Overview: Responsible Parties PCFA Policy PCFA Guidelines Responsiblility for Correcting Problems Responsiblility for Furnishing Information PCFA Does Not Relay Sending UBE to a PCFA User If a PCFA User Sends UBE How to Show All Headers Virus Protection Messages Contain Specific Words Resources
Any person who originates and/or sends an e-mail message is responsible for the sending and content of that e-mail message. When the originating person is an employee of, or under the direction of, a business, organization, or enterprise, then the supervisors, management and directors are also responsible for the sending and content of that e-mail message. Since computers and e-mail servers are always involved in the sending of e-mail messages, the administrators of those computers and servers, along with the supervisors, management and directors of the businesses, organizations, and enterprises are also responsible for the sending, relaying, and delivery of the e-mail messages. A PCFA.ORG user is solely the judge of whether an e-mail message is unsolicited. If the PCFA.ORG user determines he/she did not request the message and violates the PCFA.ORG anti-spamming provisions, then the sender is in violation. A PCFA.ORG administrator may stand in the place of the PCFA.ORG user in making the determination. The delivery of an e-mail message is just like the delivery of any other service. As in any other legally-binding contract, the originator of e-mail must agree to the terms of all parties involved in the delivery of the service. Therefore, when the originator uses the facilities of another server, it is essentially "trespassing" on that server, and the originator agrees to the guidelines of use, terms and conditions of that server (in this case, the PCFA.ORG server). By using the PCFA.ORG server, the originator of the UBE expressly waives any non-disclosure or privacy clauses with his Internet Service Provider (ISP) and grants permission and authorizes that provider to release complete contact information to PCFA.ORG. Note: Internet standards require all e-mail servers to have an account called
The Prescott Community Freenet Association, the organization operating PCFA.ORG, charges $1000 for each e-mail sent or attempted through the PCFA.ORG server, but waives that fee if the message is not UBE. PCFA.ORG's Appropriate Use Policy regulates Unsolicited Bulk E-Mail (UBE) (sometimes referred to as "SPAM" or "Junk E-Mail") by:
PCFA.ORG has determined there is no difference between commercial and non-profit UBE. If the message is (1) not requested and (2) follows the pattern of widespread bulk mail, PCFA.ORG classifies the message as UBE. When UBE is executed without prior consent from the Postmaster of the PCFA.ORG server, the use of the PCFA.ORG mail server in the delivery of UBE is a theft of service valued at $1000 per message by the originator of the message. A consequence of PCFA.ORG's policies is that a mail message may be rejected, even if that message is desired by one or more PCFA.ORG users. A mail message from a user of the offending server may be rejected even though that user is not the cause of the abuse which lead to the blockage. When mail is being blocked from an offending server, other users of that offending server must realize that the Postmaster of their server is creating a problem for PCFA.ORG and/or the Internet and must correct that problem before PCFA.ORG can accept messages from that server.
Since much unsolicited and offensive e-mail originates from one form or another of a mailing list, PCFA.ORG places onto the administrators of a mailing list the burden of determining whether or not a PCFA.ORG user wants to be on that list and holds those administrators responsible for following PCFA.ORG's guidelines. Confirmed Opt-In Required: Many e-mail messages deemed as "unsolicited" by a PCFA.ORG user are the result of the user visiting a web page where a so-called "opt-in" is located. This "opt-in" is typically part of a web form and it's not unusual for the checkbox to be coded as "checked", meaning it is "on" by default. When the user clicks the "submit" button, the user is added to the mailing list. This process is not sufficient! The user must be sent an e-mail message explaining what has happened. The PCFA.ORG user must then reply to the message before being added to the mailing list. No Sharing of Mailing Lists: No mailing lists may be shared with others. Just because a PCFA.ORG user has given permission to be included on one mailing list does not mean that user has given permission to be included on other lists. Message Requirements: Every e-mail message from mailing lists must:
Any e-mail message that contains a bogus e-mail address violates the provisions of this policy. Any e-mail message that bogus information in the header violates the provisions of this policy.
When one user causes a problem, the Postmaster of the offending server must take action(s) immediately and by whatever means necessary to stop that one user from causing problem(s). The Postmaster of the offending server must respond to a PCFA.ORG User's or the PCFA.ORG Postmaster's complaint within three days. If timely and appropriate actions are not taken by the Postmaster of the offending server, the PCFA.ORG Postmaster will block that server's access to the PCFA.ORG server. Only when the problem is permanently corrected will the PCFA.ORG Postmaster consider removal of the block. When the offending server is an "open relay" or host for known UBE offenders, PCFA.ORG requires the Postmaster of the offending server to take actions to close the "open relay" or remove access to the know offenders. PCFA.ORG utilizes third party resources (described below) to control these offenses; therefore, the Postmaster of the offending server may have to remedy the problem with those third parties.
Computer and server administrators are to immediately furnish PCFA.ORG with the names, addresses, and all other contact information of the originating party. The originating party has consented to the release of that information by attempting to send an e-mail message to a PCFA.ORG user (see above).
The PCFA.ORG mail server is secured to prevent it from being used as an "open relay".
PCFA.ORG does not accept and send a message from For PCFA.ORG: MAPS RSS "can't find any spam in the archive for 12.41.224.227" and "IP not listed by DSBL". The list of DNSbl filters shows any potential problems from various DNS blacklist "anti-spam" filters.
UBE is not acceptable use of the PCFA.ORG server. See the first paragraphs of this page. Any person who or any company that sends UBE to a user of the PCFA.ORG system or attempts to use the PCFA.ORG server for the distribution of UBE does so with the understanding and agreement that $1000 per message will be paid to PCFA.ORG for the use of the PCFA.ORG mail server. [Notice that PCFA.ORG charges $1000 per message, but waives the fee if the message is not UBE.] UBE originators often cite the 105th U.S. Senate's S.1618, Title III, saying their message can not be considered "SPAM" if they provide contact information and a way to request removal. S.1618 never made it past the Senate and thus never became law. UBE originators should realize that even if a law is ever passed which makes the sending of an UBE "legal", PCFA.ORG will not waive the $1000 per message charge for the time expended by our server to deliver the message. The legal action will simply move from criminal court (for "theft of services") to civil court (for "collection of fees for services rendered").
PCFA.ORG will take action against any of our users who originate UBE messages.
There has never been a reported incident of a PCFA.ORG user sending UBE. To send a
complaint, forward the message (with all headers) to
The "headers" in an e-mail message are critical to tracking the source of a mail message. UBE offenders often create complex headers and fake many of the entires in those headers. A message which appears to come from one server may actually come from another. As a result, all headers in a mail message must be sent with a complaint. If all headers are not available, the mail server Postmaster can not take action (and typically returns the message with the request "Send Headers").
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