Junk e-mail an irritation not a problem - so far

Sales and Prices

The last McCannics e-survey, which asked internet-connected businesses in the UK how they publicise their web-pages, provoked some vociferous comments regarding the use of unsolicited bulk e-mail to promote web-sites. In this survey, respondents were therefore asked whether unsolicited e-mail (junk e-mail or spam) causes their business a significant problem.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the attention given to this issue, only 31 per cent of respondents said that unsolicited e-mail was a significant problem for their business. Two-thirds said that it was not a significant problem (see chart, right).

However, this does not tell the whole story. Over half of respondents added comments about the issue and many said that although junk e-mail was not a significant business problem for them it was nevertheless a considerable irritation. A number were concerned that the volume of junk e-mail they receive is increasing and said that it was likely to become a significant problem.

A few respondents also said that a bigger problem for them was unsolicited faxes, which have the potential to cost more as they consume paper and ink. However, because they are more expensive to send than unsolicited e-mail there is perhaps less potential for them to become out of hand.

One respondent wanted to know where those sending unsolicited e-mail get the addresses from. The most common route seems to be from automatic programs which scan web-sites and record all e-mail addresses found. This means that any business which puts its e-mail address on its web-site so that customers can contact it is giving "spammers" an opportunity. A similar method is also used to collect e-mail addresses from people posting messages on internet newsgroups. Once collected, companies with e-mail lists often sell them on to other businesses.

There are a few measures that businesses can use to reduce the problem of unsolicited e-mail, though none is perfect. Many e-mail programs now offer features to filter e-mail which mean that messages from addresses which are persistent senders of junk e-mail can be automatically deleted. When posting messages to newsgroups, some people add extra characters to their e-mail address (e.g. esurvey@NOSPAMmccannics.demon.co.uk) with instructions so that individuals who wish to respond can remove the characters, but a computer program would be left with an invalid address. Alternatively, companies such as Hotmail offer free e-mail addresses to all, so that a business can at least keep newsgroup mail separate from business e-mail. Businesses might consider putting a "response form" on their web-site instead of an e-mail address. However, not all internet users like filling in forms.

It should be noted that unsolicited e-mails are often sent from temporary addresses and so simply replying with an angry message may well do no good. Some senders of unsolicited e-mail do say that if you reply asking to be taken off their list then you will be removed. However, it has been reported that some unscrupulous "spammers" use this as a means of validating their lists - if you respond then they know that they have a valid e-mail address. In this way, asking to be taken off a mailing list might actually lead to more junk e-mail.

More comments from respondents...

The e-survey has been operating on a pilot scale for a little over a year and is now ready to show its full potential. Organisations which would like to collaborate and can encourage a significant number of UK internet-connected businesses to volunteer to take part in the survey should contact McCannics. Individual UK-based businesses which would like to take part in the survey should send a blank e-mail to volunteer@mccannics.demon.co.uk.