DHBC email newsletter coming soon - send your email address!

[simon.sharwood]

Hi all, with my Communications Officer's hat on, I'm preparing to write the first DHBC monthly email newsletter.
To do so we need your email address, which you can send by visiting this simple website and completing a form.
The site is: www.jargonmaster.com/DHBC
Simple as!

[Toff]

Cool, I might be the first person on your database now.

Now, someone else already has a pretty comprehensive databse. Possibly Maryann or Lindsay.

[simon.sharwood]

Sorry, Toff. You weren't first. Can't say who was or that would spoil the whole privacy thing.

[weiyun]

Actually, our forum has the email addresses of all the members who have signed up for an account. Not sure if the sign up agreement permits distribution of this information within the club organization. Otherwise the newsletter can be emailed through dhbc.org.au.

[Toff]

If you use the forum e-mail list then you don't include all the people who never come here. There are plenty. Much better to get the official list from the club and combine it with anyone who has registered on the forum.

[simon.sharwood]

I'm not using the memberlist from the forums because:
a) It's a bitch to harvest the addresses
b) I think we are also better off building a list of opted-in people who definitely want the newsletter, rather than assuming everyone who is a member wants it and pissing off some members

[timyone]

hey whats the diff between html and text?
sorry not really a computer person, guessing theres some thing fancyer about html

[simon.sharwood]

HTML means you'll get colour, pictures and even video in the email.
Text means you'll get words.

S.

[Stuart]

If you use the forum e-mail list then you don't include all the people who never come here. There are plenty. Much better to get the official list from the club and combine it with anyone who has registered on the forum.

Good point re those that don't come to the forum Chris - we thought we should allow people to opt in rather than opt out given privacy laws but I think that the idea of using the official list that is gathered when people join is a good idea too. We can put an opt-out disclaimer and people can then decide if they want to get the email or not. I assume that either Lindsay or Camilla (as secretary) has the list?

[jimmy]

From what I know of the Spam Act legislation, you should be fine. The Act has the caveat that if there is a reasonable assumption that there will be communication.

So, when someone provides an email address to the Club, there is a reasonable assumption, that we will be sending them information.

As long as the email is sent out in a way that ensures that we can't see each others address (i.e. BCC), then it should be good.

As you state, as long as there is an opt out, then you should be fine.

James

[simon.sharwood]

Thanks for all the input on spam and the legal and moral niceties.
I think what I will do is one version of the newsletter for the fully opted-in, and another for those who have not had the chance to find this thread the the subscription form. The second version will explain why the email is arriving and that we don't want to spam, just to inform.

S.