[IP] Nettle vs ACLU -- great news

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+@ux13.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 14:26:56 -0800
From: Brian Dear <brian@birdrock.com>
Subject: Nettle vs ACLU -- great news
X-Sender: birdrock@mail.meer.net
To: dave@farber.net


Dave,

I'm very happy to announce that my battle with the ACLU is over, and the 
ACLU has implemented changes to their website just like I recommended.

Back in September and October, I began a series of commentaries about one 
person's experience signing up as a new member of the ACLU.  I'd used their 
website to sign up, and was shocked to find my mailbox full of junk 
parcels, flyers, and personalized merchandise from dozens of nonprofit 
organizations like People for the American Way, Sierra Club, Americans for 
This, Americans for That, yadda yadda.  I complained to the ACLU, having 
suspected that they had given out my contact info.

They denied it.  I investigated.  I proved that they had.  They admitted 
it.  They promised they wouldn't any more.  But to this day I still get 
junk mail because ACLU gave out my name and address without my permission.

So I wrote about the situation on my Nettle.com blog:

 http://www.nettle.com/archives/000059.html  and
 http://www.nettle.com/archives/000060.html

and began a public correspondence with Anthony Romero, Exec Dir of ACLU, 
and Nadine Stossen, President of ACLU.   Nadine promised they'd take 
action.  I told her if they fixed the signup page on ACLU's website so that 
people could opt-out of ACLU's personal-info-sharing, I'd renew my membership.

Well, Nadine kept her end of the bargain.  Here's a screen-grab of their 
new signup page:

   http://www.nettle.com/archives/000065.html

And my check to the ACLU goes out in today's mail!

Blogs DO make a difference.

- Brian


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