Reader Comments on Aardvark Daily 17 June 2002
Note: the comments below are the unabridged
submissions of readers and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher.
From: Iain J For : Right Of Reply (for publication) Subj: Greens Admittedly the email scheme they have is ignorant of the most basic standards for mass emailing, but is this enough to change your vote? When people get up in arms over anything the Greens do, say or attempt to influence I always remember what Jeanette Fitzimons said... "We don't want to be in parliament, but we're made to, we have to, there are key issues that just aren't been addressed" So although they are not all wise and wonderful, she's got a point. They may not be the most professional politically outfit, but they're the most honest and sincere of the lot. I abhore spam, hate it.. but give the guys a chance, they're in Parliament making a difference. The image of a clean green country may be stastically correct, but our track record, future track records and standard processes are pretty wayward. From: Sam For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: Xtra Great to see Aardvark back! Thanx lots to the new sponsor. It seems there have been major outages with Jet Stream etc today such that calls to the Help Desk are unanswered by a live person for over 15mins(I twice gave up after no response) due to 'heavy demand' The 1st voice response says there are problems for those with static IP addresses which are being rectified(uh- huh...); an attempt to obtain some ballpark repair time is near impossible, although the 2nd recorded response suggests 'Look at our web site(!!)' Should we have a backup dialup account for this purpose..??? Perhaps a different ISP to reduce potential problems? Nice work Telecom ;-) From: Lynne Serpe For : The Editor (for publication) Subj: www. votegreen.org.nz Dear Aardvark editorial, I am writing to clarify some of the statements made in your article posted 17 June 2002 regarding the soon-to-be- launched www.votegreen.org.nz web site. You published, “Apparently, visitors to the site will be able to type up an email and automatically have it distributed to the editor of goodness knows how many publications all around the country.” That is just not correct. Visitors will have the opportunity to select the recipients of their email in a pull-down menu. It will NOT be automatically distributed to everyone on the list. Visitors will have to make a conscious choice about each and every recipient. I find it fascinating that an entire article was written about something we are ‘about to do’ or that will ‘apparently’ be in place. I am disappointed that you didn’t take the time to call (or email) and ask further questions and to hear how we were planning on explaining to visitors the best use of the Letter to the Editor function. The following is an excerpt of that explanation: “Keep in mind that many people will have missed the original article that prompted you to write and remember: you don't have to write only in anger. If you liked one of their stories, email a letter of thanks and appreciation. TIP: IT GREATLY ENHANCES YOUR CHANCE OF BEING PUBLISHED IF YOU ONLY WRITE TO ONE PUBLICATION. In addition, many publishers like to know to whom else you have sent your letter.” I feel that I have to address your comments about the definition of spamming. The fact that Green MPs get paid a salary does not make the ‘letter to the editor’ function commercial. I disagree with your statement that editors do not solicit letters of comment. As you are most likely aware, the email addresses of editors are publicly available on the web and they do solicit letters. By so doing, they have ‘opted in’ to receiving correspondence. In addition, our site is set up so that people will have to write their own letters; we are not proving form letters for them. And, finally, I disagree with your statement that we are insulting people by providing them with a service to make it easier for them to voice their concerns (or approval) to the media. Lynne SerpeHit Reload For Latest Comments
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