MAPS

Basic Mailing List Management Guidelines
for Preventing Abuse

Last revised $Date: 2000/11/07 22:27:14 $

Introduction
Internet Fundamentals
MAPS Principles
Guidelines


Introduction

Mailing lists have a long and venerable history on the Internet. Mailing lists are an excellent vehicle for distributing focused, targeted information to an interested, receptive audience. Consequently, mailing lists have been used successfully as a highly effective direct marketing tool. Unfortunately, mailing lists are also vulnerable to misuse through a variety of means. An all-too-common example is where an individual is forge subscribed to a high number of mailing lists and must take extraordinary measures to be removed. Also, some marketers misuse mailing lists, often through a lack of knowledge about longstanding Internet customs and rules, or because they attempt to apply direct paper mail methodology to the electronic realm. The guidelines below are intended to assist list administrators in establishing basic list management procedures that should help them avoid the most common pitfalls. Good list management also pays off in other ways such as maintaining a high response rate and reducing costs associated with complaint handling.


Internet Fundamentals

Those who desire to establish responsible list management practices must be aware that there are certain fundamentals inherent to the structure of the Internet, and to how the email system functions across the Internet. Among those that are pertinent to these guidelines are the following:


MAPS Principles


Guidelines

The following guidelines are offered as a statement of Internet standards and best current practices for proper mailing list management.