Comments:

Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 To the Commissioners, I applaud your efforts to curb the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I am concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to publishers who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. Visitors who come to my website can opt-in to my email list. They are informed what the list is about and they can opt-out at any time. I provide them VALUABLE information about services, products that can be utilized to build their businesses. This is why they have voluntarily subscirbed to my list. I honor all opt-out requests immediately. They're not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. There's also the potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. On top of that, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. I was quite surprised at the potential problems this ruling could involve, and urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Personally, I think that what is being proposed is potentially harmful to the economy of the Internet. It will only HELP those whose intent is to abuse the technoloty and put out of busienss those who are already using the technology in ways that are ethical and in the best interests of their customers and potential customers. Yours Melanie Rockett Vanouver, BC Canada