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'1' Summary: 12 errors (**), 0 flaws (~~), 1 warning (==), 3 comments (--). Run idnits with the --verbose option for more detailed information about the items above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 IETF RUN Working Group Sally Hambridge / Intel 3 draft-ietf-run-adverts-00.txt Donald Eastlake 3rd 4 March 1998 6 $$$$$ MAKE ENEMIES FAST $$$$$ 7 or 8 How to Advertise Responsibly Using the Internet 10 Abstract 12 Contrary to popular belief, the Internet did not spring 13 fully-clothed from Zeus's head, but it did grow like kudzu. This 14 growth engendered a large new user population some of whom are 15 more than willing to use the Internet in ways for which it was 16 never intended. This seems to be especially true about people 17 who are new to the Internet and see it as the perfect advertising 18 vehicle. Those people are sure to "make enemies fast" by sending 19 mass unsolicited mailing or posting advertisements heedlessly 20 to news groups. This document gives some guidelines and advice 21 about how to advertise responsibly using the Internet. 23 Status of this Memo 25 This document is an Internet Draft. Internet Drafts are working 26 documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its Areas, 27 and its Working Groups. Note that other groups may also distribute 28 working documents as Internet Drafts. 30 Internet Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six 31 months. Internet Drafts may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted 32 by other documents at any time. It is not appropriate to use 33 Internet Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than 34 as a "working draft" or "work in progress." 36 Please check the I-D abstract listing contained in each Internet Draft 37 directory to learn the current status of this or any other Internet 38 Draft. 40 It is intended that this document will be submitted to the IESG for 41 consideration as a standards document. Distribution of this document 42 is unlimited. 44 1. Introduction 46 A lot of the population which is new to the Internet think that the 47 Internet "old guard" (defined as anyone who was using the Internet 48 before the invention of web browsers) are diametrically opposed to 49 using the Internet for advertising. This is not true. But in 50 general, Internet culture opposes use of the network in irresponsible 51 ways and this usually includes people who advertise by sending 52 unsolicited information to Netnews groups and Internet mailing lists. 53 People who "spam" mailing lists and Netnews groups depend on the 54 cooperative nature of the Internet protocols as they were developed 55 during times when there were no Internet advertisers. The protocols 56 do not associate costs with volume of messages sent. Although it 57 makes the Internet an attractive medium for advertising (because it 58 seems cheap), it really shifts the cost from the sender to the 59 recipient. The recipient pays for connectivity, for the cost of 60 downloading the message, for disk space, and for the time needed to 61 deal with the mail. The sender bears a very small fraction of the 62 overall cost. This is why many Internet citizens have come to think 63 of receiving unsolicited mail as "theft of service". It has also come 64 to be called "Internet Pollution." 66 There is money to be made through Internet advertising (although 67 surveys show that selling stuff on the Internet is not as rewarding as 68 selling routers and network connections - as it was more rewarding 69 during the Gold Rush in California to sell shovels and Levis(R).) 70 This document recommends ways to advertise on the Internet which will 71 not engender hate-mail or threats of law-suits. It does not guarantee 72 freedom from those things, but it should reduce the volume of any 73 complaints you might receive to a level with which most humans can 74 cope. 76 2. Caveats 78 Even though it is financially attractive to advertise via mass 79 unsolicited mail or by mass postings to netnews, AVOID THIS 80 TEMPTATION. You may make money. You make get some interested 81 customers. You may expand your business. But you will alienate 82 hundreds to thousands of people. You will damage your credibility. 83 You may even lose your connectivity. Advertising on the Internet 84 means taking responsibility for the persona you create. If you are 85 going to be Dr. Frankenstein and create a monster, you MUST take 86 responsibility for the actions of and reactions to that monster. 87 Remember the Golden Rule (and in this case we do not mean the version 88 which states "he who has the gold makes the rule"): treat others as 89 you want to be treated. Also, think about what would happen if 90 everyone on the Internet mass mailed everyone else on the Internet. 92 It is important for the Internet advertiser to maintain a quality 93 reputation for fairness, honesty, and integrity. This is dictated by 94 the rate at which both information and misinformation travel on the 95 Internet. If you get a reputation for being unfair, dishonest, or 96 slimey DESERVED OR NOT it will take a very long time for you to 97 overcome the stigma. With this in mind, you MUST NOT in any way forge 98 information in messages you send or in information you post. Changing 99 the information about yourself or the machines which handle your 100 traffic in ways which obscure your true identity (forging) is now 101 illegal in several jurisdictions and people have been successfully 102 prosecuted. Illegal or not, don't do it if you want to maintain your 103 spotless reputation. 105 It is also unethical to use network resources of another party or 106 person without their express permission. You MUST NOT send mail 107 through a mail host which belongs to anyone else without their 108 permission (mail relaying). 110 Be very careful in soliciting information from people on the Internet. 111 As the saying goes, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" [1]. 112 You will not be able to tell from whom you are collecting information 113 and they may not be a legal adult with complete discretionary and 114 plenipotentiary power. In other words, you may be dealing with a 115 six-year old. Or a dog. 117 Let people know you are collecting data and what you plan to do with 118 the information you are collecting. Remember that the laws on what is 119 legal to collect vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and make sure 120 you understand these legal implications. 122 Finally, as words to live by, if you're not sure what you are planning 123 to do is bad, it probably is so don't do it. 125 3. Know your target audience 127 There are two parts to knowing your target audience: the first is to 128 actually TARGET the audience; and the second is getting to KNOW the 129 audience. As simple as this sounds, it seems as if most Internet 130 advertisers don't bother with either step. 132 One feels that it should be obvious to all that marketing an idea, 133 goods, or services should be targeted at an audience which is 134 receptive to them. Shotgunning your message doesn't really work in 135 any medium, but is much easier to do with the Internet than with paper 136 mail or telephone solicitations. Just because you (as an advertiser) 137 don't pay an immediate fee for sending out unsolicited ads doesn't 138 mean you pay nothing. You will pay in poor response time, in being 139 mail-bombed, in having your account pulled by your Internet Service 140 Provider, and in having your ISP's network "black-holed" by other 141 sites trying to stem the tide of unsolicited stuff. All of this is 142 costly in time, if not in actual currency. All this cost could be 143 avoided if you take the time to figure out WHO really needs to see 144 your message. Do your research! Find out WHICH Netnews groups are 145 discussing topics in your area of interest; use the search engines 146 such as Yahoo, Lycos, and AltaVista to determine how other people have 147 selected their audiences or set up appropriate web sites. BUT DO NOT 148 BUY A MAILING LIST AND/OR MAILING LIST SOFTWARE AND BROADCAST YOUR 149 MESSAGE WILLY-NILLY TO ALL. This is not a good thing. Target your 150 audience. 152 Now that you know WHO should receive your message, find out HOW they 153 prefer to receive it. Many many mailing lists and Netnews groups hate 154 loathe and abhor unsolicited ads of any kind. Others are receptive to 155 ads for items which relate to the discussion at hand. Others may have 156 a special methodology they wish advertisers to follow, such as asking 157 the moderator for permission, or the moderator may prefer to cumulate 158 all ads, and post a periodic digest of them. The list or group may 159 have a FAQ (a list of Frequently Asked Questions) in which their 160 policy is stated. Be sure to read and comply. In order to discover 161 how your audience is going to respond, it is a good practice to 162 actually READ the postings of the group (or list) for two full months 163 BEFORE you post anything. Two months seems like an eternity in 164 Internet time, but in that two month period, you will learn what you 165 need to know about the group to guarantee you don't violate any of 166 their rules. And during that time if YOU should receive any 167 unsolicited ads, see how YOU feel about them. Hate them? Good! 168 Don't send them! 170 4. Can't wait for eternity? 172 Your need is immediate. You don't have two months you can wait. What 173 should you do? You may begin to advertise your goods and services 174 immediately if you choose "passive" methods to do so rather than 175 actively sending messages or posts. 177 Why not buy advertising space on an existing World Wide Web site? 178 Many sites on the World Wide Web support themselves by selling space 179 for advertisers. This method has several advantages: it's probably 180 cheaper than putting up your own site (Caveat: Your Milage May Vary); 181 You are using resources which already exist (recycling is a Good 182 Thing); Depending on the site from which you advertise your ad may be 183 specifically targetted at the most receptive audience ( a Very Good 184 Thing). Your message could become part of a larger context supporting 185 free email accounts, free Internet access, or even broadcast news. 187 Alternatively, you can put up your own web site. There are many 188 companies who design and host web sites for businesses of every size 189 and type. They will be able to get you through the decisions of 190 whether or not you resigter as your own domain or use the domain name 191 of your service provider/host. They will be able to make 192 recommendations about the equipment needed, and give you 7x24 (that's 193 7 days by 24 hours - full coverage) support and do regular backups. 195 Keep your site fresh by making sure your information is up to date, 196 and that any links you may have to other sites are correct. (Of 197 course, you should ask a site for permission before linking to it.) 198 Put your product information in easy-to-read and easy-to-find format. 199 The latest wizzy technology is never the lowest common denominator, so 200 decide where your site falls in this spectrum. 202 Make sure you understand any legal ramifications of advertising your 203 products. Certain jurisdictions frown on content which is sexually 204 oriented while others don't care. Make sure you understand the 205 implications of World Wide advertising before entering the fray, 206 including trademarks and copyrights. 208 No matter what method you choose to use on the Web, there are a few 209 more caveats about customer interactions: first, make sure your 210 contact information - name, phone, email address - are all clear and 211 available; second, be careful in creating forms which gather 212 information about your customers as there is concern in the U.S. 213 about gathering information from minors without parental consent AND 214 there is concern about grabbing use information via persistent state 215 information; third, if you DO gather information about people and plan 216 to use it for marketing in any way be VERY clear to specify your plans 217 as people sign up. 219 5. No, mail really is the answer 221 You can't afford a Web site or even to advertise on other sites, and 222 mailing your information is about your only option. Here are some 223 DOs and DON'Ts. First, the DON'Ts. DON'T forge your mail headers 224 to make it look as if your messages orginate from anywhere other than 225 where they really originate. DON'T send out any sort of bogus message 226 to "cover" your intended activity. In other words, don't pretend that 227 a personal message from you to someone else was sent to a mailing list 228 by mistake so that you can use the body of that message to advertise. 230 Dear Tony - had a great time a lunch yesterday. Per your request, 231 here's the information on the latest widget I promised - blah blah 232 blah. 234 DON'T use aggravating headers such as "Our research shows you're 235 interested in our product." Most of your recipients know this is 236 usually a bogus claim. DON'T create mailing lists from third party 237 sources. Many folks out there create mailing lists from addresses 238 which they have gathered in mildly to extremely unethical ways. Many 239 of these list-makers rely on grabbing volumes of addresses without 240 checking their legitimacy. In other words, they send out software 241 robots to grab addresses they find in News or Mailing List archives 242 which may be many years old! People change jobs, change ISPs, change 243 everything about themselves over time and trusting a third party for a 244 mailing list is just not wise. That third party may even have created 245 a mailing list from email eddresses of people who have asked to be 246 REMOVED from their mailing lists. They then sell these lists to poor 247 unsuspecting folks who think they're getting a list of people who will 248 welcome the unsolicited information. 250 Enough negativity! DO create a lively signature which tells the 251 minimum about your product/service. But keep it to 4 lines total. DO 252 participate in mailing lists and newsgroups which discuss topics 253 related to your product/service. You will find folks of a similar 254 interest there and many potential customers. So long as you aren't an 255 obnoxious jerk in your interactions with these groups you will find 256 your participation quite rewarding. DO ask people if they want to be 257 part of any mailing list you create. Be clear about your intentions 258 of how you plan to use the list and any other information you collect. 259 DO tell people how you gathered your list data. If they've signed up 260 from a web page, make sure they know they will be getting mail. Many 261 web pages have getting mail selected as default. Our recommendation 262 should be that the default should be that they do NOT wish to receive 263 mailings - even if they find your site of interest. DO keep your list 264 to yourself. Selling it would not be ethical. DO let people know how 265 to get off your list. Make this as easy as possible, DO let people 266 know what you plan to do with any data you collect. Make sure that 267 what you plan to do is legal. 269 You can check with the web site of the Better Business Bureau which 270 operates in the U.S. and Canada. (www.bbb.org) They have several 271 programs and services which can help advertisers in those countries, 272 and have other resources which will benefit advertisers of any 273 nationality. 275 Advertise responsibly that better mousetrap you have built, and the 276 world will beat a path to your email address. 278 Appendicies 280 Most readers of this document probably already understand why 281 "Pyramid" or "Ponzi" schemes are fraudlent and, in most places, 282 criminal. However, for those who do not, the following is provided. 284 A.1 The classic pyramid 286 In the classic pryamid scheme, there is a list of a few people, you 287 send money to one or all of them, and then you shift that person off 288 the list and add your name to the list and send it to N people. The 289 idea is that when your name gets to the special place on the list, you 290 will get lots of money. The problem is that this only works for 291 everyone if there are an infinite number of people available. 293 As an example, lets look at a message with a list of four people where 294 you send five dollars to each, drop the top name, and add your name at 295 the bottom. There is probably also some stuff about sending "reports" 296 to people who send in money. And assume the rules encourage you to 297 send out lots of copies until you get ten direct responses, 100 second 298 level responses, etc., and claim there is a guarantee that you will 299 make lots of money fast if you follow the procedure. 301 First, note that someone or group has to have started this. When they 302 did, they got to specify all four names so it was probably four people 303 working together to split any profits they might get from being the 304 top of the pyramid (or maybe they send out four versions of the 305 original letter with their name order rotated). 307 And while the letters that accompany these things usually have all 308 kinds of junk in them about following the instructions exactly, the 309 most rational thing for you to do if you decided to participate in 310 such a thing, would be to (1) send no money to anyone else, and (2) 311 find three other people and replace all the names on the list. But 312 lets assume that not just you but everyone who ever participates 313 decides to follow the "rules" and to avoid the start up transient, 314 lets assume that it starts with one name on the list and for the next 315 three layers of people, a name gets added and only after the list is 316 up to four does everyone start dropping the top name. 318 What does this look like after nine levels if everything works 319 perfectly? The following table shows, for nine levels, how many 320 people have to participate, what each person pays out, gets in, and 321 nets. 323 Level People Out In Net 324 1 1 0 $55,550 $55,550 325 2 10 $5 $55,550 $55,545 326 3 100 $10 $55,550 $55,540 327 4 1,000 $15 $55,550 $55,535 328 5 10,000 $20 $55,550 $55,530 329 6 100,000 $20 $5,550 $5,530 330 7 1,000,000 $20 $550 $530 331 8 10,000,000 $20 $50 $30 332 9 100,000,000 $20 0 -20 334 So if this scheme ever got this far, which is pretty unlikely, over 335 10,000 people would have made the "guaranteed" over $50,000. But the 336 problem is that to do that, a hundred million people (or over ten 337 thousand times are many) are out twenty dollars. And it can't 338 continue because you are running out of people. Level 10 would take 339 a billion people all of whom have $20 to mail off, which probably 340 don't exist. Level 11 would take ten billion, more people than exist 341 on the earth. 343 Pyramid schemes are always like this. A few people who start them 344 may make money but only because the vast majority lose money. People 345 who particpate and expect to make any money, except possibly those 346 who start it, are being defrauded and for this reason such scheme are 347 illegal in many countries. 349 A.2 What about Ponzi? 351 A Ponzi scheme is very similar to a pyramid except that all the money 352 goes through a single location. They are named after a person in 353 Boston who claimed to have a way to earn huge returns on money by 354 buying international postal reply coupons and redeming them in 355 postage for more than their cost. Early "investors" in this scheme 356 did get paid, but only with money that later investors were putting 357 in. He was really doing nothing with the money other than living off 358 it and paying some of the new investors money out to old investors. 359 Just like early pyramid participants make make money off of later 360 ones. 362 Just as pyramids always collapse, Ponzi schemes always collapse also; 363 when the new people and new money run out. This can have serious 364 consequences. People died and much of the country's savings were 365 squandered when huge Ponzi schemes that seemed to be partly backed by 366 the government in Albania collapsed. 368 A.3 So all multi-levels are evil? 370 No, all multi-level systems are not the same. 372 If what you have moving around is just money and maybe "reports" or 373 the like that are very cheap to produce, then almost certainly it is 374 a criminal scam. If there are substantial goods and/or services 375 being sold through the system at reasonable prices, it is more likely 376 to be legitimate. 378 If it says you can make lots of money "fast," "easy" or "guaranteed," 379 be very suspicious. If it says you may be able to make lots of money 380 by putting in lots of hard work over many months but there is no 381 guarantee, then it may be OK. 383 If people are paid to recruit "members" or can "buy" a high "level", 384 it is almost certainly a criminal scam. If people are paid only for 385 the sale of substantial goods and/or services, it is more likely to 386 be legitimate. 388 It may also be worth your while to look at the history of the 389 organization and its founders/leaders. The longer it has been around, 390 the more likely it is to continue being around. If its founders or 391 leader have a history of fraud or crime, maybe you should think very 392 carefully before being part of it. 394 References 396 [1] Steiner, P. _New Yorker_. July 5, 1993. p.61. 398 Authors' Addresses 400 Sally Hambridge 401 Intel Corp 402 2200 Mission College Blvs 403 Santa Clara, CA 95052 404 sallyh@ludwig.sc.intel.com 406 Donald E. Eastlake 3rd 407 318 Acton Street 408 Carlisle, MA 01741 USA 409 dee@cybercash.com