On 6/19/07, Eric Thomas <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > The admins (who do this as a hobby) looked
> > at getting on AOL's whitelist, but found the requirements too onerous.
> >  See specifically bullet item 5 under E-mail Formatting Requirements:
> > at http://www.postmaster.aol.com/whitelist/whitelist_guides.html.
> > We are NOT going to put physical address & phone number of our admins
> > in our email.
>
> Some of the AOL instructions were clearly crafted with newsletters and other one-way communication in mind. I ignore them for discussion lists and AOL have never complained about that. Anyone can understand that I do not have the address and phone number of every person who might subscribe to one of my lists, and even if I did, it would be too much of a privacy intrusion to make just one ISP happy. I would rather disallow AOL subscriptions altogether than force people to disclose their home addresses. If I were you, I would just request the whitelist. I would be very surprised if AOL complained.


That's a good idea, and we may give it a try.

However, I think we're reading this bullet item differently:

# All subscription based e-mail must have valid, non-electronic,
contact information for the sending organization in the text of each
e-mail including phone number and a physical mailing address.

We don't need to put the subscriber's information, but we would have
to put some sort of contact information in there, and all we have are
the home information for our admins.  We won't do that.  We might try
to get on the whitelist anyway, just tell them in the signup what we
will, and won't, do.  Let AOL tell us specifically that we can't get
on their whitelist.

We do have the feedback loop going, and that allegedly raises the
threshold above which AOL will start blocking our server to other AOL
members.

We have also had problems with AOL blocking particular messages, due
to 'offensive' links.  These links were usually URL shortening links.
Sheesh.

There is another item in the requirements:

# Bulk mailings must specifically state how the AOL members' e-mail
addresses were obtained and must indicate the frequency of the
mailing. Such details as the date and time when the e-mail address was
obtained along with the IP address of the subscriber and the web site
they visited to sign-up must be made available to AOL upon request.

We're not going to waste space in our messages telling the AOL members
that the only way they got onto the list is to sign themselves up.
We're also not going to keep track of when some AOLuser signed up.

# Bulk mailings should contain simple and obvious unsubscribe
mechanisms. We recommend that this be in the form of a working link to
a one-click unsubscribe system; however, a valid "reply to:" address
may be used instead.

That, we have.

[ deleted my rant, and Eric's well reasoned, well stated, comments on
AOL and Time Warner.  Eric, you're a better person than I am! ]

-- 
David Phillips
Molon Labe !
Moved from CARY, NC, the Containment Area for Relocated Yankees
Settling in near  36° 08' 25" N , 80° 17' 21" W while building around
36° 08' 47" N , 80° 19' 23" W
Lose Not A Minute!