CAUCE

A new Definition of 'Opt-in'

In April, I stayed at the Hotel Carelton in San Francisco. Today, I received an email sent on their behalf with some interesting headers:

From: Joie de Vivre <VIP@crm.SafeCRM.com> (1)

Subject: 20% Off Our Best Available Rates For A Limited Time!!!

Date: July 26, 2012 12:12:01 PM PDT

To: Neil Schwartzman <redacted@gmail.com>

Reply-To: Joie de Vivre <createjoy@jdvhotels.com>

N.B.: Neither the From: nor the reply-to are ostensibly related to Hotel Carleton. 

Now, I never signed up to be on their mailing loist, but I figured I'd give them a break and unsubscribe, so I clicked this link (again, seemingly unrelated to the hotel)

http://www.data2gold.com/cc3/RmvRPC.wow?5Q09376I525C1U43414E403I3B1W514S4Q6F5H1F596G600G4K515Y674235MUNGED

Now here's the thing that really got my goat, the landing page on the unsubscribe:

Thank You!

We have removed munged@gmail.com from our list.  We do not provide your information to any other company ever and we will not contact you again at this email address. Thank you for helping us maintain a true opt-in list.

A true opt-in list, just for the record, would be one that I signed up to, not one that I was forcibly subscribed to, pending my unsubscribe.You're welcome.

(1) SafeCRM.com

   Digital Alchemy 
   5750 Stratum Drive 
   Fort Worth, Texas 76137 
   United States  

(2) data2gold.com

Registrant: 
   Digital Alchemy, LLC 
   5750 Stratum Drive 
   Fort Worth, Texas 76137 
   United States  

A little poking around sees these domains on the digital alchemy nameservers

da2go.com
da2go.net
data2gold.com
data2gold.net
data2gold.us
dataintogold.com
datatogold.com
digitalalchemyusa.com
disneytriptips.com
gone2fun.com
gone2sun.com
guestfocus.com
mercutiomdef.com
orlandotriptips.com
orlandotripwiz.com
orlandotripwizard.com
safecrm.com
safecrm.org
turndata2gold.com
turndatatogold.com
turningdata2gold.com
turningdataintogold.com
turningdatatogold.com

New MAAWG Award Named in honour of CAUCE Founder J.D. Falk

CAUCE is delighted to see our founding member honoured in such a manner, our sincere thanks go out to MAAWG and Return Path for this fitting gesture.

Seeking to throw a little light on those making the Internet a safer experience for all, the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group is now accepting nominations for the first annual J.D. Falk Award, named after the dedicated industry advocate who was instrumental in the growth of M³AAWG and other technical organizations.  The award, developed in conjunction with his employer Return Path, Inc. and his family, celebrates J.D. Falk’s life by honoring a specific achievement that enhances the Internet experience, protects end-users, and embodies his spirit of volunteerism and community building.

Nominees can be individuals or teams in an academic or company environment who have developed a service, created a specification or security mechanism, generated notable research, or produced other work reducing online abuse and improving the Internet.  The award comes with an honorarium provided by Return Path and M³AAWG will sponsor the winning candidate's attendance at the upcoming 26^th M³AAWG General Meeting in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 23-25, where the award will be presented.  

“J.D. was a passionate leader and a creative technician who had an ardent sense of humor that came into play when he was facing down obstacles. He had a gift for bringing people together to accomplish difficult tasks. We believe it’s important to instill these qualities in the future of the Internet and are looking to recognize professionals who embody these values,” said Chris Roosenraad, M³AAWG co-chairman for messaging.

more ...

Nominations for the J.D. Falk Award can be made here