Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. Many small legitimate business owners rely on opt in newsletters to communicate with people who are interested in learning more about what they do. Our services are of great benefit to many, many people in this country and throughout the world. Granted there are unscruplous businesses that use email to communicate with anyone and everyone they can find. MOST legitimate businesses are NOT in this category. They pride themselves in using newsletters to provide valuable and helpful information to people who are interested in learning more about their services and knowledge. We only send email to those who've asked to receive it. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to publishers who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. They are not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. There's also the potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. On top of that, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. I was quite surprised at the potential problems this ruling could involve, and urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems. About PO Box. I am a small business owner working from a home office. I own two California corporations. I use a PO Box because I don't feel comfortable having my home address on the web. I do not want people to know where I live. Would you want people to know where you live? I'm not hiding my identity in any way. My subscribers can call me, email me, fax me, mail information to me. I am very available...I just don't want people to know where I live! About friends passing information along to others. The web provides a wonderful service of allowing information to be shared freely. People who read my newsletter often forward it to friends and colleagues they think will be interested in my services. It's the same as a person telling another person about a store in the next town they might be interested in. Do not limit this source of expansion for small businesses! Based on some of the current opt in requirements, some of my clients (who have already purchased materials and services from me) accidentally opt-out...then they wonder why they aren't getting the materials they've paid for. For the average person, understanding these rules and guidelines are impossible! Why do they care? If they want my services, they shouldn't have to go through a maze to get what they've paid for. Please do not make this more complex than it already is. If you can simplify it...and make it user friendly to customers and small legitimate business owners all the better. Thanks you. Respectfully, Carol McClelland - President of two corporations (we have two officers and one employee) California, United States