Accused Of Spamming

[Mirage Cyberstar]

So I was trying to promote a group that wanted to hand-pick its members. I took a look at my groups, and looked through profiles, hand-picking individuals to introduce to our group. Sent them a nice notecard letting them know because of their involvement in the entertainment community on SL that we'd like them to join. I suppose this is spam, though I was hardly sending them to anyone and everyone.

I hadn't considered that this could be offensive, but three individuals found it so, and two of them files abuse reports(or so they say). I apologized and have stopped approaching people in this way.

I have been a resident for four years and have always been mindful of the ToS. I've never had an abuse report filed against me and I'm concerned now that I've unwittingly gotten myself in trouble!

In reviewing the line in the ToS regarding spam, it looks pretty ambiguous- and rightfully so, if you gave clear boundaries they'd find a way to exploit it. Unfortunately that means it's at LL's discretion whether a handful of notecards constitutes spam. Do I have any defense here? Should I be worried at all? I don't even like the idea of having a warning on my record, but I suppose if that's what's going to happen there's nothing I can do but be a good girl from here out.

Any perspective for one of the accused? :P

 

[Dante Tucker]

People get upset about receiving unsolicited things be it Teleports, Inventory offers whatever. The good news is out of 5 people who say they reported you maybe 1 actually have.

If you do get a warning, appeal it. This can be done through a support ticket. LL has a tendency to clear your record if you appeal, as long as you explain everything and are polite.

[Peewee Musytari]

What one person regards as spam may not be the same to another person because we all live different lives in SL. You claim you were just trying to do something nice & were targeting specific people. But that is no different to someone who opens a mall and wants to get good name shops to rent there, so they send out NC`s to them all. To the sender it is a harmless handful of NC`s,  to the person receiving it it is one of 20 NCs saying much the same thing that they get bombarded with when they login each day.

In general if people want to rent space, join a group, go to an event etc. they will find a way to do it & it is just annoying to have someone else doing you an unwanted favour. Having said that, even though I have IM`d people in the past to say take me off your mailing list or quit spamming me, I don`t see the need to be rude to them or AR them, I`d just mute them if they did it again lol

[Monderas Bristol]

I wouldn't worry to much about this.

your comments, if also given inworld will be visible to the lindens if they investigate.

they can see any IM's or notecards/notices you sent.

If everything is consistent with what you say then one would hope they would accept your explanation.

*huggs*

Mondy

[Void Singer]

what you can do is apologize, personally to all of those people you sent out a generic notice to... that should go a long way toward making your case as not being a spammer... and never ever do that again.

for the record what you did was spam (albeit on a small scale). you sent a generic advertising message to multiple people, who never asked for it... never a good idea for a reputable business.

in the future, if you are going to take the care to hand select people to send a message to, you can also take the care to personalize each message.... for instance, stating where you got their name from, or how you know them and why you are contacting them specifically.... then OFFER to extend them further information/services to them if they like it... this puts the ball in their court and lets them decide... you may even get a few referrals this way.

 

and I for one disagree about the reporting frequency.... if i'm going to be bothered enough to tell you I'm reporting you, it's because I already did, or have the window open to do it. people that don't care enough to report usually just mute you.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Just be careful using someone else groups or place to recruit for your own group.

And if you Drop notecards on people without talking to them then it is like sitting down to dinner and a telemarketer calls your home phone.

Socialize with them and build that way. It is better than getting a bunch of people angry

[George Orellana]

As others have said just learn from the mistake. You have already apologized to those offended and that is all you can do. Remember the rule of thumb, in general any unsolicited marketing communication is spam. 

[Cabbage Acanthus]

ooohh  U R gonna git in trouble.... :smileysurprised:

As someone who may or may not have gotten in trouble once or twice, having a few AR's filed against you is not in itself something to be overly concerned about. 

People file AR's for any and all reasons.  Their report will get reviewed and either some sort of action will be taken or the report will be tossed out because it was written by a ...  (reminds himself that we are being poilte these days and moves on...)

Sadly, there is very little conformity in the response to AR's   It entirely depends on who reviews it and how they are feeling that exact second.  I wish I was kidding.  It's pretty much completely arbitrary with LL almost always siding with whoever processed the AR.

Odds are, nothing will come of this at all, a warning e-mail at most... odds are... but since there are very few clear standards or if there are, LL hasn't publicised them there is no way to be absolutely sure. 

That all being said, you are almost, certainly in the clear... probably...