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Cigar Steward - Have They No Shame

sigguy

smoking gun & cigar
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I responded asking him where he got may address from, here was his reply:

George to me

show details 5:37 PM (2 hours ago)


Reply


sigguy,

Your email address was published publicly on an internet cigar forum. While we are quite sensitive to privacy concerns, our presumption is that people who post their email addresses on cigar forums are interested in communications regarding cigars.

We hope you enjoy or new site,

George
//////////////////////////////////////////////

I have no intentions of joining his site.
 

Eric

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Your email address was published publicly on an internet cigar forum. While we are quite sensitive to privacy concerns, our presumption is that people who post their email addresses on cigar forums are interested in communications regarding cigars.
Email addresses weren't publically posted. You have to register to see emails (not anymore) and is/was a benefit for other members for contact - not for harvesting emails of all members so they can solicit unethically. Thus, their claim of privacy concerns is a pure concoction of bullshit.

To this day I have never recieved any contact for permission or an apology.
 
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I got a personal invitation to this site a few weeks ago from one of the guys that's developing it. If you pop into the General section of the Forums, you can see who else has jumped on board (a few reputable names/guys that review a lot of cigars).

I think they're trying to do something good with the site (give people a place to store their reviews, etc), it just sounds like they took a mis-step when it came to publicizing it.
 

Pendaboot

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I think they're trying to do something good with the site (give people a place to store their reviews, etc), it just sounds like they took a mis-step when it came to publicizing it.
Spam is one thing, but this is closer to the line than a Viagra ad that goes out to everyone. I do internet publicity for a living, and I can tell you that this kind of approach is well on this side of the line. I am an old timer too, and am very sensitive to spam and being exploited, but there has to be a line within which we can all survive. If you like the idea, fine. If you don't, fine also. But condemnation?

It is extremely hard to find your market in the world of marketing. This company wants to find cigar enthusiasts. Where else do you think they could go to find us? Now that the peer pressure thing is in full effect on this forum, no member is likely to post that they found this site to be interesting. Thus, we can't even discuss it. That's not right, IMHO.

[Full disclosure - I have absolutely NO connection with this site, cigarsteward. I knew nothing about it until I read about it here, in this thread, this morning. And I do find the idea interesting.]
 
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They should have just posted a thread on the forum telling us they are starting the site and what its about. They probably would have gotten a few people checking it out cause its not that bad of an idea for a site if run properly.
 

Pendaboot

Robusto
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That's what I mean. If their approach had been a little more delicate, the idea is pretty good. I am not so sure about their implementation, but it bears some attention. If done right, this is a need that ought to be filled some kind of way.

It deserves more than a knee jerk reaction, is all.
 
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