NYICD Email Policy

NYICD has established this Policy with respect to email messages containing NYICD content and submitted by third parties on its behalf to email recipients.

Definition of General Terms Used

Initiator - The party that originates, transmits or procures the origination or transmission of an email message (can be more than one party.)

Advertiser - An initiator whose product, service, or website is advertised or promoted by the email message. For purposes of this policy, NYICD is the advertiser.

Recipient - The receiving individual or group of an email message.

Affirmative Consent - Agreement by an email address owner to receive future email messages, also known as opting in, whether in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent, or at the recipient's own initiative. Agreement can be indicated by providing an email address or by checking a box or by taking some other action, depending on the circumstances of the request.

List Owner - The party which owns the email list, usually the same party which originally solicited the recipient for his or her email address, and usually an initiator.

Uce - Unsolicited commercial email, also known as "spam"?.

Definition Of Legitimate Mass Commercial Email

"Legitimate Mass Commercial Emails"? or "opt-in emailings"?, are emails sent by the initiator to more than 250 recipients that have provided affirmative consent to receive emails from the list owner. All email messages sent to opt-in recipients must be limited to content that reasonably should be expected by the recipient, based on language supplied by the list owner at the time affirmative consent was received. All opt-in emailings must also clearly indicate the name and website of the list owner. Under this policy, opt-in emailings that meet this criteria are not considered uce.

Definition Of Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE)

"UCE"? is unsolicited bulk email that includes advertisements or solicitations, commercial or otherwise, regardless of content. NYICD prohibits the practice of mass emailing unwanted solicitations (uce) of any type, regardless of content. Without exception, uce is prohibited under this policy and will be considered a material breach of this policy. For purposes of this policy, the act of a list owner or initiator emailing to an email list that was not organically gathered is considered uce, unless the list owner has direct knowledge and proof that the list recipients provided affirmative consent to receive marketing messages from a third party.

Definition Of Opt-Out And Opt-Out Requirements

"opt-out" is defined as the process recipients use to remove themselves from an email list. At all times, the list owner and/or initiator shall ensure that all email messages and initiator procedures comply with all state and federal laws, including, without limitation, the can-spam act, interstate communication requirements and all other applicable laws, as well as comply with the requirements of this policy. All opt out requests must follow a defined process for acceptance and to ensure all requests are handled properly. This process shall include, without limitation, the following steps:

• Efforts must be made by the Initiator to verify that all email addresses to which email messages are being sent are not in either NYICD's, the Initiator's, or the List Owner's opt-out lists. The NYICD Opt-out Suppress List must be downloaded and its addresses suppressed from the emailing within 72 hours prior to the launch of the emailing. In multi-day emailings, the list must be downloaded and suppressed at least every 48 hours.
• All opt-out requests, as defined below, must be sent by the Initiator to NYICD, via the method described below, or by another method approved by NYICD, within 48 hours of Initiator's receipt of the opt-out request from the Recipient. NYICD will add all such opt-out requests to its Opt- out Suppress List within 48 hours of such receipt.
• Opt-out email addresses need to be delivered in a format acceptable to NYICD, and should include email address, request date and time of Opt-out (YEAR-MM-DD HH:MM:SS), IP address of Recipient, and NYICD ad code, in this order. File needs to be uploaded at PCDI's eMarketing Web site at https://partners.pcdi.com/.
• All email messages from an Initiator to a Recipient must contain an automated Opt-out link to both NYICD's opt-out system (http://NYICD.com/optout) and to an Opt-out link on the Initiator's website.
• All email messages to abuse@pcdi.com and abuse@[Initiator's domain] requesting to be removed from an email list (or which uses comments or language indicating dissatisfaction receiving a message) must be handled and treated as valid "Opt-out"? requests.
• All reply email messages sent to the "From"?, "Reply-To"?, "Return-Path"? or "Error-To"? email address shown in the initiator's message, requesting removal (or which uses comments or language indicating dissatisfaction receiving such message) must be handled and treated as valid "Opt-out"? requests, or else an automated response must be delivered to such reply email messages, instructing the recipient on the valid and correct method for requesting opt-out from the email list.
• All bounce backs, delivery errors, user unknown, and other message sending errors that were the result of a permanent failure (5XX SMTP Status Code) must be treated as an opt-out request.
• All domains related to the forward and reverse DNS of the Initiator SMTP servers must provide a live website where a Recipient can opt-out, and which displays valid contact information for the Initiator.
• All the above required opt-out processes must be in operation at the time of the emailing, and must continue to be observed for at least 30 days after the final date of each emailing.

Legitimate Commercial Email Requirements

• The Initiator must complete and sign NYICD's Email Vendor Questionnaire and Agreement. List Owners and/or Initiators may not commence emailing until it receives written acceptance of this completed questionnaire from NYICD. The references to Exhibit A will go in the Agreement.
• The Initiator must complete and sign NYICD's Additions to Email List Questionnaire and Agreement, before any significant new source of email addresses (more than 500 names) are included in an email list to which a NYICD message would be sent. List Owners and/or Initiators may not commence emailing any of these new addresses until it receives written acceptance of this form from NYICD. The references to Exhibit B will go in the Agreement.
• All Recipients and messages sent must qualify under the above definition of Legitimate Mass Commercial Emailing.
• All Recipient campaign processes must include all the processes specified above in the section of this Policy entitled "Definition of Opt-Out and Opt-Out Requirements"?.
• Both the Initiator name and all sending SMTP servers of that Initiator must not be listed or under negative standing by any of the following organizations: MAPS, Spamcop, Spamhaus, or AOL.
• Mass emailings must be delivered no faster than the maximum rate acceptable to each receiving ISP or domain, and will follow all other ISP requirements for delivery of Legitimate Commercial Email Messages.
• The Initiator SMTP servers must have valid forward and reverse DNS entries. The "whois"? entries on all forward and reverse DNS domains must clearly indicate the Initiator name and provide a valid contact Email, phone number, and address. Invalid telephone numbers, non- company addresses, and free or non-company email addresses are not allowed.
• Forged SMTP headers of any sort are prohibited and shall be considered a breach of this Policy. Message transport must be intact and correct at all times.
• Use of "hijacked"? or shared personal home computing by the Initiator is not a legitimate SMTP Server and is strictly prohibited. Any violation of the foregoing shall be deemed a material breach of this Policy.
• If the message contains any of "From"?, "Reply-To"?, "Return-Path"? or "Error-To"? headers, they must be valid. The SMTP server that these headers point to must be able to handle the return of bounced email at the speed it is provided.
• NYICD corporate mail servers are not set up to process bounced messages from mass emailings. Therefore, the "From"?, "Reply-To"?, "Return-Path"? and "Error-To"? email headers can not contain a NYICD domain unless approved in writing by the NYICD IT Department.
• A valid "Emergency Abuse Contact"? must be provided (person's name, phone number, and Email) by the Initiator for the NYICD IT department to contact if there are any problems or serious complaints associated with the mailing that may disrupt business communications. This contact person must have the capability and authority to halt emailing operations involving NYICD messages at any time such messages are being sent. This contact person must follow instructions from the NYICD IT department to immediately halt such emailing, if so directed.

Information Required In Response To Complaints

In the event of a complaint from a recipient, the list owner and/or initiator shall immediately provide NYICD with access to all reasonable information, upon request, within 24 hours, in order to facilitate NYICD's response to such complaints. The following information must be collected and stored by the initiator, and made available upon request to NYICD:

• Web page or material where the Recipient opted-in to the email list, showing "clear and conspicuous" acceptance to the approved opt-in email list (i.e., Web page link or copy of material indicating clearly that the Recipient understood that they would be receiving such related messages).
• Proof of electronic or physical acceptance indicating Affirmative Consent of opt-in to the email list used, as follows:
  • If taken from the Web, the Web property name, IP of the Recipient's computer, time, and date of the opt in.
  • If sourced in a print-based vehicle, the physical form on which they offered their email address is required in .pdf or fax format.
  • If by any other means, information must be provided that clearly indicates that the Recipient knowingly gave Affirmative Consent to opt in to that email list.
• In the event that a complaint does not identify the Recipient, (such as a blacklisting request) and the message campaign can be identified as one sent by the Initiator (by message subject or ad code) then all possible pages or material on which the complaining Recipient might have given Affirmative Consent, must be provided upon request to NYICD. In lieu of this, the Initiator can provide to NYICD specific pages or material where the complaining Recipient opted in, based on the Initiator's own tracking mechanism or coding method.