You’ll start noticing some extra legalese wording in my e-mails; I’ve just learned that most of them fit the Federal Trade Commission’s definition of commercial e-mail since they define it very broadly — anything that is trying to exchange something for money. The CAN-SPAM Act applies to essentially all businesses that use e-mail, even charities. The law applies to individual messages as well as those broadcast to a group. Since most of you (both vendors/suppliers and leasing agents) probably communicate electronically with your customers and prospects, you need to look into the requirements of the CAN-SPAM law which became effective 1/1/04. You probably don’t think of yourself as a commercial e-mailer, but by the law’s definition, you are. This doesn’t mean that your messages are spam, only that the Act applies to them. Even if someone has specifically requested the information you’re sending them by e-mail, there are rules you have to follow when sending commercial messages. Fines for violating the law are very steep ($11,000 per violation) and they accelerate at a frightening rate since every single noncompliant message you send counts as a separate violation. For more information, visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm