News Ltd: we would like to spam you

I was wondering how long until this kind of article was written. I was very interested in what The Punch will be doing, but bowed out after reading the TOS. Glad to know I’m not the only one.

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I can’t find their terms of service anywhere, but at http://www.thepunch.com.au it says “no spam, we hate it too” – can you provide a link to the TOS that apparently contradict this?

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Hi Jen,
If you enter your email address at the Punch’s website and hit submit, it will bring up the TOS in question.

Cheers,
Sarah

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They say no spam on the opening page, then once you enter your email and click through to read the fine print they explain in great detail how they expect to spam you. This is unprofessional and unethical and I believe deceptive practices like this will refelect extremely poorly on any new media project. They will get what they deserve.

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Hi Fitzroyalty,
See, this is the interesting thing. They *are* disclosing what they want to do with your information, so I’m not sure that the problem is one of deception It’s just that when I read the TOS, I don’t want to agree to having my information used like that. And the reaction is strong enough that I don’t subscribe. So yes, they’re getting what they deserve. I just wonder whether enough people will react as you and I have, and force them to change what they plan to do with our data.

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Hello mUmBRELLA readers,

I am part of the team that’s bringing The Punch to you, and yes, I have a totally vested interest in promoting, talking-up and generally advocating the goodness of The Punch to all and sundry – so there’s my disclaimer right upfront.

For those of you still with me, for Fitzroyalty to state “we would like to spam you” is just plain wrong.

Spam is unsolicited email – stuff you didn’t agree to. By accepting the terms and conditions, you are agreeing to being contacted about things that may appeal to you. By definition, it’s not spam.

Having said that, we know that some people prefer not to be exposed to new stuff that, unlike spam, is likely to appeal to their interests. So, unlike spam, in every piece of communication, as you’d expect, there is the option to unsubscribe. We’re not interested in spam, either by definition or intent – we’re busy people too and don’t appreciate irrelevant messages in our inboxes either.

Of course you can choose not to sign-up at all. That’s OK too, although it would be a shame. Given the choice between being part of the action, or sitting on the sidelines, I know where I’d rather be.

So, for those of you who have signed up – and I’m pleased to say there’s an awful lot of you – The Punch team is looking forward to having a long, entertaining and spam-free conversation with you on the website, via email, via twitter and any other channel you’d care to connect with us on.

Talk to you soon.

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I wanted to sign up to get info about the new site. That was the offer being made to me that I wanted to accept. The dishonest and manipulative thing News Ltd does here is bundle that into a general acceptance of marketing spam. I don’t want the whole package, I want ONLY what was offered – info about the new site. You know nothing about me and thus cannot offer me anything of interest. Your spin fools no one. You make taking the piss from the sidelines far too easy.

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ps your claim that there is an option to unsubscribe is FALSE – you make people call a phone number to opt out which is deliberately inconvenient.

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“Spam is unsolicited email – stuff you didn’t agree to. By accepting the terms and conditions, you are agreeing to being contacted about things that may appeal to you. By definition, it’s not spam.”

The technicalities will keep you out of legal trouble but forcing people to accept the Ts & Cs is hardly ‘opt-in’. How about instead of this ridiculous spin you actually address the problem and have a separate checkbox for opting in to receiving the marketing garbage – like 99% of other sites out there. Whats the matter – afraid that not enough people will opt in? Anyone who likes marketing in their inbox raise your hand….

*crickets*

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A phone opt-out is such an underhanded tactic… I think that is one of the first phone opt-out TOS i have actually seen.

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Hello readers,

In the spirit of The Punch, which is dedicated to lively debate and meaningful conversation, I’ll respond to a couple of things…

1. Taking the piss
Actively encouraged, keep it coming! I believe there’s always something to be learned from every conversation, piss take or otherwise. 🙂

2. The facts
Firstly, if you agree to the terms and conditions, it’s neither dishonest, manipulative nor spam.

Secondly,
Q: Fitzroyalty, may I ask how many emails you’ve received from The Punch?
A: None.

Therefore you’ve no facts upon which to base your claim about there being no unsubscribe method in our communications.

On each and every email we send there’s an unsubscribe link (you DO NOT have to phone in to unsubscribe, that would be ridiculous); it is clearly apparent where the email is coming from; there are links to contact us via alternate methods and of course there are links to our various policies for everyone to review.

The Punch does not send spam.

We want to talk our readers and care very much about what we say to them and through which channels we say it. Whether you wish to have a go and try it out is entirely your choice.

However, please don’t make incorrect assertions about the content of communications you have never seen, that’s taking the piss a bit too far.

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Tom,

Disclaimer – I work with Adam at News.

Re your comment.

This is a good example of not trusting everything you read, and taking it upon yourself to do your own research before making your mind up.

Let me be absolutely clear – there IS NOT a phone opt out. Go and have a look. The phone number is there for privacy reasons – if you want to know what information we have about you on our system, you can phone up and find out. Fitzroyalty has got this wrong.

Adam has addressed Fitzroyalty’s other misrepresentations with far more grace than I would have 🙂

Cheers
Steve

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