RFC relevance of advertising

As per Relevance of the word advertising, we have this rfc below:

Network Working Group T.
Request for Comments: 3098 Nachman Hays
FYI: 38 D. Eastlake 3
Category: Informational
S.

April 2001

How to Advertise Responsibly Using E-Mail and
or - how NOT
$$$$$ MAKE ENEMIES FAST! $$$$$

Status of this

This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
memo is unlimited

Copyright

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved

This memo offers useful suggestions for responsible
techniques that can be used via the internet in an environment
the advertiser, recipients, and the Internet Community can coexist
a productive and mutually respectful fashion. Some measure
clarity will also be added to the definitions, dangers, and
inherent to Internet Marketing

Table of

1. Introduction .............................................. 2
2. Image and Perception of the Advertiser..................... 4
3. Collateral Damage ......................................... 5
4. Caveat Mercator ........................................... 5
5. Targeting the Audience .................................... 7
6. Reaching the audience ..................................... 8
A. Dedicated website or web page ........................ 8
B. "Shared" Advertising website ......................... 9
C. Netnews and E-Mailing list group postings ............ 10
D. Compiled E-Mail Lists ................................ 11
7. Opt-In Mailing Lists ...................................... 12
A. Privacy ................................................ 13
B. Integrity .............................................. 13
C. Protection ............................................. 16

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

8. Irresponsible Behavior .................................... 16
9. Responsible Behavior ...................................... 17
10. Security Considerations ................................... 19
Appendices .................................................... 20
A.1 The classic Pyramid .................................... 20
A.2 What about Ponzi? ...................................... 22
A.3 So all multi-levels are evil? .......................... 22
B.1 Why Web Privacy? ....................................... 23
References .................................................... 25
Authors' Addresses ............................................ 26
Acknowledgments and Significant Contributors ................. 27
Full Copyright Statement ...................................... 28

1.

The Internet is not a free resource. Access to and a presence on
'Net comes at a cost to the participants, the service provider,
the recipients of those services made available by the Internet.
more readily available internet has allowed users access to
unprecedented number of people. Due to the rapid growth
"mainstream" acceptance of the 'Net, new opportunities have
found for the distribution of information to the vast and ever
growing community of Internet users. There are groups
individuals who choose to use the 'Net for purposes for which it
not intended, thus defying the consensus among both the
and the unwilling recipients. The aforementioned practice,
course, is the sending of Unsolicited Commercial and Bulk E-
messages, posts to Netnews groups, or other unsolicited
communication. This condition has caused an awakening on the part
the Internet community-at-large

There are stereotypes that must be broken before continuing. Not
persons who are new to the Internet are ignorant of the 'Net'
history and evolution, or its proper and ethical uses. Nor are
experienced, long-term Netizens against the use of the Internet
advertising, marketing, or other business purposes. Where these
groups can find commonality is in their opposition to the use of
Internet in irresponsible ways. Some of these irresponsible
include, but are not limited to, the sending of Unsolicited Bulk
Commercial E-Mail to mailing lists, individuals, or netnews groups
In the vernacular, this activity is called "spamming" (the sending
"spam" [1]). To understand why such activities are irresponsible
one must first understand the true cost and ramifications of
actions

The protocols and architecture upon which the 'Net is built,
are recognized and adhered to as standards, provide for an
and availability which foster and encourage easy communication

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These standards were developed at a time when there was no need
consider the concept of "rejecting" information. While
standards have evolved, they continue to emphasize
communication. As such, they do not associate costs or impact
the user-initiated activities which may occur. Because of
openness, persons can and do send large volumes of E-Mail,
little-to-no cost or financial impact for the volume of
sent. Needless to say, this presents the attractive option (to
who would consider such activity) of multiplying the recipients
their marketing material, and presumably, increasing their success
rate. However, and to reiterate an earlier statement in this text
there is a cost to be incurred at some point in this
relationship. In the case of E-Mail advertising, since the cost
operation does not increase on the part of the sender, it
therefore increase on the side of the recipient

And it does. Every recipient of every E-Mail message bears a cost
either direct (cost per message received, an incremental increase
connection charges) or indirect (higher service fees to
infrastructural costs associated with the additional 'Net
which such mass-mailings create). In addition, other resources,
as the disk space and time of the recipient, are consumed

Because the recipients have no control over whether or not they
receive such messages, the aforementioned costs are
involuntarily, and without consent. It is this condition (
absence of consent to bear the costs of receipt of a mass
distributed message) that has shaped the Internet Community'
viewpoint - that the act of sending spam constitutes a willful
of service, money, and/or resources. Those who choose to ignore
financial impact, and instead focus on the consumption of
resources, have been known to label spam "Internet Pollution".

The Internet provides a tremendous opportunity for businesses,
large and small. There is certainly money to be made using the '
as a resource. This paper recommends practices and ways to use
Internet in manners which are not parasitic; which will not, by
mere existence, engender predetermined opposition, litigation,
other negative conditions. This paper does not guarantee
from those, or other negative responses - rather, it provides
reader with a framework through which the marketer/advertiser and
'Net community (and more importantly, the seller's target market)
coexist as well as possible

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2. Image and Perception of the

While it may appear to be financially attractive to advertise via
use of Mass-Messaging ("spam"), as a responsible Internet user
ADVERTISERS SHOULD AVOID THIS OPTION. The possibility of
generation and market or business expansion are minuscule
compared to some of the risks

- The alienation of the vast majority of the
of an advertising message [2][3]

- The damage or loss of credibility in the
market [2]

- Loss in advertiser's and/or seller's
connectivity (most service providers have
"zero tolerance" policies which prohibit the
of their systems for the sending of spam,
for encouraging or enabling such activities

- Civil and Criminal litigation. In the United States
(and progressively in other sovereign states), it
become accepted as fact that the theft-of-
associated with spamming often constitutes
unlawful use of private property and is
as trespass to chattels (a civil law
tantamount to "theft") in civil court [4][5][6][7]
[8].

It is a fundamental tenet to any Internet presence that a party
be responsible for their Internet "image", or the personae that
create. If an advertiser sells a product which is enjoyed by many
and the advertiser has not alienated, offended or angered
disproportionately larger number of uninterested recipients,
advertiser could be viewed as a hero. Conversely, an
broadcasting their product to millions of uninterested parties,
the parties' cost, will earn the advertiser the moniker of "spammer",
thief, or other less attractive names. The advertiser will be
responsible for those actions, and the effects those actions have
the marketplace, which is to say, the 'Net community

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." [9] That was
caption to an illustration published in the 1990's. The message
clear - the Internet renders all parties anonymous. The methods
to sell products in the traditional sales channels - language, image
relationships, eye contact or body language - no longer apply
measuring an Internet sale. Reputation, reliability, honesty
trustworthiness, and integrity have taken the place of the

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direct sales approaches that have been previously used. These
dictated by the rate at which both information and
travel on the Internet. And, just as an Internet user cannot
what messages are sent to them, neither can the Internet
control the information that is disseminated about them, or
activities. Some information will circulate that is not accurate
Perhaps there will be cases where there will be
circulating which is downright incorrect. But, a successful
reputation, based on ethical behavior, will render the
piece of misinformation meaningless. For an advertiser to
responsibly on the Internet is for the advertiser and seller to
active responsibility for their actions

3. Collateral

As this paper has pointed out, there is ample reason to expect
the sending of spam will result in a significant level of
reactions, targeted at the advertiser and/or the seller.
threats, litigation and retaliatory actions are commonplace.
these reasons, "spammers" (and in particular, those
providing mass-mailing services for third-party businesses)
frequently take steps to ensure their anonymity. These actions
various forms, and have been known to include

- Forging the sender name, domain name, or IP
of the sender (called "spoofing")

- Sending messages through any type of hardware,
or system which belongs to an uninvolved third-
(called "relaying")

Each of these activities, as well as numerous others, are
acts in many countries. It is unethical to use the resources of
other party without their express permission. To do so breaches
laws of numerous jurisdictions and international agreements -
offenders have been successfully prosecuted in
jurisdictions

4. Caveat

"Let the Seller beware." Advertisers and Sellers can be
responsible for the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of the
they send when applied to the recipients to whom the
are sent. For this reason, all prospective advertisers must first
absolutely certain that the recipients of their advertising
appropriate. For example, sending an advertisement which contains
link to a website where content of an overt sexual nature
displayed can have many undesirable consequences

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- In many countries, providing such material to under
age minors is a crime. As the provider of the link
the advertiser's position is tenuous

- In some countries, such material is a crime to view
possess, or distribute ("trafficking"). As the
owner or advertiser, a party engaging in such
must consider the ramifications of international law

To prevent such risk, advertisers should qualify the recipients
their advertising. However, it must be noted that E-Mail
provide little useful information to that end. Remember, "On
Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." Advertisers will have no
to qualify a prospective recipient as an adult with
discretionary and plenipotentiary authority. In other words,
advertisement targeting a high-income population in need of
investment opportunities may be sent to a group of school children
Or a dog

How then, does the prospective advertiser/seller determine
quality of their leads? The essential requirement is that
advertiser "know" their audience

As with all sales leads, the ones which are developed and
by the advertiser who will use them are of the most value. There
an inherent value to collecting the data first-hand; by
the data directly from the prospective recipient, the advertiser
accomplish two important goals

- The advertiser ensures that the recipient is
interested in receiving information. Thus, the
can protect themselves from the negative impact of
Unsolicited E-Mail ("spam").

- The advertiser maintains the ability to "pre-qualify"
lead. One interested lead is worth more, from a sales
marketing perspective, than millions of
uninterested potential recipients

If an advertiser maintains an active website or uses other mass
marketing tools (such as direct-mail), and they are interested
pursuing Internet Advertising, the advertiser can add a mechanism
gather sales lead data in a relatively simple manner. From
perspective of Responsible Use, the only such mechanism to
discussed in this text will be the "Opt-In" concept, to be
in detail later in this document

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Regardless of the manner in which the information is gathered,
are certain steps which the advertiser must follow. The
must inform the person that data is being collected. In addition
the reason why the information is being collected must be
stated. BE AWARE! There are jurisdictions which restrict
collection of Personal Data. The laws addressing collection
future handling of Personal Information will vary from place
place; advertisers must take steps to gain an understanding of
laws

Prudence should be the advertiser's guide. If an advertiser
unsure as to the applicability or legality of an action, both in
jurisdiction of the advertiser as well as that of the recipients,
action must be avoided entirely. Advertisers would be well
to realize that, if they engage in spamming, they will
break the laws of some jurisdiction, somewhere

5. Targeting the

Advertisers have something to sell. It may be a product, service,
other tangible or intangible item. And, of course, the
needs to get the word out to the market - quickly. After all
neither the seller or the advertiser are making sales and
profits if nobody is buying the product. However, before
can advertise the product, they must first determine to WHOM
product will be advertised

There are considerations in determining the answer to that question
This text has already addressed how the sending of
Commercial E-Mail ("spam") can generate a number of negative effects
In addition, numerous surveys cited herein show that the
majority of publicly-available mailing lists and Netnews
similarly abhor spam. The advertiser's first step should always
to determine which avenues are appropriate for advertising. Then
advertisers must determine which avenues are appropriate for
SPECIFIC ADVERTISEMENT. Advertisers are faced with the task
determining which Netnews groups accept ads, then of those,
groups are of a topic to which the proposed advertising is relevant
Similarly, the same work should be done for mailing lists
Advertisers should take some level of comfort in the fact that
*are* Netnews groups and mailing lists which welcome advertising -
finding them is a worthwhile investment of the advertiser's time
resources

For assistance in locating such advertising-friendly websites
mailing lists, and Netnews groups, advertisers can consult
ethical and responsible Internet advertisers. Alternatively,
low- or no-cost research resource or search engine can be employed

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find those groups and lists. BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD
ADVERTISER PURCHASE A MAILING LIST AND START MAILING! There
other reasons which will be addressed further into this document,
to engage in such activity opens the advertiser to the
and negative ramifications previously stated. Such
conditions cause increased costs to the seller/advertiser, when
risks (loss of connectivity, defense against litigation,
discovery, etc...) are factored into an advertiser's
operation. In short, it is in the best interests of the seller
advertiser to ensure that the proper audience is targeted, prior
any further steps

6. Reaching the

Once the prospective advertiser has determined a target market for
specific advertisement, a manner of advertising must be selected
While these are too numerous to mention, this document
itself only with those that apply to the ethical use of
resources. Of those, the pertinent ones to be examined (in order
desirability and effectiveness) are

- A dedicated website or web

- Advertisement placed on a "shared" advertising
(placing an advertisement on an established web-
which caters to people that indicate a
for interest in (a) specific type(s) of product(s).
Such advertisements can take the form of text, links

"Click-Through Banners", or other

- Netnews

- Targeted E-Mail

Note that any manner of blind broadcast (distribution-based
advertising which does not involve the targeting of the recipients
not considered responsible

Once the advertiser has determined the medium for reaching
target audience, there are key points to be considered, each
specific to the medium of advertisement

A. Dedicated website or web

Advertisers have the option of creating a dedicated website,
a page within another site for their advertisement. If, from
technical standpoint, an advertiser is unsure of the process

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creating such a website, there are numerous resources
to provide assistance. From no-cost avenues such
instructional websites; to low-cost resources such as books
videotapes or classes; to full-service businesses
consultants who can advise advertisers throughout the
scope of the website/web page design, implementation and
process (or any part thereof), there is a solution
for every type of site and cost-structure

B. "Shared" Advertising

Advertisers have the option of placing their advertisements
a website operated by a third-party. For advertisers with
immediate need, such sites (also called "Electronic Malls",
"E-Shops" or other names) have several advantages. In
cases, a shared site can be more cost-efficient than
a dedicated website. Many sites will target a specific
(refer to Section 5 of this document). By using
resources, advertisers can avoid the cost and burden
owning their own site. Many websites will target a
advertisement to a specific audience, thus providing much
the research for the prospective advertiser, and
the advertiser the means with which to reach the most
audience. Additionally, advertisements from such
sites can be integrated into a larger context, such
supporting free e-mail services, Internet access, or
broadcasts. Such integration can lend a level of
to an advertising effort that might not exist otherwise

Some notes on the use of any type of website for advertising

Regardless of what method an advertiser chooses to use
for advertising on the Web, there are some specific
regarding customer interactions

First, the advertiser must ensure that their
information - name, phone, e-mail address - are all
and available

Second, advertisers should take care in creating
which gather information about customers, as there
concern in the United States and other countries
gathering information from minors without parental consent
There is also concern about grabbing dynamic
via persistent state information, such as through the
of "cookies" or through data collection software
on the user's computer without their knowledge

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Information should only ever be gathered in a voluntary
informed fashion, as opposed to the use of cookies, forms
or other methods that may be available

Third, if advertisers DO gather information about
and plan to use it for marketing in ANY way,
must be VERY clear to specify their plans as
submit their information

C. Netnews and E-Mailing list group

If an advertiser has selected newsgroups as a targeted medium
there are critical preliminary determinations to be made.
accepted presumption should be that a Netnews group will
welcome spam, although there are newsgroups which
advertising-friendly. However, the only way to
whether a group welcomes a particular type or form
advertising is to either

- read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to
what is specifically permitted or prohibited on
particular group

- ask the group by posting a message which
notes how you intend to advertise your product. Do
mention any product details in this message, merely
if the group would object

- if it is a "moderated" newsgroup, send an e-mail
the group's moderator. Many group moderators will
a specific preference for how to deal with advertising
through compilation, "digest" formats, or other

It is a recommendation that prospective advertisers read
groups to which they choose to post for a period before posting
Generally, an extended period of reading the messages in
group will give the advertiser an indication as to how
advertisement will be viewed or accepted on the group
question

However, this period of reading should not be used as
substitute for the suggestions above. Many groups will
specific instructions and/or requirements for

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advertisements. Advertisers who fail to meet
requirements will be undertaking irresponsible behavior
and will be subject to the effects thereof

D. Compiled E-Mail

It bears repeating at this point: Let the Seller Beware.
material discussed in Section 4 of this document
particularly relevant in the consideration of E-mail,
the use of compiled lists of e-mail addresses for advertising
Advertisers should understand that they bear the
for ensuring the proper targeting of their recipients;
proper display of their or their seller's identities; and
use of resources or systems only with the express
of the owners of those systems

When faced with the task of collecting and compiling
information, one option that is frequently presented is that
pre-compiled mailing lists. Most often, these are
using the very method which is irresponsible, that
Unsolicited E-Mail. There are numerous reasons why these
should not be used

Many suppliers create mailing lists from addresses which
have gathered in mildly to extremely unethical ways. Many
these list-makers rely on grabbing volumes of addresses
checking their legitimacy. In other words, they send
software robots to grab addresses they find in News or
List archives which may be many years old! In addition,
list owners create addresses using a "dictionary",
vast numbers of invalid addresses which are then sold
unsuspecting purchasers. People change jobs, change ISPs
and change everything about themselves over time;
a third party for a mailing list is just not wise

It is known that some mailing list providers have
mailing lists from E-mail addresses of people who have asked
be REMOVED from their mailing lists. They then sell these
to other advertisers who think they're getting a list of
who will welcome the unsolicited information

Regardless of the source, however, advertisers and sellers
the responsibility for maintenance of their lists. Purchasing
list from a third-party shifts the maintenance costs of
list onto the advertiser who uses it. Needless to say, this
only economical for mailing list vendor

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Given these conditions, all evidence points to the fact
the greatest level of control of an advertiser's own
and liability rests with the advertiser themselves. This
the case, advertisers are faced with the task of compiling
own lists of willing recipients of Advertising-related E-
messages. As discussed previously, those leads which
generated by the advertiser are the most likely to have
interest in the advertisement, so they are also the least
to protest the receipt of such advertisements via E-Mail.
is this circumstance that makes the use of an "Opt-In"
(refer to Section 7 of this text) to be perhaps the
successful method of advertising distribution on the Internet

It must be noted here - for the same reasons that apply above
if an advertiser has compiled their own mailing list for
purposes, that list must NEVER be sold to another party.
as it is considered unethical to purchase a third-party
list, it is equally so to be the provider of that list
Customers who wish to receive information about your
are not likely to respond favorably when contacted in
unsolicited fashion by your business associates; protect
reputation from the backlash of bad-faith that can occur
such cases

7. Opt-In Mailing

This document has laid out the basic facts of Internet Marketing;
advertiser bears the responsibility of their actions; there
always be recipients of that advertising who do not wish to
it; there are reactions to every responsible and irresponsible act
Given these considerations, and taking into account the
message of this document; that Internet Advertising *can* be
successful venture for everyone involved; there remains a key
for the Internet advertiser to harness. Opt-In mailing lists
the prospective Internet advertiser with the control they need
the list of their prospective target audience (validity of e-
address; applicability to the intended product; willingness
receive advertising via e-mail).

Opt-In mailing lists are consistently shown to be more effective
starting and maintaining customer relationships than any other
of Internet advertising; studies have shown Opt-In mailing to
Eighteen (18%) Percent more effective than Banner advertising [10],
which has a response rate of only 0.65%. It is so successful
the recipients of those E-mailed advertisements made a
effort to receive them, thus indicating their interest in
information about products which the recipient felt were of
to themselves

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Advertisers wishing to employ Opt-In mailing lists in
advertising can turn to several resources for assistance. If
advertiser operates their own website or web page, they
possess the most important facet, a web presence with which to
participation in the Opt-In list. If the advertiser chooses to use
shared website for their product, they can also utilize an Opt-
data gathering mechanism. There are numerous forms and
that can be employed to build an Opt-In list - this document will
address them individually. Rather, the purpose of this section is
provide the advertiser with information which, when used, will
protect the advertiser, and make the advertising experience
successful one

A.

As stated previously, advertisers should take care
gathering information from Opt-In participants. First
foremost, the person providing the information must be
that they are doing so. By taking these preliminary steps
an advertiser decreases the risk of having any
interpreted as spam. If, in submitting information for
purpose, the advertiser intends to use the submitted
inferred data for any mailings, there should be
language indicating so. Furthermore, persons submitting
must be given the choice to "Opt-Out"; that is, to choose
submit the data but NOT receive any advertisements. A
course of action is for the advertiser to configure
data-gathering so "Opt-Out" is the default; that is,
ensure that any members of the list have made a
effort to get onto said list. In nearly all cases,
having a "check-box" available with the

"Please send me E-Mail advertisements
announcements about your products."

is sufficient

It is crucial that advertisers be aware that
jurisdictions deal with the collection of personal
differently - the burden of verification of these laws
on the advertisers. For additional information on privacy
refer to Appendix B of this document

B.

When maintaining a list where names can be submitted via
type of public or semi-public resource, such as a website
advertisers should take steps to verify every subscription

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that list. There are key pieces of data that can be used
verify the integrity of a particular subscription request
but the only person who can attest to the genuineness of
actual act of subscribing is the owner of the E-Mail
which has been submitted

To protect themselves from the risk of inadvertently
an unsuspecting recipient, advertisers should
confirm any submission. In doing so, advertisers can
all requirements for responsible confirmation of a
request. In addition, if a person's E-Mail address has
submitted to a list without the knowledge or permission of
owner of that E-mail address, immediate notification of that
and the receipt of supporting data, enables the owner of
account to act accordingly to protect their account from
wrongdoing

When generating confirmations, the following information
be provided to the subscriber

- the E-Mail address

- the manner in which it was
(website or mailing list address

- the Date and Time of the subscription
(via NTP, for uniformity in future reference

- the IP Address of the host which
the

- the full headers of the subscription
(where applicable, such as mailing lists

- the Name, website address, and contact E-
address of the

- instructions to the recipient as to how
permanently remove themselves from the

In addition, a well-represented business will make an
to communicate this material in a way which the
recipient can understand and relate to, such as the
example [11]:

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

- - - - - - C O N F I R M A T I O N - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thank you for your interest in Widget Sales

This is confirmation of your subscription request for
Widget Sales E-mail list

You are currently subscribed with this address

foo@bar.

Your request was received via our website

http://www.example.com/input.

If you did not submit this request, someone may
submitted it for you, or may be pretending to be you

If you wish to be removed from this list, Reply to
message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE as the body of
message

If you feel you were added to the list without
permission, the information below should be forwarded
your ISP's Administrative staff for follow-up, with
explanation of your concern

As stated in RFC-2635, "you can do this by sending
to "Postmaster@your-site.example". Your postmaster should
an expert at reading mail headers and will be able to tell
the originating address is forged. He or she may be able
pinpoint the real culprit and help close down the site.
your postmaster wants to know about unsolicited mail, be
s/he gets a copy, including headers. You will need to
out the local policy and comply."

Widget Sales, Inc. | http://www.example.
Responsible Internet | info@example.
Marketing - Made Easy! | cust-serv@example.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Submission Information

Request received for foo@bar.example from 192.168.0.1
06:41:55:13(GMT) on 07.03.1999

http://www.example.com/input.

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E-Mail headers follow

Received: from 01.anytown.dialup.example.
([192.168.0.1]) by adshost.example.
(FooBarMail v01.01.01.01 111-111) with
id <19990703054206.VDQL6023@77.anytown.dialup.example.net
for ; Sat, 3 July 1999 01:41:55 +0000
From: Customer To: mail-list@example.
Subject: Submission
Date: Sat, 03 July 1999 01:41:55 -0400
Organization: Zem & Zem Bedding Company, Inc
Reply-To: foo@bar.
Message-ID: X-Mailer: FooBarMail HTTPMailer Extension 1.0.532
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-

C.

Advertisers should be advised of certain measures they can
to protect themselves. Frequently, and especially when
traffic on a particular mailing list is low, a subscriber
forget that they had requested membership on that list. When
new message is sent and subsequently received, said
may lodge a complaint of spamming. If this situation
multiplied by several recipients, the advertiser and/or
risks losing their Internet access, even if they have
responsibly throughout the process

For this reason, advertisers should keep an archive of
submission requests which are received. This archive should
kept as diligently as the advertiser's operational data,
should be similarly safeguarded. Having such requests
will protect the advertisers from any reports of spamming
whether they are malicious, or the result of a
misunderstanding. For reasons that should be obvious,
messages should remain archived for a period that lasts
LEAST as long as the list remains active. While this is
necessarily a requirement for responsible behavior, it is
measure of safety for the responsible advertiser

8. Irresponsible

Shotgunning a message doesn't really work in any medium, but it
much easier to do with the Internet than with paper mail or
solicitations. The steps which have been provided in this paper

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

assist the advertiser in creating a favorable environment for
work; in ensuring that they maintain a responsible presence on
Internet; and in targeting the types of customer and the methods
be used to reach those potential customers. Given these steps,
are some actions which should be avoided as the basis for
Responsible advertising presence on the Internet

DON'T advertise money-making opportunities that can, in any way,
construed as Pyramid or Ponzi schemes. (For information
those types of "investments", refer to Appendix A.1 of
document.)

DON'T forge E-mail headers to make it look as if the
originate from anywhere other than where they really originate.
domain owners have won litigation against advertisers who have
their domain name in an effort to conceal their true identity
[12][13][14]

DON'T send out any sort of bogus message to "cover" the
activity, which is advertising. In other words, don't pretend that
personal message from the advertiser to someone else was sent to
mailing list by mistake so that the body of that message can be
to advertise, as in this example

Dear Tony - had a great time at lunch yesterday. Per
request, here's the information on the latest widget
promised [...].

DON'T use overly-general statements such as "Our research
you're interested in our product." Most recipients know this
usually a bogus claim. Use of it can rob any legitimacy that
advertisement may hold

DON'T create mailing lists from third party sources (see Section 6;
Part D of this document, above).

DON'T SELL MAILING LISTS!!!

Enough negativity! Now for some helpful suggestions

9. Responsible

DO create a lively signature which tells the minimum about
product/service. But keep it to 4 lines total (four lines is
maximum recommended length for signatures).

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

DO participate in mailing lists and newsgroups which discuss
related to the particular product/service. Advertisers will
people of a similar interest there and many potential customers.
long as an advertiser isn't offensive in their interactions
these groups they can find their participation quite rewarding

DO ask people if they want to be part of any mailing list that
created. Advertisers must be clear about their intentions of
they plan to use the list and any other information that
collected

DO tell people how list data has been gathered. If recipients
signed up from a web page, make sure the prospective recipient
aware that they will be getting mail. Many web pages have
mail selected as default. Our recommendation is that the default
that recipients do NOT wish to receive mailings - even if
prospective recipients find an advertiser's site of interest

DO respect the privacy of customers. Keep a mailing list private
For an advertiser to sell a mailing list is not responsible
ethical. In addition, if offering any type of online transactions
advertisers should take care to encrypt any sensitive information
addresses of the list members should never be viewable by the
recipients, to protect your list members' privacy

DO take steps to safeguard all of the personal information that
being taken from customers, such as Credit Card or other
information. Provide honest information regarding the methods
used to protect the customer's data

DO let recipients know how to remove themselves from a mailing list
Advertisers should make this as easy as possible, and place
instructions in every message sent

DO let people know for what purpose any data is being collected
Advertisers must ensure that their plans regarding data
are legal

Advertisers and Sellers can check with the web site of the
Business Bureau, which operates in the United States and Canada
(www.bbb.org) This organization has several programs and
which can help advertisers in those countries, and has
resources which will benefit advertisers of any nationality

"Advertisers should advertise responsibly the better mousetrap
have built, and the world will beat a path to their E-mail address."

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

10. Security

This memo offers suggestions for responsible advertising
that can be used via the Internet. It does not raise or
security issues, but special attention should be paid to the
on "Privacy". While not strictly a network security consideration
privacy considerations can have legal ramifications that
special attention

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

Most readers of this document are probably aware as to why "Pyramid
or "Ponzi" schemes are fraudulent, and in most places, criminal
Appendix "A" describes how these schemes work and some of the
inherent in their operation and participation

For a topical review of Privacy law across multiple jurisdictions
including several sovereign nations, Appendix "B" provides
resources for advertisers or other interested parties

A.1 The classic

In the classic Pyramid scheme, there is a list of a few people.
participant sends money to one or all of them, and then shifts
person off the list and adds their own name. The participant
sends the same message to N people....

The idea is that when a recipient's name gets to the special place
the list (usually at the "top" of the pyramid), they will get lots
money. The problem is that this only works for everyone if there
an infinite number of people available

As an example, examine a message with a list of four people
each participant sends US$5.00 to each; removes the first name,
adds their own name at the bottom. There may also be some
encouraging the participants to send "reports" to people who
money. Presume the rules encourage the participants to send out
of copies until they each get ten direct responses, 100 second
responses, etc., and claim there is a guarantee that the
will earn lots of money fast if they follow the procedure

First, some person or group has to have started this. When they did
they were able to specify all four names so it was probably
people working together to split any profits they might get
being the top of the pyramid (or maybe they sent out four versions
the original letter with their name order rotated). In some cases
all names on the list have been proven to be the same person
operating under assumed business names

While the letters that accompany these things usually have all
of language about following the instructions exactly, the
rational thing for a dishonest participant to do if they decided
participate in such a thing would be to

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

(1) send no money to anyone else;

(2) find three other people and replace all the names
the list

But, presume that not just this participant, but everyone who
participates decides to follow the "rules". To avoid the start-
transient, assume that it starts with one name on the list and
the next three layers of people, one name gets added and only
the list is up to four does any participant start dropping the "top
name

What does this look like after nine levels if everything
perfectly? The following table shows, for nine levels, how
people have to participate, what each person pays out, gets in,
nets

Level People Out In
1 1 0 $55,550 $55,550
2 10 $5 $55,550 $55,545
3 100 $10 $55,550 $55,540
4 1,000 $15 $55,550 $55,535
5 10,000 $20 $55,550 $55,530
6 100,000 $20 $5,550 $5,530
7 1,000,000 $20 $550 $530
8 10,000,000 $20 $50 $30
9 100,000,000 $20 0 -20

So if this scheme ever progressed this far (which is
unlikely) over 10,000 people would have made the "guaranteed
$50,000. In order to do that, one hundred million people (or
ten thousand times as many) are out twenty dollars. And it can'
continue because the scheme is running out of people. Level 10
take one billion people, all of whom have $20 to submit,
probably don't exist. Level 11 would take ten billion, more
than exist on the earth

Pyramid schemes are _always_ like this. A few people who start
may make money, only because the vast majority lose money.
who participate and expect to make any money, except possibly
who start it, are being defrauded; for this reason, such schemes
illegal in many countries

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

A.2 What about Ponzi

A Ponzi scheme is very similar to a pyramid except that all of
money goes through a single location. This method of
fraud is named after Charles Ponzi, a Boston,
"businessman" who claimed to have discovered a way to earn
returns on money by buying international postal reply coupons
redeeming them in postage for more than their cost.
"investors" in this scheme did get their promised return
investment, but with money that later investors were investing
Ponzi was actually doing nothing with the money other than
his own income from it, and paying latter investors' money to
investors

Notice the similarity to early pyramid participants, who "earn"
from the later participants

Just as pyramids always collapse, Ponzi schemes always collapse also
when the new people and new money run out. This can have
consequences. People in Albania died and much of that country'
savings were squandered when huge Ponzi schemes that "seemed" to
partly backed by the government collapsed

A.3 So all multi-levels are evil

No, all multi-level systems are not the same, nor are they
"evil".

If what is moving around is just money and maybe "reports" or
like that are very cheap to produce, then almost certainly it is
criminal scam. If there are substantial goods and/or services
sold through a networked tier-system at reasonable prices, it is
likely to be legitimate

If the advertisement says participants can make money "fast", "easy
or "guaranteed", be very suspicious. If it says participants may
able to make money by putting in lots of hard work over many
but there is no guarantee, then it may be legitimate. As always,
it seems "too good to be true", it probably is

If people are paid to recruit "members" or can "buy" a high "level",
it is almost certainly a criminal scam. If people are paid only
the sale of substantial goods and/or services, it is more likely
be legitimate

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RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

It may also be worthwhile to look at the history of the
and its founders/leaders. The longer it has been around, the
likely it is to continue being around. If its founders or
have a history of fraud or crime, a person should think
carefully before being part of it

B.1 Why Web Privacy

Directories, lists or other collection sources of personal data
the current informational "gold rush" for Internet Marketers. In
United States and other countries, there is no explicit guarantee
personal privacy. Such a right, under current legislation,
little chance against certain electronic technologies. Some
of the global community have expressed concern regarding
intrusion into their personal privacy. Still, the collection
sale of such information abounds

Self-regulation by businesses utilizing the Internet is the
choice of legislators, commercial websites, and Internet aficionados

However, the anticipated profit to be made by selling personal
and by using these lists for advertisement purposes, often
self-regulation

United States Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Minority member of
Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate (at the time of
writing of this document) states very succinctly why we
respect Internet Privacy

"Good privacy policies make good business policies.
technologies bring with them new opportunities, both
the businesses that develop and market them, and
consumers. It does not do anyone any good for
to hesitate to use any particular technology because
have concerns over privacy. That is why I believe
good privacy policies make good business policies."

The Center for Democracy and Technology suggests Five Conditions
websites should use to be considerate of individual's rights
privacy

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 23]

RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

- Notice of Data

- Choice to Opt

- Access to Data to rectify

- Adequate Security of Information

- Access to contact persons representing the data

Notice that the practice of data collection authorization can
accomplished using something as simple as an automated response E
Mail message. Such notices should contain easily
information about the collecting party's identity, and
as to how a customer can remove themselves from the
population. This will help assure prospective customers that
advertiser is a business of integrity

Businesses that pursue international trade (do business
national boundaries, overseas, etc...) bear the risk of facing
prosecution for personal privacy violations. The
Communities have legislation for the flow of Personal Information
If an advertiser is interested in pursuing business interests
borders, and particularly if a business intends to solicit and/
share Personal Information, the advertiser/seller must be able
guarantee the same privacy considerations as a foreign counterpart
or as a business operating in the nation in which the advertiser
soliciting/performing their business

Other countries and their legislation are shown below

Germany - BundesDatenSchutzGesetz (BDSG

France - Commision nationale de l'informatique et
libertes (CNIL

UK - Data Protection Act (DPA

Netherlands - Wet PersoonsRegistraties (WPR

Australia - Privacy Act of 1998 (OECD DAta
Guidelines

Canada - The Personal Information Protection
Electronic Documents

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 24]

RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

[1] Hambridge, S. and A. Lunde, "DON'T SPEW: A Set of Guidelines
Mass Unsolicited Mailings and Postings (spam*)", FYI 35,
2635, June 1999.

[2] Internet Spam / UCE Survey #1.
http://www.survey.net/spam1r.html, July 24, 1997.

[3] ISPs and Spam: the impact of spam on customer retention
acquisition. Gartner Group, San Jose, CA. June 14, 1999. Pg. 7.

[4] CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc., No. C2-96-1070 (S.D
Ohio Oct. 24, 1996) (temporary restraining order) [WWW],
preliminary injunction entered, 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S.D.
Feb. 3, 1997) [WWW | Lexis | Westlaw], final consent order
(E.D. Pa. May 9, 1997)[WWW].

http://www.leepfrog.com/E
Law/Cases/CompuServe_v_Cyber_Promo.
http://www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/cs-cp2.
http://www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/cs-cp3.

[5] America Online, Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc., No. 96-462 (E.D
Va. complaint filed Apr. 8, 1996) [WWW] (
consolidated with Cyber Promotions' action filed in E.D. Pa.).

[6] Cyber Promotions, Inc. v. America Online, Inc., C.A. No. 96-
2486, 1996 WL 565818 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 5, 1996) (
restraining order) [WWW | Westlaw], rev'd (3d Cir. Sept. 20,
1996), partial summary judgment granted, 948 F. Supp. 436 (E.D
Pa. Nov. 4, 1996) (on First Amendment issues) [WWW | Lexis |
Westlaw], reconsideration denied, 948 F. Supp. 436, 447 (Dec
20, 1996) [WWW | Lexis | Westlaw], temporary restraining
denied, 948 F. Supp. 456 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 26, 1996) (on
claim) [WWW | Lexis | Westlaw], settlement entered (E.D. Pa
Feb. 4, 1997) [NEWS.COM report].

[7] America Online, Inc. v. Over the Air Equipment, Inc. (E.D. Va
complaint filed Oct. 2, 1997) [WWW] [NEWS.COM report],
preliminary injunction entered (Oct. 31, 1997) [NEWS.
report], settlement order entered (Dec. 18, 1997) [Wired
report].

[8] America Online, Inc. v. Prime Data Worldnet Systems (E.D. Va
complaint filed Oct. 17, 1997) [WWW] [NEWS.COM report].

[9] Steiner, P. "New Yorker". July 5, 1993. p.61.

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 25]

RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

[10] Spam slam -- opt-in e-mail gains favor
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2267565,00.html
May 28, 1999.

[11] Eastlake, D., Manros, C. and E. Raymond, "Etymology of 'Foo'",
RFC 3092, April 2001.

[12] Parker, Zilker Internet Park, Inc., Parker, Rauch,
Internet Service Providers Association & EFF-Austin v. C.N
Enterprises & Craig Nowak [WWW]. Available
http://www.rahul.net/falk/zilkerjudge.

[13] Parker, Zilker Internet Park, Inc., Parker, Rauch,
Internet Service Providers Association & EFF-Austin v. C.N
Enterprises & Craig Nowak [WWW]. Available
http://www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/flowers3.

[14] WebSystems v. Cyberpromotions, Inc and Sanford Wallace [WWW].
Available: http://www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/websys1.

Authors'

Ted
Nachman Hays Consulting, Inc
822 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 204
Narberth, PA 19072

EMail: tedgavin@newsguy.

Donald E. Eastlake 3

155 Beaver
Milford, MA 01757

EMail: Donald.Eastlake@motorola.

Sally
Intel
2200 Mission College
Santa Clara, CA 95052

EMail: sallyh@ludwig.sc.intel.

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 26]

RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

Acknowledgements and Significant

JC
jcdill@vo.cnchost.

Barbara
Sandia National

Albert
Northwestern

April
Internet Engines, Inc

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 27]

RFC 3098 Advertising Responsibly April 2001

Full Copyright

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved

This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied,
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph
included on all such copies and derivative works. However,
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other
English

The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns

This document and the information contained herein is provided on
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE

Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by
Internet Society

Gavin, et al. Informational [Page 28]

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