the Internet.
It is a judgement call if this would apply in a particular case.
|
