******** Special alert *********

My daughter age 13 received a seemingly innocent e-mail from a
company named quickdot.com the other day with what I believe to
have very serious ramifications.  It was also sent to me by the
same company who put my daughters name as the sender, not their
own, because my daughter gave them my e-mail address.  It is the
only reason I opened it because I thought my daughter sent it to
me directly.

The message from quickdot.com, subject "Dot me!" reads as follows:
=================================================================
<Full name of a known friend> would like to establish a Quickdot
connection with you. <Your known friends first name> has created
one end of the connection and is waiting for you to activate your
end.

Quickdot is a free, Web-based messaging service. It's like email
with a better interface and instant messaging without the
interruptions. It works on any Web station, requires no
downloading, and works behind firewalls.
=================================================================

And, right at the top of their own privacy policy but accessible
only from a link buried in fine print reads:
=================================================================
What information we collect and why.
During initial registration we ask you to provide some PERSONAL
information, including name, email address, birth year, gender,
address, zip code, and occupation. Quickdot uses this information
to track demographic statistics and present individualized offers.
=================================================================

Before you give in to what looks like a pretty good deal, read
their terms of use and privacy policy all the way through and
consider very carefully if you want to give up personally
identifiable information about yourself to a company that openly
states they are going to use that information to market to you.

And, In order to sign up for their "Free" service you must give
them at least SIX other valid working e-mail addresses to market
to who will then receive the same message with YOUR name in it.
This is an incredibly clever marketing scheme with no other
purpose than to compile e-mail addresses and marketing information
on you!

Not only do I regard this method as deceptive but on the terms of
use page which is also accessible only from a link buried in fine
print reads:
==================================================================
This Service is provided to individuals who are at least 18 years
old or minors who have parental permission to open and maintain an
account. BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AND COMPLETING THE
REGISTRATION PROCESS, YOU ARE STATING THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN
ACCOUNT AND THAT YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THESE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF THE SERVICE.
==================================================================

Not only did she not have my permission but even after divulging
her age on their questionnaire by entering her correct date of
birth (For which I suspended her computer privileges for a week)
no measures were taken to verify she had my permission for access
to this site, their service or to be subjected to their marketing.

Even though Quickdot does not permit users under the age of 13,
which might make them subject to the rules under the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) passed in 1998 and became
effective April 21, 2000, their policy basically binds them to the
same rules as COPPA for children up to the age of 18.  They are:

	1) Provide clear notice of information collection and use
	   practices. 
	2) Obtain verifiable parental consent prior to collecting
	   and using personal information.
	3) Provide parents access to their children's personal
	   information and prevent further use.

Seems to me that they omitted items two and three.  I wonder how
the FTC will feel about it?

Just another get rich quick scheme designed to erode your privacy
online.  I'm not saying don't do it.  All I'm saying is be smart
and know what you're getting into.  As for me, I'll pass thank you
very much.