lets say i wanted to market my site by sending emails to people... If i got an email spider (which would get tons of peoples emails without it being authorized) and then sent all those people an email telling them about my site or product, would that be legal or illegal? where is the line between legal and illegal, what makes it legal?
It's only legal if they sign up to receive info from you (based on info which is not blatantly misleading) and given the option to opt-out of your list. E-mail harvest by spider is by definition spam. Buying and using such lists is still spam. So are most "opt-in" lists. Waste of time, those people did not opt-in to your offer, so it will still be junk. In addition to being illegal, untargeted e-mails have a very low conversion rate. Most people will not respond to obvious spam. If you were able to harvest their e-mail, how many others have? You'd be better off building a list by offering a free information product (like a PLR e-book related to your product in some way) and collecting voluntary e-mail registrations. Do not sell your list, ever, and promise that in your sign-up terms. A good list is about targeted, willing participants, not unknown random junk. Do it right. A clear privacy/opt-out policy will prevent problems down the road.
Read up on the CAN-SPAM act if your business is in the US: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/business.htm
ok, thanks everyone... i will probably set up a page where people can subscribe to receive info about stuff that relates to my product!