I have heard from several people that they are getting unsolicited emails and/or newsletters. I was wondering if anybody else had the same issue.
I was wondering about the same thing yesterday. There was a discussion about it but the thread was removed. There seemed to be some disagreement about it. Some said yes, some said no.
No, email addresses were not sold. Your address never left its home in the BT1 database. This email originated from BT1. They now own the DHF database. It was transferred to them when they took over operation of TuDiabetes.
The email is not spam but rather a reputable organization doing fundraising within its membership. They gotta pay the bill some way.
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hmmmm…
@Eric2, I do not understand why you want to vilify and damn this organization for doing what every non profit does, fundraise. There are no free rides in this world, a slight intrusion into your Inbox seems like a small price to pay. If you object to this practice you are welcome to delete any unwanted email.
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Slight, it may be… but you are correct in calling it an “intrusion”. Just leaves a bad taste… Maybe an opt-in would have been more responsible.
TuDiabetes has never sold any information or email addresses. Historically DHF has made partnerships with other companies to promote a product (OneDrop, Livongo, Medtronic, etc.) as part of their fundraising plan. The Livongo campaign is a previous commitment and Beyond Type 1 is honoring that deal. But the member information has NEVER been handed out to some else.
If the person does not want to receive the emails, can simply unsubscribe at the bottom of the email. This is not unusual!
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Wow, why so angry?
I am not vilifying anything.
I got the email and because someone had the same issue, yesterday I asked the question:
And then THAT thread - which at least had an exchange of information about the topic and a reasonable difference of opinion about wanting unsolicited email, seems to keep getting hidden and unhidden.
It is not unreasonable to question it when a company sends you unwanted emails or gives your email address away to some other entity. People want to know what is going on.
Nobody is being mean to you, they are asking fair questions. What happened to the Livongo thread that was talking about it yesterday?
Why is it that at the first hint of disagreement, you guys unlist a thread?
Nobody is attacking you or TuD, they want to know why their email address was given away. You can answer that without getting so incredibly defensive.
Let’s start over:
Gary, it appears that my email address was given away to a commercial enterprise without my permission, and they are sending me unwanted emails. Can you guys stop doing that?
Your email address was NOT given to anyone, and will NOT be given to anyone! We (Tud) are the ones sending out the emails.
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How many ways can we say this. BT1 did not give away anyones email. Livongo does not have anyone’s email addresses. BT1 sent the email in question.
Fundraising pure and simple.
No one is angry here…but it seems you want an answer that we cannot provide. No, your email was not sold- Yes, you can unsuscribe. Yes, if you unsuscribe you wont receive any further emails. Yes, tudiabetes sent the email. No, it is not a new email, you must have received a previous one.
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Ok, thank you. But the email just looked like a big advertisement for Livongo.
Thanks Mariana, I appreciate that. Your response is nice. That sort of answer goes a long way in putting these issues to bed.
Some of the other responses I received that came across as angry and defensive did not help resolve the issue, they inflamed it. But I do appreciate your calming words.
I think some are missing the point of those who are upset. From my read of the thread that was removed, there are two major issues beyond the perceived-but-not-perpetrated sale of email addresses:
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people don’t want to have products sold to them by a support community. If we are about supporting people let’s leave it at that.
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people don’t want this community championing, sanctioning, or hitched to the wagon of any particular product. What happens if, six months down the road, someone unaware of the association starts a thread called “Livongo vs Contour Next” and I respond to that thread with the fact that I can get 200 CN strips retail through Walmart online cheaper than a month of Livongo, and I can’t see myself utilizing family texts or the CDE consult? Are the mods beholden to take action against me? Conflict of interest there.
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Very good points, @auntlisa1103. I do think that the removal of the initial thread just served to cause even more confusion.
and
Seems like there is some mixed messages here. I was just curious as to how advertisements were coming unsolicited. Anyone can hang up on a telemarketer, but it still is frustrating when you get one. Seems like potential conflicts of interest are inevitable.
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I get what you’re saying, and I’m not a mod here. But, consider the following:
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This support community isn’t free, but we don’t pay for it. How does it continue to function? Because of partnerships with organizations that raise funds (or sell products).
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The owners of this particular organization has a relationship with a company that enables it to provide the forum services to us (the users) for free. The reason you don’t pay a subscription fee? Because TuD uses a different model to secure funds.
@Bradford1, again, I get where you’re coming from, but it’s not particularly complicated. No mixed messages. TUD has to support the cost of hosting forums somehow, and users don’t pay. You can also unsubscribe from the emails. I don’t like spam mail any more than the next person, but unsubscribing from lists isn’t particularly difficult to do. At least BT1 respects the unsubscribe requests! Real spam mail (which I get plenty of through work) doesn’t do that at all.
Anyways, yes, it sucks to get unsolicited mail. However, it may be a price for participating in this particular community. It’s small enough that I personally am willing to pay it. No grand conspiracies or underhanded actions are required to explain any of this.
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Beyond Type 1:
“Our Leadership, Founding Friends, and certain Corporate Sponsors cover 100% of our operational costs allowing 100% of every dollar you donate to have a powerful and direct impact.”
It would be misleading to state that the advertising campaign with Livongo is being used to cover expenses related to these forums. If the money from the Livongo campaign WERE used to cover operational expenses, that would directly contradict the Beyond Type 1 funding message.
I am not saying the advertising campaign with Livongo is good or bad, helpful or not. But accuracy and openness is important for non-profit organizations particularly with regard to financing.
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Considering that the relationship between BT1, DHF, TUD, and etc. is relatively new, I imagine it might take time to work things out. Having inconsistent language is hardly surprising, given the circumstances.
But, I’m going to bow out of this thread. Seems again we are once again infested by Sea Lawyers on this forum, which is quite disappointing.
Your ad hominem insults are a very good reason for you to bow out of this thread, and would also be a very good reason to be removed from this forum, as it is not the first time you have posted inappropriate characterizations.
@David49 there’s fundraising and then there’s fundraising. People are complaining about the method, not the need.
My point with my post was, stop fixating on convincing people that TuD needs the the money and is truly getting it, because it ignores what people are really complaining about.
And FWIW, I’ve been a Legal Assistant at a law firm for three years. Conflict of interest is a serious thing that breeds major distrust. I’ve seen clients fire an attorney because the attorney’s cousin’s SO is FB friends with the client’s ex’s new spouse.
The fundamental issue here is that a mistrust has been created.
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To believe that any non-profit organization does not need to fundraise is naĂŻve. No matter how well positioned it is it must successfully and continually fundraise or it will die. I do not view the statement of BT1 and the actions it is taking as conflicted. They do appear to be well positioned to serve but their excellent mission requires more than money to keep the lights on, there is always more that needs to be done, more people to serve.
They can not sit back on their laurels or they will become irrelevant.