Legitimate email marketers need to take a stand

I was reading an article on Virus Rants and the opening paragraph really stood out.

you wouldn’t think this needs to be said, but apparently it does – being a whitehat means taking sides. more than that, it means taking the side aligned (more or less) with the general public’s interests – doing things for their direct or indirect benefit.

In the ISP world most sentences that start with “I’m a legitimate email marketer” end with a description of why the legitimate email marketer should be allowed to send mail that recipients may not want. This type of statement tends to annoy (or worse) the ISP representatives that are listening to why they should be allowing mail from this legitimate sender through.
Being a legitimate email marketer means taking sides and taking the side aligned with the general public’s interest. It does not mean that you get a free pass against blocking and filtering at ISPs, it means that you adhere to a higher standard. It means doing the right things, rejecting the bad things and standing up against those who adopt poor practices.
HT: Box of Meat