A position statement on the use of broadcast email by churches.

Church Email Mailing List Position Statement

Disclaimer

The opinions and positions covered in this paper are not to be construed as legal advice.  There is no guarantee that by following these recommendations the reader will avoid either legal action or blacklisting as a result of sending out email.  This document is meant to serve as a professional opinion only, with quotes and web links as references where appropriate.

Position Summary

Broadcast email lists used by churches should be populated using a self-service, user “double opt-in” approach, only, ever.

Any other approach violates several agreements with internet service providers, and is unethical as it abuses the private property of individuals and businesses.  It also puts a church’s ability to communicate using it’s website or email - any email - at risk.

It’s also clear that pursuing an opt-out approach would set a bad example for the people who attend a church - if they see the church leadership using the approach they may feel it’s OK to add neighbors or other non-attendees to the list in the name of evangelism.  This would greatly increase the risk of being blacklisted.

Moving away from the self-service model also means church staff will be interacting with mail list users more - getting responses to the emails, help with change of email addresses, etc.

If the church’s desire is long-term management of mailing lists consisting of hundreds of recipients, look for a robust list management tool where subscriptions can be tracked closely - with audit trails for subscriptions and unsubscriptions.  This evidence would be necessary in the event of being blacklisted or sued.

The remainder of this document provides the references used in formulating the position summary, with definitions of various mailing list related terms, links to laws regarding email, references to the various agreements that might exist between a church and internet service providers, input from the email marketing business community as to what constitutes “accepted professional standards of conduct” and mailing list management guidelines for preventing abuse.

Definitions of Mailing List-Related Terms

- Opt out

(1) type of program that assumes inclusion unless stated otherwise.
(2) to remove oneself from an opt-out program.

http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/opt_out/

- Opt in/Double Opt In

Email that is explicitly requested by the recipient

The definition of opt-in email has been a matter of intense debate.

“single opt-in” vs. “double opt-in”

The term single opt-in simply means that actions were taken to sign up for the email in question. The term double opt-in means that the subscriber has actively confirmed their subscription, typically by responding to an automatically-generated message sent to the email address. Proponents of double opt-in may not actually use that term, as they feel any email labeled “opt-in” must be verified.

http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/opt_in_email/

- Spam

“Internet spam is one or more unsolicited 1 messages, sent or posted as part of a larger collection 2 of messages, all having substantially identical content. 3”

http://www.monkeys.com/spam-defined

This Google Search provides some additional definitions of Spam.

- Blacklists

“A Blacklist is a database of known internet addresses (or IP’s) used by persons or companies sending spam. Various ISP’s and bandwidth providers subscribe to these blacklist databases in order to filter out spam sent across their network or to their subscribers.”

http://www.spam-blockers.com/SPAM-blacklists.htm

“Like most public blacklists, SpamCop is a guilty-until-proven- innocent system. If a single SpamCop user reports your message as being spam, you are added to its blacklist. Email administrators at ISPs and corporate IT departments who visit the list frequently, may then block your incoming mail to all their users.”

http://www.emailsherpa.com/barrier.cfm?currentID=2212

State and Federal Laws

Church email is subject to current applicable state and federal laws :

A Summary of State Spam Laws:
http://www.spamlaws.com/state/summary.html

Federal CAN-SPAM law:
http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html

Applicability to Non-Profits:

“Until the issue is clarified, it is recommended that non-profits comply with the CSA.” Link >>

View of CSA in the Marketplace:

Politicians Send Spammers Holiday Gift
“The main flaw in the Act is that it allows unsolicited commercial e-mail—otherwise known as spam—to be sent as long as it includes an opt-out option, a valid subject line and a working return email address. That’s not exactly prohibitive. Indeed, rather than punish or even curtail the act of spamming, what the bill actually does is legitimize it, as industry observers pointed out in a recent Datamation article.

“This piece of legislation is telling people that as long as they don’t lie, spam is all right,” said Ray Everett-Church, chief privacy officer of the ePrivacy Group, a Pennsylvania-based company that makes anti-spam software.

http://www.internetnews.com/commentary/article.php/3288991

“Anti-spam legislation, the CAN-SPAM Act, hasn’t made a dent in the volumes of unsolicited messages, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the respondents reported a greater influx of spam in their personal e-mail accounts since Jan. 1, 2004, when the legislation went into effect.” Link >>

“What’s clearest in the CAN-SPAM law is there’s not a federal permission standard for e-mail marketing. This may not change most e-mail marketers’ acquisition practices, but it certainly creates a baseline for e-mailers who may be concerned with whether they need permission for e-mail prospecting. The expectation is e-mailers won’t look to the law as a best practice, but rather to industry resources such as ClickZ to help guide the way.”Link >>

Business Agreements

Church email communications are subject to a number of agreements between the church and the providers of the internet services required to deliver the church’s email.

- Website Host

If the church website is hosted off-site, there is typically a policy regarding email.  An example:

“We do not allow UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email), also known as spam, to be sent from our email servers, issued with a “reply to” address on our servers, or that advertises a URL on our servers. UCE includes unsolicited messages sent via email, posted on messagboards/newsgroups, or otherwise electronically sent to anyone not specifically requesting the information. This includes spam that is sent from your CGI scripts, whether sent by you or not. Additionally a $75 cleanup fee will be charged to your account, should our investigations confirm that bulk spam was sent from your account.”

https://www.bitserve.net/agreement.html

- Internet Service Provider

Churches accesses the Internet through the services of an internet service provider, who will also have a use agreement.  Here is an example:

“You agree not to engage in any conduct known as “Spamming.” Spamming includes, but is not limited to (1) the bulk sending of unsolicited messages, or the sending of unsolicited e-mails which provoke complaints from the recipients; (2) the sending of junk e-mail; (3) the use of distribution lists that include people who have not given specific permission to be included in such distribution processes; (4) posting commercial ads to USENET newsgroups that do not permit it; (5) posting articles containing binary encoded data to a non-binary newsgroup; (6) excessive and repeated posting off-topic users, including but not limited to transmitting any threatening, libelous or obscene material, or material of any nature which could be deemed to be offensive; and (7) the e-mailing of age-inappropriate communications or content to anyone under the age of 18.”

http://www.tdstelecom.com/partners%5Cprod_internet_tos.asp

- Other “Upstream” Service Providers

Typically an email will go across wires owned by many entities.

Reference:
http://techsupport.charterpa.net/routing/flow.htm

Each of these entities has a terms of use agreement which may have spam-related provisions.  Examples from some of the “Backbone” service providers:

- MCI:

“Sending unsolicited mail messages, including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, is explicitly prohibited. A user shall not use another site’s mail server to relay mail without the express permission of the site. “
http://global.mci.com/terms/a_u_p/

- AT&T:

“Spam/E-mail/Usenet Abuse is prohibited on AT&T IP related Services. Examples of Spam/E-mail/Usenet Abuse include but are not limited to the following activities:

using another site’s mail server to relay mail without the express permission of the site;

using IP addresses that the Customer does not have a right to use;

collecting the responses from unsolicited electronic messages;

maintaining a site that is advertised via unsolicited electronic messages, regardless of the origin of the unsolicited electronic messages;

sending electronic messages with petitions for signatures, or any chain mail related materials;

sending unsolicited electronic messages with charity requests;

sending messages that are harassing or malicious, or otherwise could reasonably be predicted to interfere
with another party’s quiet enjoyment of the AT&T IP related Services or the Internet (e.g., through language, frequency, size or otherwise);

sending bulk (i.e., twenty-five or more recipients) electronic messages without identifying, within the message, a reasonable means of opting out from receiving additional messages from the sender;

sending electronic messages that do not accurately identify the sender, the sender’s return address, the e-mail address of origin, or other information contained in the subject line or header;

distributing or using software designed to promote the sending of unsolicited bulk electronic messages;

using distribution lists containing addresses that include those who have opted out;

posting a single message, or messages similar in content, that could reasonably be expected to provoke complaints, to more than 10 online forums or newsgroups;

posting messages to or canceling or superseding messages on an online forum or newsgroup in a manner that violates the rules of the forum or newsgroup or that contain forged header information; and
sending bulk electronic messages in quantities that exceed standard industry norms or that create the potential for disruption of the AT&T network or of the networks with which AT&T interconnects.”

http://www.business.att.com/default/?pageid=aup&branchid=aup

Qwest:
http://www.qwest.com/legal/Acceptable_Use_Policy_202.pdf

Employer Internet Acceptable Use Policies
Corporate email addresses are considered corporate assets by the companies that pay for the ability for their employees to send email.  As such their use is often covered by an Internet Acceptable Use Policy written and enforced by the company.

Here is an example from Herman Miller, a Fortune 500 company in Michigan:

“Information technology is a company asset made available to a Herman Miller, Inc., employee so that he/she can meet the informational needs of employees in providing products and services to the company’s customers and meet the administrative, development, and technical-assistance needs of employees in fulfilling their work responsibilities. ”

Internet Professional Community References
In addition to knowing what the government says is legal, and what businesses include in their terms of use agreements, the Internet Community provides direction on what’s considered to be “conforming to accepted professional standards of conduct”, or “ethical”.

“Netiquette" Demands Permission:

Courtesy #7:
“Never, ever, ever, never send anyone an email about anything (especially your product or service) if the recipient did not specifically email you for that information and you are responding to their request.”
http://www.getnetiquette.com/courtesy7.html

Netiquette: The Advertising Flame:
“Consider this: in conventional direct mail, a 2% response rate is considered decent. If your company experiments with unsolicited direct email, don’t be surprised if you get a 98% response, from people flaming you for clogging up their electronic mailboxes.”

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/0963702513p79.html

The Legitimate Business World Recommends Opt- In only:

Consumer Privacy: Some Email Marketing Best Practices
“Many marketers have translated the laws into practice and assert that it is acceptable, but not recommended, to send email to an individual with whom they have an existing business relationship. However, the preferred approach from legal and consumer standpoints is to deliver email messages only to those individuals who have explicitly consented to receive the email. Gathering an opt-in from consumers is essential for gaining their trust, retaining their business, and minimizing legal risks.”

“It is clear that offering consumers explicit notice about email collection, gathering consent through an opt-in process, and providing the ability for an individual to opt out in every email sent will enable you to foster trust and ultimately retain your customers longer. Review your email marketing practices with your legal counsel, determine the level of risk you are comfortable with, and make sure you’re operating within the law and building trust and loyalty among your customers to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing program.”

http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/opt/article.php/835841

Opting for Results
“Permission marketing” is the buzzword for the politically correct way to manage your customer relationships today. It means you must have consent before you email anything to anybody. There’s opt-in and opt-out, double opt-in and double opt-out, and lots to talk about, but here’s one simple fact right up front: Someone who fails to opt-out has not opted in.”

http://www.clickz.com/experts/design/traffic/article.php/843491

How NOT to Promote Your E-business:
“It only takes one message to shut your site down.”

“It really is simple to stay out of trouble—just don’t ever email anyone without their permission.”

http://sellitontheweb.com/ezine/opinion064.shtml

Growing an E-Mail List: Five Practical Tips:
“You always want to bring in new opt-in subscribers, enough, at least, to replace the e-mail addresses lost each month (via hard bounces and unsubscribes).”

http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/opt/article.php/3329951

- Permission to Spam?
“When requesting permission to deliver future e-mail communications, be very explicit about how the address will be used. Make it clear what kind of communication the individual is agreeing to receive and at what frequency. An opt-in for a certain type of communication does not constitute broad permission to blast away at that person’s inbox with different categories of messaging, unless that broad permission is explained and agreed to upfront. Someone who opts in to receive a newsletter about personal health may not be thrilled to unexpectedly receive an unrequested travel newsletter, a third-party promotion, or a monthly company update from the same organization.”

http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/opt/article.php/2179291

Basic Mailing List Management Guidelines for Preventing Abuse
We recommend the mailing list guidelines found at:

http://www.mail-abuse.com/support/an_listmgntgdlines.html