Emi & Phil

Emi & Phil's chapter on e-mail newletters has a lot of valuable advice. I particularly like the advice for campaigns to find ways for users to interact that allow the campaign to maintain control over content, to make sure candidates are welcome on a discussion list, to include clear instructions for unsubscribing. Links in e-mail to allow readers control over what they delve into are also a great idea.

I had some questions about two sections, though. First was the case study in which an office-holder used his own funds in order to set up a website that collected e-mail addresses. He was later free to use that list in the service of a later campaign. But would people be annoyed to be contacted for a different purpose?

Another part was the suggestion of

simply building a list [of e-mails] by using e-mail addresses found on the websites of local civic, religious, corporate, or educational institutions (p. 224).

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting, but doesn't this go against the IPDI admonitions against "harvesting?"