Is it illegal to do this?

[billybatz9]

Someone forgot to BCC the email list when sending to about 1200 people and it so all happens to be from a site that is in my particular niche lol so now, I have access to 1200 emails....

Is it illegal to send all 1200 people an inv to my forum? I don't want to get in trouble for doing it. You know?

The website it's coming from is almost like an online store for my niche. So it's not my competitor or anything.

 

[DRE]

http://www.infront.com/blogs/the-infront-blog/2011/12/27/the-can-spam-act-in-plain-english

 

[DRE]

http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/internetmarketingandseo/a/tips-unsolictemail.htm

 

[billybatz9]

Thanks... Thank god I asked before I did anything lol

 

[DRE]

From what I read, spam is legal, as long as you provide unsubscribe options, and your name and mailing address.

 

[billybatz9]

From what I read, spam is legal, as long as you provide unsubscribe options, and your name and mailing address.

That's what I read from the second link. But the first link doesn't say that lol. Yikes, this one has me thinking whether I should or not. Fined $300 per email is crazy! L ol

 

[DRE]

Go ahead and do it but only email a couple folks at a time.

 

[DRE]

Don't do it from your domain, use an API. Less likely to get banned or sent to their spam folder that way.

 

[billybatz9]

Go ahead and do it but only email a couple folks at a time.

Yeah, thanks for the advice. Quick question.. What does 8thos stand for? Lol is it a name u just came up with?

 

[TPerry]

Either a "take" on
Athos: one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology
or
ethos: Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology

I'd lean toward the second.

 

[RickM]

Illegal? Probably not.
Right? No way.

Seriously - those people didn't ask you to contact them, so don't. Nobody likes spam and anyone with half a brain will simply delete it and put them off ever visiting your site.

Email is a very personal thing, and when someone starts sending you stuff you didn't ask for their immediate thought is "how the hell did this ass get my email address?" - at that point they (rightly) hate you.

Personally I'd report you to Spamcop if you emailed me without asking. There's no need for it.

I've taken to charging spammers. Legally I can charge you for every unsolicited email you send me. A few cases have gone to small claims court and the user always wins. I had this problem with EKMPowerstore -they started spamming me and I'd never signed up for anything. I then informed them that as of X date they would be charged £150 per email. I never got another email from them.

 

[DRE]

Yeah, thanks for the advice. Quick question.. What does 8thos stand for? Lol is it a name u just came up with?

ethos: Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology

I'd lean toward the second.

Yep!

This is from our about page and noob intro greeting thread:

8thos is a mostly private entertainment forum with blogs, chat, arcade, and galleries. Some of us are artists, writers, musicians and photographers who have joined with the common goal of sharing our works and helping others copyright their own. The number 8 comes from 8th Commandment: The Shalt Not Steal. We're just chilling, having fun, sharing our creative works and trying to escape boredom. That's our Ethos.

 

[billybatz9]

Illegal? Probably not.
Right? No way.

Seriously - those people didn't ask you to contact them, so don't. Nobody likes spam and anyone with half a brain will simply delete it and put them off ever visiting your site.

Email is a very personal thing, and when someone starts sending you stuff you didn't ask for their immediate thought is "how the hell did this ass get my email address?" - at that point they (rightly) hate you.

Personally I'd report you to Spamcop if you emailed me without asking. There's no need for it.

I've taken to charging spammers. Legally I can charge you for every unsolicited email you send me. A few cases have gone to small claims court and the user always wins. I had this problem with EKMPowerstore -they started spamming me and I'd never signed up for anything. I then informed them that as of X date they would be charged £150 per email. I never got another email from them.

Great post. Thank you
I am thinking about replying with that message when someone spams me. But I am scared they might throw my email into a place where all spam bots grab your email lol