This is what happens when you're at the mercy of rigid, conceptually 'narrow-pictured' people who have decided they're gonna darn-well protect "you" - whether "you" like it or not!

Well, perhaps it won't happen to 'you', but this is what happened to me...

21 days ago I lost my 18 month old Internet business. Not because of personal wrong-doings. Nor because I wasn't paying my bills.

And, to my knowledge, the FTC doesn't see my business as a threat to people who are too lazy to do their homework.

Quite simply, I lost my business because I was standing to close to, yuk, spam cop. (Just the name gives me visions of "black-hooded, thick-soled-boot-wearing, storm troopers!")

Quick background. (so you'll understand the rest of the story).

My Internet business model is based on direct response email marketing. I write, publish and email an online ezine to people who have opt-ined to receive my e-mailings.

In other words, I make a big portion of my online living because some of the wonderful people who read my e-mailings, buy products/services mentioned in my emailed electronic magazine.

My business model has been around for over 100 years. It's basically an online version used successfully by companies like Sharper Image, Nightingale Conant and Sears (Sears used to mail out free catalogs with pictures & descriptions of their products. Perhaps they still do?) etc.

**If only I could figure out how people could take my ezine into the bathroom with them... But that's another story.

And there-in lies a major shortcoming of my emailed ezine business model... my electronic magazine has a short shelf- life of 3 to 4 days. That's why I have to email a new issue, 1 to 2-times a week.

21 days ago, it was time to email out another issue. But I couldn't log into the control panel from where my opt-in lists are stored and mailed from.

Basically, my list mailer is a good, multi-functional autoresponder service.

At the time, I didn't think much about it. I assumed they were having server problems. Not un-common for servers to go down for an hour or so. So I figured I'd do my mailing later.

Later turned into 21 l-o-n-g days!

It turns out the servers weren't down. Nope. The server's 'plugs' had been pulled by the Level 1 owner of the servers.

Like many autoresponder services, the owner of my autoresponder service, leases servers from a Level 2 server broker. The Level 2 broker leases servers from the server owners, the Level 1 company.

In other words, Level 1 has the last, and in this case, first word on the whole server shootin' match.

It would be foolish for management at the Level 1 server company to close down paying customers without good reason, wouldn't it?

Uh, wrong.

Remember. We're dealing with the Internet here. Online, common-sense and careful consideration is about as scarce as soul food in a French restaurant.

As I understand it, here's why our servers were shut down...

We were standing too close to spam cop!

Yep. spam cop had lodged 2 (yeah, you read it right...TWO) spam complaints with the Level 1 server owners. Mind you, that's 2 *alleged* complaints against an autoresponder provider servicing many, many individual accounts.

Level 1 goes "Holy Baloney, it's spam cop!" and shuts down the entire account. Like in kindergarten, everyone is punished for the 'sins' of 1. Or, in this case, the alleged sins of 2.

As pathetically silly as the above is, here's the real kicker...

Both spam complainant's ip addresses were listed in the list owners data base. If you're familar with this, the ip address pretty much confirms "it probably 'ain't no stinkin' spam!

This info was quickly shared with spam cop, Level 1 & Level 2.

"Hey!" sez spam cop,

(with Level 1 & 2 going, "Yes, Master...")

...sez spam cop, "OK. But...Prove they were double opt- ins!"

In other words, carry around a 2 ton elephant on your back.

It took 21 days, but somehow the smart, well-dressed, nicest guy in the world, gentleman who owns the autoresponder service, has somehow managed to carry that elephant over to spam cop's dark and dreary dungeon...The same dungeon filled with the useless screams of spam cop's many innocent victims...

While the real spammers grow stronger each passing day!