ANTI-SPAMMERS MEET DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION.

The pink lunchmeat apparently failed to hit the fan on Friday December 4, when representatives of the internet anti-spam community met with leaders of the Direct Marketing Association. These long-standing enemies came together to identify consensus recommendations for email marketing on the internet. The groups say they want to work together to reduce abuse of the internet by senders of unsolicited bulk email. After five grueling hours, the marketers and activists agreed to support legislation that would prohibit senders of commercial email from falsely identifying themselves; to acknowledge opt-in as the most successful targeting method for online marketers; and to work together to create a non-profit global opt-out list. This list would be supported by marketers and would be free to consumers, who could use it for a one-time global opt-out from unsolicited commercial email. More meetings are planned to put these consensus recommendations into action.