unsolicited_commercial.htm

We receive such a tremendous amount of unsolicited commercial email (sp^m) in our In-Box everyday, we can certainly understand why some people become "Anti-Sp^m" crusaders. Since the majority is sent with a phony return address, it is virtually impossible to track down. Most people simply delete the clutter, or create filters with their email package to automatically get rid of a lot of it.

Over 80% of all email sent is sp^m and the CAN-SPAM Act simply is not having much of an effect. In point of fact, it is worse
now than it ever was. While the law is on the books, it just isn't being enforced properly. What a waste of resources and our
time! To add insult to injury most Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in their sometimes overzealous efforts to protect us,
attempt to filter out unsolicited email and wind up deleting valid email.

There is no such thing as a perfect filter. If a certain blocking technique is installed, the sp^mmers quickly find a way,around it. Face it - this is their business. They will quickly go out of business if their email is not delivered. But, if someone sends a legitimate email that happens to trigger one of the filters of the receiving ISP, it will never be delivered. To make matters worse, neither party will ever know it wasn't delivered, as most ISPs simply dump it into hyperspace. They do this in two ways. The receiving ISP either blocks the Internet Service Provider (IP) address of the sender, or their actual email address. If they block the email address, and let's assume it's yours, this means that you can't send any email to anyone using that ISP. This is a harsh penalty for an innocent mistake.

Last year, AOL reported it blocked over 500 billion (Yes that's a Billion) email messages, and regularly blocks 75-80% of all
incoming mail. How many messages that you wrote, never got there? So what can we do to protect ourselves? Never - and that is a very long time - use your primary email address on the web. If you frequent chat rooms, bulletin boards or have ads for your business, do NOT use your primary email address. These places are where the sp^mmers usually find their victims.

Keep your primary email address private. Get some free email addresses such as Hotmail for your travels throughout the web.
Get another for the publications you wish to receive. Don't think that different user names from AOL will solve this problem, as if they block an email address sent to one, it is automatically blocked for all.

If you sign up to receive a Newsletter and don't get it, or it suddenly stops arriving, one of the legitimate articles most likely triggered the Spam Filter of your Internet Service Provider. Some of the articles discuss actual offers on the web and may use some of the terms they block. For example, if an article is discussing a known scam, it has to refer to some ofthe words that they might use to block the actual scam. Once it is blocked, you may never get it again.

You can ask your site host to reduce the level of filtering on your Email, or to never reject something sent through the email
address of the publisher. Many can do this. If your ISP cannot or will not honor your request, the solution is simple - get one
that will. The ideal solution is to get multiple email addresses, from different vendors. That way, you should be able to not only
conduct your business and receive your valid email, but send the majority of the spam to addresses you won't check anyway.

Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the" Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web
Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday. Wednesday. And Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter. Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm