Commentary: AOL and Yahoo to charge for spam-filter bypass, Goodmail

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Feb 10, 2006 by Larry Fiorino

Companies that want to ensure that their e-mails are being received by AOL and Yahoo e-mail users will have a new service available to them soon.AOL and Yahoo say that spam and worries about online scams have made e-mail an increasingly unreliable way for companies to reach customers, particularly when online transactions are becoming a crucial part of their businesses.AOL and Yahoo will be using a service called Goodmail to certify mass e-mail senders and deliver those e-mails without filtering them through spam blockers.The companies that send the mass e-mails will be charged 1 cent per e-mail to use this service.Executives from the companies liken this service to sending a letter using the U.S.

Post Office's certified mail classification.Critics of the program complain that e- mail marketers are being charged a tax to bypass the spam filters and believe there will be a large number of AOL and Yahoo users that will find other e-mail providers as a result.Additionally, many take the stance that the spam filters should be refined to avoid catching these false positives.However, not much is really changing from the user's point of view. Certified senders will be held to the same anti-spam regulations that currently exist, which include only contacting users that want to be contacted.Companies that choose not to pay will simply be subject to the same spam blockers that they are today. But, they will run the risk that their e-mails are intercepted if a spam blocker accidentally flags them as spam and not be delivered.And, unfortunately, the scammers and cheats will still be lurking out there sending bogus e-mails.While this service represents a pretty valuable tool for legitimate mass e-mail senders, users of AOL and Yahoo shouldn't expect a huge difference in the amount or quality of e-mails that they receive.Larry Fiorino, the founder and chief executive of G.1440, a Baltimore-based e- solutions firm, writes this column, Web Sightings, every week for The Daily Record. The opinions expressed are Mr. Fiorino's and not necessarily those of The Daily Record. He can be reached at 410-843- 3800.