[p2p-research] is the use of an opt-out consent request ethically offensive.

[M. Fioretti]

On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 12:25:44 PM +0700, Michel Bauwens
(michelsub2004 at gmail.com) wrote:

> Myself, I can't really see the difference between asking for your
> consent and making it easy to join, and asking for your consent plus
> asking you an extra effort to join,

the concrete difference is that the first alternative is not
"asking". It's taking decision for others.

Opt-out is "I have already done your thinking for you and concluded
that you will like this newsletter, please do the effort to tell me if
I was wrong"

Or at least this is the way it is considered by many people of all
sorts and why it rubs them the wrong way. I really think that the fact
that the person who complained also happens to be a free software
advocate is really just an irrelevant coincidence.

Probably calling opt-out always unethical is an exhageration, it's
just a sensible issue. It can be indeed be a courtesy if you are
_sure_ that the receiver is interested. I, for example, in this
particular case, AM happy that I had nothing else to do to receive the
newsletter. It's not a black or white issue.

You just can't be sure that it will always be that way, so you have to
be prepared both to the fact that there will surely be a few reactions
like that from **any** very large group of people you ask to opt-out
of anything; and that there will even be people who feel the same, but
instead of bothering to answer will simply mark your address as a spam
source and never see any more mail from you.

Marco