One of the greatest things that this “Internet Era” has brought us has been the ability to communicate with one another, to be able to connect with someone across town or across the world. It has enabled many to go places and do things that they wouldn’t normally be able to do. We’ve visited places and seen things and chatted with people near and far. It’s a wonderful age to live in. The Internet has brought us many good things.

But our ability to communicate freely didn’t live long. As much as I hate to have to say it, we have had to actually delete several members’ listings from our database. Are you wondering why? It’s because their email servers are rejecting our ezine. That’s right. We have had several members subscribe to our weekly ezine and even confirm their subscription only to have their ISP refuse to deliver it because they don’t think you want it or need it. In other words, they don’t feel like we, “their customer” have the intelligence enough to know what we want to read. Just because an email may not be something they want, they reject it.

You know we all receive unwanted email. I certainly receive my fair share of it. As a matter of fact I have a friend of mine that is amazed at the amount of email I receive on a daily basis, but the fact is I receive the email. I make the decision what gets deleted and what stays. 

There are some email servers out there (we won’t mention any names) that are making that decision for their customers. They are deciding what their customer wants to read and if the “email server gods” don’t approve then they will reject the email and their customer will never even see it. 

Now I’m not talking about filters that a consumer may set up, the consumer sets those parameters. What I am referring to is an ISP deciding for me what I may want to read and what I don’t. They don’t know me. What gives them the right to make my decisions for me?

I receive “junk” mail in my mailbox outside, I don’t want the Postman to not deliver my mail or have someone discard my mail for me just because they think I may not want to read it. I make the decision what I keep and what lines the trashcan.

Am I being too hard on them? What do you think? If I subscribe to a newsletter that I am interested in and I agree to receive it in my mailbox, should I receive it?  

Amy Motheral
Editor/Publisher
Mothers-All-Work-At-Home
MAWAH Ezine