What is Spam?

SonarNetworks requires companies to use the system for communicating to individuals with whom they already have a relationship. In order to enforce an anti-spam policy, we have developed the following definition for determining what constitutes "spamming":

• Spam is an unsolicited commercial email sent to a recipient who has not provided their email address directly to the sender, or an email sent to a recipient who would not have a reasonable expectation of receiving email from the sender. Any email advertising illicit or illegal activities or any message sent to email addresses provided by a third party.

Any message sent to email addresses not provided by the recipient, including those collected from newsgroups, web sites, and domain registration information is considered spam. If companies use an external source for communication data, SonarNetworks requires those companies to supply the source of their customer data to SonarNetworks in the event recipients complain to SonarNetworks about receiving unsolicited email from SonarNetworks.

What IS NOT Spam?

Email notifications sent by an organization about a topic which the recipient had previously requested information about, PROVIDED THAT the sender provides a mechanism for recipients to remove themself from the mailing list. This can include:

• Product support updates
• Organizational news updates
• New related product offerings

How can you stop a company from sending you more email?

Each email sent through the SonarNetworks system contains an easy, automated way for you to cease receiving email from that sender. One click of the mouse is all that is required to opt out of the mailing list-the system automatically excludes you from future mailings without needing additional human intervention. If you wish to do this, simply follow the instructions at the end of any email sent through the SonarNetworks system.

If you receive further unwanted, unsolicited email sent via the SonarNetworks system, please forward a copy of that email with your comments to spamcomplaints@SonarNetworks.com for review.

Unsolicited Email Policy Enforcement

While we do our best to keep our system free from abuse and encourage our list owners to use best practices to avoid generating complaints, the huge volume of messages we send does generate some complaints, both to us and to ISPs and network administrators.
Spam is taken seriously at SonarNetworks. Every attempt is made to correct possible abuse. We do not permit our system to be used for unsolicited email, and enforce our unsolicited email policy using several strategies:

All messages sent with our system include identifying information about the customer (the mailing list ID) who sent the message and contact information for filing an unsolicited email complaint.

We track complaint rates for each list, and compare the rates against historical averages for legitimate opt-in lists and for "spam" lists. We have a large amount of data, and we find this method is a highly reliable way of identifying abusers of our policy. Our system analyzes complaint rates and can suspend accounts of blatant abusers .

We include our unsolicited email restrictions in our license agreement and impose fees for complaints received to discourage spammers from using our system. We explicitly warn of these restrictions during the signup process so that spammers do not use our system to send unsolicited email.

We utilize mail servers located in the State of California, allowing us to leverage California's strict anti-spam laws providing for statutory damages to be assessed against abusers.

Regulations for List Owners

While we do our best to keep our system free from abuse and encourage our list owners to use best practices to avoid generating complaints, the huge volume of messages we send does generate some complaints, both to us and to ISPs and network administrators.
Spam is taken seriously at SonarNetworks. Every attempt is made to correct possible abuse. We do not permit our system to be used for unsolicited email, and enforce our unsolicited email policy using several strategies:

License Agreement: Each mailing list administrator is required to agree to a license agreement which requires that all members of their mailing list must have requested that information be sent to them.

Mandatory Unsubscribe Instructions: All messages sent via SonarNetworks systems will include instructions for recipients to remove their email addresses or "opt-out" from the mailing list from which the message was sent.

Account Terminiation for Abusers: Reports of unsolicited email may result in the cancellation of a mailing list account without refund.

Reporting Spam

To report Spam sent with SonarNetworks, send a message to spamcomplaints@SonarNetworks.com and be sure to include:

The email address to which the message was sent

The SonarNetworks mailing list ID from which the message was sent (Userid).

The SonarNetworks message ID (Msgid).

This information is available both in the message header, and at the bottom of every message sent by using the SonarNetworks service. NOTE: You must provide this information in order for us to be able to take action. Messages sent without the above information will be ignored.

Policy for Using Lists Obtained From Third Parties

In general, email lists obtained from third parties are harvested from Internet web sites, domain registrations, and other non opt-in sources.

As a list owner, you are fully responsible for any third party's adherence to our policies for lists which you obtain and use in our system. Any violation of our policies by third parties will be seen as violations by you, and will subject your account to disciplinary action, termination, and fees accordingly.

The use of such lists with our system is prohibited.

There are certain cases when the use of a list obtained from a third party may be acceptable, however. In order for a mailing to a third party list to be acceptable under our unsolicited email policies, the following rules must be adhered to:

The email addresses obtained by the third party must be strictly opt-in, and follow all of our policies regarding opt-in email list collection.

The third party assembling the email list must make a clear disclosure stating that recipients' addresses ARE provided to others.

The third party must be able to provide documentation regarding the validity of the addresses in case of an unsolicited email complaint.

Any messages sent to addresses obtained from a third party must contain information disclosing the source of the addresses. IF A THIRD PARTY PROHIBITS SUCH DISCLOSURE, THEIR LIST MAY NOT BE USED IN OUR SYSTEM.

The content of messages sent to addresses from a third party list must be consistent with the disclosure made to the recipients upon initial provision of the email address.