My first question to Mr Norris was "Do you know what a double-opt-in mailing list is?"

Keith admitted that he didn't, so I explained how they worked and why such lists were the only sensible and ethical way to run a mailing list.

His response was that he felt it might be "too costly" for many of the DMA's members to run a double-opt-in list, even though I tried to explain that the confirmation process was automated. Later in our discussion Norris said that he felt it might be considered insulting if a marketer were to go back to someone signing up to a mailing list and ask "are you sure."

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I asked what kind of penalties or sanctions the DMA was able to levy against its members if they were found to be in breach of the association's "anti-spamming" code.

Readers Say (updated hourly) From Yesterday... A question for the DMA... - Russell The DMA Replies!... - Keith Urgent Geekpages Message!... - Julian Spam, Privacy... - Christopher Email spam... - Steve Amazon.com... - Nick Have Your Say

It seems that the absolute worst pain the DMA can inflict on its members is to suspend their membership. No fines or other penalties apply. I was assured however, that over 95 percent of all issues concerning members were resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

I asked whether the DMA would be mandating that its members only operate double-opt-in mailing lists for the purposes of direct email marketing. Mr Norris told me that they would not. The association feels that a single-opt-in or opt-out list is the option which best matches the attitude of society with the needs of direct marketers.

However, when queried as to exactly what research had been done to properly establish the attitudes of society to direct email marketing, it was admitted that the opinion had been formed only after soliciting the DMA's 4,800 members and a few hundred others peripheral to the industry.

The DMA has commissioned absolutely no market research specific to regular internet users in order to properly establish what the group, which is to be the target direct-email marketing, really feel about the issue. However, the association steadfastly stands by its assertion that it knows what Net users think.

Mr Norris said that he was confident none of his members would resort to spamming. he claims that they are aware of the importance of trust in the relationship between marketer and consumer. In light of this I asked him if he would support the introduction of legislation that would make unsolicited commercial email illegal in New Zealand -- after all, he *is* confident that such a law would not affect any of his members right?.

He said "no," that he would not be in favour of such a law and that it was the association's view that self-regulation was a cheaper, more effective option.

Personally, I find it extremely odd that an association which represents professional marketing organisations, would embark on setting a code of practice which purports to be aware of consumer attitudes, without undertaking any research to properly gauge those attitudes. I have seen far too many online initiatives fall flat on their face because the people involved failed to appreciate that there is a whole different culture associated with Internet use.

The manner in which so many subscription-based Internet content sites failed dismally to duplicate their print-based success is a good indication of this failure to appreciate the Net culture.

To their credit, the DMA has said that it is undertaking to keep its email-marketing code under constant review and promises that it will be responsive to the demands of the public.

While Keith Norris apologised for his own lack of knowledge in respect to the Internet, he assured me that the Association did have the necessary skills and expertise. Unfortunately this morning their website was saying something a little different.

The association has agreed to accept submissions from Internet users who might wish to make comment or offer suggestions. You are invited to forward those comments to the DMA through the email address dma@dma.co.nz. Mr Norris did express the view that he expected submissions to be somewhat biased against direct email marketing due mainly to the rather narrow composition of Aardvark's audience -- a fair point, although there's no reason to suggest that readers opinions are at odds with those of other Net users is there?

I'm trusting Aardvark readers to only submit their comments in a reasoned, objective and sensible manner. Let's lead by example here and show that we're not a bunch of irrational anti-spam nuts.

As a footnote -- here's what another commentator has to say about single-opt-in and opt-out mailing lists:

We Need A Federal Spam Bill Now

As always, your feedback is welcomed.

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