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eteddys Nov 3, 2009

Hello,
I am posting because yesterday, I received an email update from a fellow artist whose list I am on.  I wanted to tell her about a new venture that I have started.  So, I hit "reply" and typed her a personal email.  Mind you, I did not hit the "reply all" button, just reply.  Somehow, because of her mailing list settings, it went to her ENTIRE list.  One of the list members emailed me and said, "Why did I get this personal email?"  That is how I found out.  The email addresses did not appear on my machine, however, 2 personal emails that I sent went to her mailing list.  I have obviously alerted her to this problem with my sincerest apologies.  So, when you set up your mailing list, PLEASE, make sure to do it in a way that this cannot happen.  I am beyond mortified that my personal email went out to lord knows how many.  I don't want anyone to think that I did this intentionally, especially after the recent discussion on mailing list theft.  I don't have possession of the mailing list, just hit reply.  I apologize to anyone who is on this list that received my email.

I think I shall crawl in a hole now! 

~ Alison
   

sandra p Nov 3, 2009

oh you poor thing ,what an awful thing to happen,obviously not your fault so i wouldnt feel bad about it,
i've just set up a mailing list with constant contact after reading how jenny and melanie do it on joannes post,i just hope nothing horrible happens 
:hug: sandra

Plum Cottage Bears Cute Animal AmbassadorNov 3, 2009

Of course it's just a coincidence, but I am about to assemble and send out the holiday card mailing list.  I don't want to do something that would cause the list to be sent on to unintended recipients.  Other than using the bcc feature on Outlook, what would be the best way for me to handle the security and privacy of the holiday card mailing list?  Thanks for any suggestions.

Bubble-Up Bears Nov 4, 2009

Wow!!!
I have done this very thing many many times. I won't be doing it again that's for sure. I'll just start with a fresh email. However I did go to an email I recieved today that has multiple address on it and hit the "Reply" button just to see and only the senders address came up. Then I hit "reply All" and everyone's email address came up. Which is what I expected. Are you sure you didn't hit "reply all"? I feel so bad for you because like you said it wasn't meant for everyone.
I just read your post again Alison and if I'm reading right you never saw multiple addresses? So the addresses were not disclosed? I sure would like to know what went wrong with her mailer.
Sorry this had to happen to you Alison.

eteddys Nov 4, 2009

Cindy,
I did not hit "reply to all."  When the geek (aka my hubby) got home last night I had him look at the emails I received and sent.  This artist had her return path set up incorrectly.  The return path is the email address that mail goes to when you hit the reply button.  When you hit reply the email that was set up was friends@teddyartist.com instead of artistsname@teddyartist.com.  She had her mailing list named "friends" and so the message went to her entire "friends" list.  I never saw or had access to the individual addresses on the friends list so her list was in no way compromised.  My geek-man emailed her and let her know to change the default setting of the return path.  Even if you do use "reply all" you should not be able to email an entire list if it is set up properly.  Meanwhile, I will be checking if I use the reply button to make sure the email is going to whom I intend.  I don't want this to happen again to me or any other artist.  I was completely embarrassed :redface: and some people think that she gave her list out or that I stole it which is not at all what happened.  It was just a simple mistake in the set up of the return path. 

Hugs,
Alison

Quy Help Advisor, Banner SponsorNov 4, 2009

Other than using the bcc feature on Outlook, what would be the best way for me to handle the security and privacy of the holiday card mailing list?

Check out this mailing list software at http://www.group-mail.com/asp/common/editions.asp. There is a free edition that sends out 100 recipients per send.  The software sends out one email per email address. If you have 50 email addresses, then it will send out 50 emails vs. 1 email with email addresses in BCC/CC.

Us Bears Nov 4, 2009

Here is a link to a page that can help walk you through using Outlook to send messages to many people without disclosing the list to each sender.:  http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/q … closed.htm

However, I would not use Outlook or any other personal e-mail client to send messages to more than a dozen or so recipients.  You need software that can help you keep track of who you are sending to, when and how often.

Quy's link is a good one, I think.  It is a free application and they offer a paid version.  I think this software will do what you want.

There are on-line services like Constant Contact, however, I'm the kind of person who prefers to do things himself.  It's extra work but things get done the way I want them to and nobody else has knowledge of my mailing lists or the people I do business with.
Yes, website based services promise confidentiality.  I'm sure they do everything they can to maintain confidentiality.  But the truth is the only way to ensure the security of your property, physical or intellectual, is never to let your property out of your control.  Therefore, I prefer to use bulk e-mail software on my own computer instead of a webstie based system.

Here is the software I use to do mass mailings:
http://maxprog.com/site/software/intern … eet_us.php

It's good software.  Fairly intuitive to use.  It does the job efficiently and it's not very expensive.
You can download it for free and use it as trial software.  If you like it, you can pay the $60 shareware fee and unlock all the features of the program.

I use MaxBulk at work and it does everything I need it to do.

Bubble-Up Bears Nov 5, 2009

Thanks for the clarification Alison.
Maybe she can notify her list and let them know what happened. In the mean time I think I will be safe and just start a new. Like I said this could of happened to me, any of us who reply by hitting that "Reply" button because we don't know by looking how the sender has it set up.
This has been a very informative thread for me.
Thank you for bring it to light Alison.

Lisa Nov 5, 2009

Wow, I've gotten a couple of personal E-mails from people and have thought -- why am I getting this E-mail.  I better tell them to check their settings on their lists!

ScaliWagGrrs Nov 6, 2009

I downloaded the free group mail software but am having trouble right off the bat as it wants to know my stp server. Since I have no idea what that is I can't use this.  I swear I hate computers sometimes. GRRRRRRR!
Beth

Us Bears Nov 6, 2009

"GroupMail" or "MaxBulk" or any similar program is a stand-in for your regular e-mail program.

Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail are PERSONAL e-mail programs which manage your personal one-to-one communications.  A bulk mailer does something a little different.  It is meant to manage large lists of names and e-mail addresses then efficiently send messages to the names on your list.

You are not replacing your original e-mail program.  You are just using another program temporarily.  It's kind of like changing channels on TV.  You can switch back and forth.

Okay...  What's all this "SMTP" stuff they're talking about?
"SMTP" stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol."  In short, that's the way your e-mail program talks to your e-mail provider via the internet.
When a program is asking for your SMTP server name it is basically asking, "Who is your e-mail provider?"  It needs to know how to connect to the internet so it can send your mail.

What is the company you use for internet and e-mail?

For example, let's say you use Verizon.
Your SMTP server is probably something like "mail.verizon.com" or something like that.

The program will probably ask you for other information about other information to access your e-mail account.
If you have any more questions, give a holler.  We'll try to help you out.

ScaliWagGrrs Nov 7, 2009

Thanks for the help. I'm not up to tackling this today--been sick for three days but help is appreciated.
Beth