The management of Empowerism does not tolerate the use of SPAM or UCE to any degree. All Members are required to read and abide by this policy.

Members may not promote Empowerism, or use the Company name, trade names, logos, or copyrighted material, in any unauthorized manner. Pre-approved marketing formats and safe usage guidelines are provided in the Empowerism Member Center.

Members may not SPAM or send unsolicited emails that advertise any related URL including, but not limited to, the Empowerism member website and the member's own personal site that points to the Empowerism.com domain or makes mention of the Company name, trade names, or logos.

In addition to unsolicited email, this includes advertising in Usenet Newsgroups and forums that disallow advertising; abuse of chat rooms, buddy lists, ICQ, MIRC; or use of any other online communication system that is inappropriate for advertising. Ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse. The Member is responsible for abiding by the policies of each venue in regard to advertising.

If we receive a complaint that includes the offending email, the Member's Empowerism.com website will be suspended immediately and without prior notice.  At that point, the complaint will be thoroughly researched.  If the Member is found to have spammed, we will permanently terminate the Member's website.  If the complaint is found to be invalid, the Member's website will be reinstated.

Anyone who uses the Empowerism resources, website, or personalized web address for the practice of spamming will be liable for any expenses incurred by us to reverse any actions taken by our ISP or other services as a result of said spamming.

Members and Prospective Members: For a detailed explanation, required disclaimers, and ways to avoid Spam complaints, please read the following brief tutorial.

Empowerism will not tolerate SPAM or UCE of any kind. If you SPAM, your account will be terminated and all monies due from the Company will be forfeited.

SPAM is sending a solicitation (a commercial email) to someone who did not, in some way, shape, or form, request or give permission for that email to land in their mailbox. If you don't have proof of permission, then you may not send the email solicitation.

Safe List Members
If you are a member of a safe list or opt-in list, you may send email to the members of that list, ONLY if you include as your opening paragraph this sentence:

You are receiving this email because you and I are members of the "Name of Safe List."

All legitimate safe list owners provide a disclaimer for you to use. If you do not include this disclaimer, even if you forget, you will get SPAM complaints and we will have to suspend your website until you can prove that you are indeed a member of the safe list. Forgetfulness is not an excuse - use the disclaimer.

Personal List Members
If you have a list of people with whom you have previously received permission to send or swap advertisements (and have proof of this), you may send them an email ad. If you are unsure whether or not you have permission, ask them.

If you DO receive permission to send solicitations to someone, make sure you keep a copy of that permission in a folder in your email client, as you may later need it for proof. Always indicate in your sales letter that you appreciate their permission and make sure you include a one-step "opt out" link.

FFA Link Confirmation Emails
If you have an FFA links page, you may NOT advertise Empowerism on your "link confirmation email." The reason for this is because most FFA links sites do not confirm the email address that is being submitted with the link. Therefore, this is widely abused by people who submit email addresses belonging other people. When the wrong people receive your confirmation email, they report it as Spam. These complaints add up so quickly that it becomes too big a risk to take.

Replying to Spam
You may not send a solicitation to people just because they sent you one. The answer to SPAM is NOT sending one in return. Two wrongs don't make a right! You MAY reply to THEIR SPAM and thank them for sending their ad, telling them that their program/product/whatever looks interesting, and ask them if they would mind you sending them your ad. If you don't hear from them, you may not send it.

Lists from Unsafe List Vendors
You may NOT purchase a list from a list vendor claiming that their list of 90 million email addresses for $15 is "safe." IMPORTANT: If you cannot find anywhere on their web site an explanation of HOW they get permission from the recipients to be added to the list, DON'T buy it!  If you are unsure about a list or advertising source you are considering for purchase, use the contact form inside your Empowerism Member Center to get approval and we will let you know if this is a safe and approved source.

Newsgroups
You may NOT post your ad to newsgroups UNLESS that newsgroup specifically states in their charter that advertisements are approved for the list. If you are unsure, don't do it! Newsgroup subscribers are notoriously the most ruthless SPAM complainers on the Internet.

You may NOT send any email using the following disclaimers. If we receive a complaint where the offending email includes any form of these statements, your account will be terminated without investigation. In other words, using these statements is a sure sign your email is SPAM, so don't do it!

- "This is not spam. This ad is being sent in compliance with Senate bill 1618, Title 3, section 301."

Translation: "This email is SPAM. I don't know the difference between a bill and a law."

Bottom line: There is no such bill or law or anything with numbers and the word Senate that gives you permission in any state or country to send SPAM.

- "You are receiving this email because you are either on a safe list, you posted to my FFA page, or you have sent me an ad."

Translation: "This email is SPAM. I figure if I list enough reasons for sending it, you might just fall into one of these categories and not realize I have spammed you."

Bottom line: Do NOT mix your lists together and think you can get away with one generic heading! You must have a statement at the start of your email that clearly states the name of the list they are on or the reason that the person is receiving from you.

- "You are receiving this email because I heard you were interested in business opportunities."

Translation: "This is SPAM and I'm not trying very hard to disguise that fact."

Bottom line: If you don't have a valid, documented reason for sending the email, DON'T DO IT.

Don't think for a second that you won't get caught. Not only will the recipients complain, members of the Empowerism community also notify us when another member is spamming.  SPAM is also a reputation killer - don't sabotage your business by advertising the wrong way!

Note that this warning ONLY applies to sending email. You can post unlimited classified ads, links to FFA pages, search engine submissions, ezine ads, etc.

First, our web host receives SPAM complaints made on our domain.  Too many complaints would get our hosting account shut down. Changing hosting companies is a very costly process, and violators of our SPAM policy could be held liable for those costs. 

Second, if you SPAM the wrong person, you run the risk of losing your ISP account. There are people (spam haters) who will stop at nothing less. They will pursue the issue with your ISP, with us, and our web host until the deed is done. It's not worth it, especially because you're not going to collect any commissions that result from advertising that is in violation of our policies.

We hope this will give you a good education on what is and is not allowed in email-based advertising. If you have specific questions, please ask. You cannot use "not knowing" or "not understanding" as an excuse. We have provided a good base of training and marketing ideas inside your Member Center, and will continue to add to it.

Happy and safe advertising to you!