Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 Dear Commissioners, It's true that very few people enjoy receiving emails from people they have no relationship with, be it personal or business. This legislation to control this unwanted practice is a good idea for everyone involved. More than anybody business people are keenly aware of how wrong spam is and it's damaging effect. Many legitimate businesses have suffered lost opportunities because of spammers. But, the proposal for businesses/marketers to maintain so-called "suppression lists" is fraught with potentially serious problems for businesses and consumers. Because of the way it could be interpreted or even abused, it's possible that many businesses would be forced to shut down because of the time and expense involved in maintaining these lists. Email recipients can choose to opt-out or unsubscribe from lists for various reasons known ONLY to them. They may have no problem with any product offer being presented in a commercial email but are leaving the list perhaps for any number of other reasons. Business people are not mind readers and therefore can never know exactly why someone has chosen to unsubscribe from their lists. Requiring "suppression lists" could damage legitimate businesses and their affiliate marketers, something that I'm sure was never your intent. In order to fully protect not only the email recipient/consumer but also the practices of legitimate business people, I would urge you to reconsider requiring businesses to maintain "suppression lists". The serious problems that will undoubtedly arise from this will end up hurting both consumers and small businesses. Sincerely & Respecfully, Patricia Kirkcaldy California USA