I had a though recently that a directory would be a great, and covert, way of gathering email addresses. Some people's email addresses will be false but half could be genuine and if you had a free submission directory with 10,000 you could have a fairly decent list of email addresses. I don't think it would be a very good quality list, or would it? NB - my directory doesn't do this
You are NOT the first to have this "thought". SPAMMING IDIOTS use this method each and every day. Thats exactly why I get 200 viagra emails a day now!
Let me preface this by saying that spam is bad. I don't spam. I wrote a mod for PHP Link Directory that requires users to enter a valid email address. The mod then sends a comfirmation link to that email address which the submitter must click in order for their link to be placed in the review queue. This has drastically cut down on the number of spam submissions I have to delete from www.ndthunder.com. It also means that I have a list of 2000+ emails that are legitimate (or at least were at the time of submission). I do state in my terms of service that I may send you emails, and the submitter has the option of removing their link from the directory which is automatic and instant. This meets all the requirements for an opt-in email list, however, as everyone has already pointed out, sending out spam to this list would quickly earn my directory a bad reputation. My opinion is that if you are going to do this, make sure you build a legitimate list of opt-in only and have method for automatic removal frm the directory. Also make sure to clearly state the fact that they will be getting emails from you.
I already have a privacy policy in place on my directory informing that i will never use the clients email address for anything more than informing them of the state of their listing or if there is a problem of some sort. As britishguy points out, its Taboo.
When I submit to directories, I usually set up a new, and temporary, email for each domain. So do a lot of other directory submitters. So your list will go stale faster than usual, and it's not that hard to figure out just who is sending spam from emails harvested through directories.
I was wondering because I get loads of SPAM to an email address that is not published on the net. Yet I used it a lot to do directory submissions .. now I get 10 spam emails a day. The question arose from that really.
One thing I should point out is that the spam emails may not always be from the directory owner. Previous versions of PHP Link Directory had a bug that allowed you to get all the emails from a directory. I don't doubt that many spammers knew about it and used it to scrape a bunch of emails from some of the bigger and more established directories.
Here is one that sends out emails. Do you get from him too? -- Small Business Directory Network iEntry, Inc.-- iEntry, Inc. 2549 Richmond Rd. Lexington KY, 40509
In the past, I've run into a directory or two that has sold my email address to spammers. So, like many others, I now rotate addresses so I can find the culprit. When I do, I launch a counter attack, spamming the directory with every garbage site I know of. Vicious? maybe. . . but deserved. Don't do it. It's bad karma. /*tom*/
Your directory will die very quickly once webmasters mark you as a spammer. I strongly urge you to give up this idea.
My directory doesn't work like this, as those who are on it will tell you. It was a test question from stuff I'd seen on my link building travels. My point was that, in my opinion, some unscrupulous dir owners (perhaps a few that i know of) use it this way.