Re: [Asrg] 3. Requirements Document

[Jonathan Morton <chromi@chromatix.demon.co.uk>]

> >  1.3.27    Opt-In (RCD)
> > 1.3.28    Opt-Out (RCD)
> Are we looking for a way to have a machine-readable proof of "opt in" 
> and "opt out" here or does this refer to the transaction that happens 
> between the human receiver and sender? Also, would "consenting" to 
> something imply "opt in" and non-consent or revoking consent imply 
> "opt out"?
I think that section of the document is attempting to define terms.  
With that in mind, I'll see if I can supply some possibly-appropriate 
text here:

-- snip --

1.3.27 Opt-In

An opt-in communication is one which the recipient has explicitly 
requested.  For example, most e-commerce websites will provide a 
checkbox when asking for personal information, which indicates your 
willingness to receive marketing information from them (and, in 
practice, their immediate associates).  For contrast with "double 
opt-in" as described below, this practice is sometimes referred to as 
"single opt-in".

NB: many e-commerce forms have the checkbox ticked by default, and 
require you to manually unset it before submitting the form.  This 
barely qualifies as opt-in - some parties may legitimately feel that it 
qualifies as an opt-out system.

Mailing lists, as commonly used for announcements and discussions, 
typically operate a "double opt-in" system.  This is designed to verify 
that the e-mail address given by the subscriber actually belongs to 
him, and therefore that the subscriber is in a position to opt-in for 
that address.

Double opt-in is a standard feature of mailing list software, such as 
Mailman and Majordomo, and is normally enabled by default.  It is 
widely accepted that double opt-in is the strongest way to preserve 
privacy in a bulk-communications environment.

Typically, personal and business e-mail conversations can be considered 
as opt-in communications - normally, one party will invite the other by 
either online or offline means.  It is normally expected, as a matter 
of common courtesy, that a simple business conversation is not 
considered opting-in for indiscriminate marketing material, or similar.


1.3.28 Opt-Out

An opt-out communication is one where the recipient's address is sent 
mail without their explicit consent, but which contains language 
similar to "to remove yourself from this list and stop receiving 
communication from XYZ Corp, do this".

The biggest problem with this model is that there are literally 
thousands of entities who might want to send unsolicited information, 
and the recipient must explicitly say "go away" to each and every one 
of them.  There cannot be any reasonable expectation that recipients 
can keep up with this system.

Many of these entities will, additionally, interpret the opt-out 
request as confirmation of a "live" address, and even if they comply 
with the request themselves, may pass on the address to other 
unsolicited-mail senders.

--------------------------------------------------------------
from:     Jonathan "Chromatix" Morton
mail:     chromi@chromatix.demon.co.uk
website:  http://www.chromatix.uklinux.net/
tagline:  The key to knowledge is not to rely on people to teach you it.


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