Messaging Policy

The actions individual Customers take can have a big impact on our system as a whole. That’s why all ahoy! users must follow this Messaging Policy in their use of ahoy! and any other ahoy! products or add-ons.

This Messaging Policy (the “Messaging Policy”) applies to the ahoy! services, which include the sending of digital messages and related digital messaging services (the “Services”) offered by Ahoy Technologies, Inc, d/b/a ahoy! and Longstreet Solutions Inc, d/b/a Pirate Labs, State of Georgia corporations, (collectively, “ahoy!”, “we”, “us” or “our”) to any individual, organization, business entity, and/or user (“you” or “your”), through the website ahoyemail.com or any other websites or mobile applications (collectively, the “Websites”) that reference or link to this Messaging Policy.  Any capitalized terms used but not defined in this Messaging Policy will have the meaning given to such terms in the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

You agree to create, store, and send all digital messages using the Services in strict compliance with this Messaging Policy. Your continued use of or access to the Services constitute acceptance of this Messaging Policy. If you violate this policy, we have the sole discretion to take any action we deem appropriate regarding your access to the Websites or Services, including without limitation, immediate suspension or termination of your access to the Websites or Services without notice. We may also suspend or terminate accounts according to our Terms of Use where we see behavior, content, or other factors that pose a threat to our system.

Compliance with Digital Message Sending Best Practices.

We require you to follow these best practices when sending Digital Messages using the Services:

1. Use only permission-based marketing Digital Message lists (i.e., lists in which each Subscriber has explicitly granted permission to receive Digital Messages from you by affirmatively opting-in to receive those Digital Messages).
2. Always include a working “unsubscribe” mechanism in each marketing Digital Message that allows Subscribers to opt out from your mailing list (receipt/transactional messages that are exempt from “unsubscribe” requirements of applicable law are exempt from this requirement).
3. Always provide an option in each Digital Message that allows Subscribers to amend their information, such as their email address.
4. Comply with all requests from Subscribers to be removed from your mailing list within 10 days of receipt of the request or the appropriate deadline under applicable law.
5. Maintain, publish, and comply with a privacy policy that meets all applicable legal requirements, whether or not your organization controls the sending of the Digital Messages.
6. Include in each Digital Message a link to your then-current privacy policy applicable to that Digital Message.
7. Include in each Digital Message your valid physical mailing address or a link to that information.
8. Do not send to addresses obtained from purchased or rented Digital Message lists.
9. Do not use third party message addresses, domain names, or mail servers without proper permission.
10. Do not routinely send Digital Messages to non-specific addresses (e.g., webmaster@domain.com or info@domain.com).
11. Do not send Digital Messages that result in an unacceptable number of spam or similar complaints (even if the Digital Messages themselves are not actually spam).
12. Do not disguise the origin, or subject matter of, any Digital Message or falsify or manipulate the originating message address, subject line, header, or transmission path information for any Digital Message.
13. Do not send offers for the purpose of obtaining personal information or generating leads for third parties.
14. Do not send “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or other types of messages that encourage the Subscribers to forward the content to strangers.
15. Do not send to lists of addresses that are programmatically generated or scraped from the Web.
16. Do not employ sending practices, or have overall message delivery rates, which negatively impact the Services or other users of the Services.
17. Do not use the Services to send messages that may be considered junk mail.  Some examples of this type of messages include messaging related to: affiliate marketing, penny stocks, gambling, multi-level marketing, direct to consumer pharmaceutical sales, payday loans, etc.

Compliance

Your use of the Services must comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and court orders of any kind of any jurisdiction applicable to you, us, and any Subscriber to whom you use the Services to send Digital Messages (“Applicable Law”).  You have the responsibility to be aware of and understand all Applicable Laws and ensure that you and all Users of your Account comply at all times with Applicable Law. Some examples of Applicable Laws include: the U.S. CAN-SPAM ACT, The E.U. Directive of Privacy and Electronic Communications, the U.K. Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003; the Canada Anti-Spam Law (CASL) and/or any similar law, laws relating to intellectual property, privacy, security, terrorism, corruption, child protection, or import/export laws.

Please don’t use ahoy! to send anything offensive, to promote anything illegal, or to harass anyone. You may not:

• Send emails offering to sell illegal goods or services
• Send pornography/sexually explicit content
• Store, distribute or transmit any malware or other material that you know, or have reasonable grounds to believe, is or may be tortious, libelous, offensive, infringing, harassing, harmful, disruptive or abusive
• Commit (or promote, aid or abet) any behavior, which you know, or have reasonable grounds to believe, is or may be tortious, libelous, offensive, infringing, harassing, harmful, disruptive or abusive.  Examples may include Digital Messages that are themselves are or promote racism, homophobia, or other hate speech

Some industries have higher-than-average abuse complaints, which can jeopardize the deliverability of our entire system. In order to maintain the highest delivery rates possible for all our customers, we can’t allow businesses that offer these types of services, products, or content:

• Escort services, mail-order bride/spouse finders, international marriage brokers, and other similar sites and services
• Hookup, swinger, or sexual encounter sites or services
• Pharmaceutical products
• Work from home, make money online, and lead generation opportunities
• Gambling services or products
• Multi-level marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Credit repair and get out of debt opportunities
• List brokers or list rental services
• Selling “Likes” or followers for a social media platform

Also, we cannot allow businesses involved in any aspect of the sale, transaction, exchange, storage, marketing or production of cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, and any digital assets related to an Initial Coin Offering, to use ahoy! to facilitate or support any of those activities.

Sending Subject to Additional Scrutiny

In general, hard bounce rates should be under 5%, and spam complaint rates should be less than 0.1%. For that reason, we may closely review, suspend, throttle, or disable accounts that exceed these rates and/or offer the following services, products, or content:

• Online trading, day trading tips, or stock market related content
• Daily horoscope reports
• Mortgages and loans
• Nutritional, herbal, and vitamin supplements
• Adult Entertainment/Novelty Items
• Online dating services and applications (dating sites or services with a sexual emphasis or sexually explicit content – including images depicting nudity – are not permitted)
• Real estate
• Services that support programmatically sending mail on behalf of third parties without creating or reviewing the content

Prohibited Actions

We work hard to maintain the positive reputation of our system, but we count on our customers to pitch in too. You may not:

• Send Spam. Spam can be in the form of bulk emails or one to one commercial emails. For bulk emails we use the definition by Spamhaus, in short “unsolicited bulk email.” For single commercial emails, we define spam as any message that violates CAN-SPAM law.
  • You must be able to point to an opt-in form or show other evidence of consent for bulk email.
• Put into your Email or Account any material that wasn’t created by you, provided for you to use, or that would violate anyone’s rights. That includes text, photos, graphics, and other content.
• Use any misleading or incorrect names, addresses, email addresses, subject lines, or other information on the Website or in any Emails created or sent using our Service.
• Share your password.
• Decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer any of the software on our Websites, or in any way used or downloaded from the Website.
• Use any of the software on our Website, or downloaded from the Website, to create a competing product.
• Use an outside unsubscribe process when sending bulk content to a list hosted in ahoy!.
• Set up multiple accounts for any person or entity in order to send similar content, unless you’re part of a franchise or agency.
• Import or incorporate any of this information into any lists, emails or uploads to our servers: Social Security numbers, passwords, security credentials, or sensitive personal information.
• Upload or send to purchased, rented, third-party, co-reg, publicly available data, or partner lists of any kind.
• Send or forward personal mail.
• Send content created in ahoy! through another service.
• Host images on our servers for any purpose other than for use in your email campaigns.
• Host content on our servers for any purpose other than to send email campaigns.
• Modify your list in order to avoid our billing thresholds.

Modifications to this Policy.  

We may modify this Messaging Policy at any time by posting the revised version on the Website and/or sending you a copy of the modified document through other reasonable means.  Your continued use of the Services will be considered acceptance of any such modification. All modifications to this Policy will be effective immediately upon posting, unless otherwise noted by us.

 

Updated April 29, 2019