The Heat is On...AOL That Is

You may have read the Breaking Down The AOL/Goodmail Stir post. Well the pot has been heated up even more this week. Just a quick post on what's happening.

Organizations from MoveOn.org to Gun Owners of America, over 50 in total, are banning together in protest of what they're calling the AOL Email Tax. The protest, organized by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is called DearAOL.com and has garnered over 1500 registrants in just a week. They are protesting the quarter of a penny charge that mailers will spend to get email into the inbox, bypassing AOL's filters.

What's the real issue here? Well the organizations opposed to the Goodmail/AOL program feel large businesses stand to benefit the most as they have the budgets to cover the costs thereby making it "pay for play" situation.  It is likely that AOL will refute these claims and issue some response outlining how their relationship with Goodmail will benefit companies of all sizes (and budgets).  We'll of course update you should this information surface.

What do we say? VerticalResponse remains on the AOL Standard Whitelist as usual and your email continues to be delivered.