Spamcop blacklists truthout.org (for a good reason?) [Are YOU being Spammed by truthout?]

Politech ^ | July 14, 2003 | "Ben"

[Dont Mention the War]

Spamcop blacklists truthout.org (for a good reason?)

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From: "Ben" <bmw@xxxxxxxxxx.com
Subject: Spamcop blacklists truthout.org
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 13:55:05 -0400

I thought I'd let you know about this considering your dealings with Spamcop, but speaking only for myself I have to tell you that the issue may not be as simple to judge as it was when Spamcop blacklisted Politech. That's mostly because, despite never signing up for truthout's newsletter, I get it regularly. I don't know how it happened, and I'm certain no one I know would've had any reason to sign me up. I also know there was never any verification e-mail telling me someone had subscribed with this address. I suppose it's been almost 2 years since I started getting them.

Anyway, I might not admire the obvious bias of the site itself, but it's not particularly out of the ordinary in online 'news blog' sites, and the main reason I don't mind receiving them, and don't plan to remove myself from the list, is that truthout basically just sends out links to news articles from places like the NY Times site and the Washington Post, which means I spend less keeping up with them.

Just FYI,
Ben

----- Original Message -----
From: "t r u t h o u t" <crap@lefies.com
To: <bmw@xxxxxxxxx.com
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 1:46 AM
Subject: A Letter from TO Legal Counsel William M. Simpich

To the Readers of Truthout, This is a letter from TO Legal Counsel William M. Simpich addressing the blacklisting of the TO Daily Edition Newsletter.

Marc Ash, Executive Director - t r u t h o u t mailto:ma@mail.truthout.org

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William M. Simpich Attorney at Law 1736 Franklin Street, 10th Floor Oakland, California 94612

July 3, 2003

To: The readers of truthout.com

From: Counsel for truthout.com

Re: Blacklisting

This is a short note to let you know that your complaints about not receiving your copy of Truthout have been heard, and that action is being taken. Truthout has contacted SpamCop and Yahoo! and protested the blacklisting of its organization. Truthout is active in grassroots outreach and organizing via the internet; it is a vital and productive part of our core mission. However, Truthout has never engaged in indiscriminate mass spamming.

So how does Truthout come to be blacklisted?. An individual with a political axe to grind can easily manipulate a Reader-based SPAM rating system. Clearly, Truthout has been targeted in this manner. As Ray Everett-Church, the counsel for Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email, stated in the May 14 Washington Post, some blacklists indeed become ``little more than tools for people's personal vendettas."

Both SpamCop and Yahoo rely on the highly flawed reader-based SPAM rating system. In fact, on SpamCop's website, it discusses the status of the SpamCop blocking list. It states that it ``should not be used in a production environment where legitimate e-mail must be delivered.'' Then it admits that it ``err(s) on the side of blocking mail...there is no warranty associated with using this system. It is provided as is.'' (Emphasis in original)

We have informed SpamCop that it is ``inviting a defamation suit by using such tactics against a commercial e-mailer. By engaging in such a tactic with a noncommercial organization such as Truthout, you are virtually guaranteeing a victory.''

First Amendment advocates in the noncommercial sector such as Truthout should not have their speech deterred in any way. While everyone hates the spammers, neither SpamCop, Yahoo or anyone else should be deciding what people in the United States are allowed to read.

Sincerely,

William M. Simpich

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[Dont Mention the War]

Posted without comment. Well, okay, posted with a big giant grin. Are YOU getting truthout emails without asking for them?

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[Dont Mention the War]

ping!

[babyface00]

"First Amendment advocates in the noncommercial sector such as Truthout should not have their speech deterred in any way. While everyone hates the spammers, neither SpamCop, Yahoo or anyone else should be deciding what people in the United States are allowed to read. "

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech..."

[mhking]

Screw 'em. They don't like it, they need to quit spamming folks.

[finnman69]

Truthout being relegated to the same black hole as porn sites and increase your penis ad sites?

How appropriate for such a vacous intellectual black hole.

[Dont Mention the War]

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech..."

Yeah, but we all know what liberals think about the Constitution.

[Puppage]

Yeah, but we all know what liberals think about the Constitution

LOL

****See Florida 2000

[babyface00]

Yeah, but we all know what liberals think about the Constitution.

It's one of my pet peaves that liberals want to turn a document intended to limit the size and scope of the federal government into an excuse to expand government by having it involved (usually by the courts)in every aspect of our lives.

This issue is a lot of things, but its certainly not a First Amendment issue.

[Dont Mention the War]

Just for the record, this:

We have informed SpamCop that it is ``inviting a defamation suit by using such tactics against a commercial e-mailer. By engaging in such a tactic with a noncommercial organization such as Truthout, you are virtually guaranteeing a victory.''

...is complete BS. Spam is spam no matter the source, and there's no legal requirement that any ISP has to deliver anyone's email crap.

And if truthout did win the lawsuit, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. The less-than-brilliant techno-news media would run the story as "spammers win right to spam" and every 13-year-old script kiddie would be going after truthout.org out of pure rage.

If Ash and Billy have any sense whatsoever, they'll stop threatening to sue people and instead devote their time and energy to better management of their subscribe/unsubscribe requests.

[Dimensio]

While I cannot locate any information on truthout.com's alleged spamming practices, I must point out that the problem with spam is NOT the content, it is the consent. It does not matter if the unsolicited mass-mailings are for porn, penis enlargement, political advertising or solicitations for a starving children charity, none of it belongs in my inbox and I will seek to have the account and websites of the sender terminated.

[Houmatt]

Quite frankly, I have never heard of these people.

Are they in any way related to the Michael Moore disciples at Truth.com?

[Tamzee]

I don't know very much about it, but think it is a far-leftie website run by a William Pitt over at DU.

[ladyinred]

That is one of the most spiteful, hateful, lying sites around, and I hope they are blacklisted forever! Seems an appropriate term to use on that communist site.