Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!snorkelwacker!apple!bionet!hayes.fai.alaska.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: boulder!boulder!bobk@ncar.ucar.edu (Robert Kinne) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Sierra Club Considered Harmful! Message-ID: <11732@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 5 Sep 90 03:20:33 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Robert Kinne Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder Lines: 27 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 620, Message 1 of 8 A few weeks ago I rejoined the Sierra Club after a few years hiatus. Shortly thereafter, we received a telephone call requesting financial support for a specific Sierra Club fund. We politely declined, explaining that we never contribute or purchase in response to phone solicitation. Somewhat huffily, the caller accepted this. Since then we have had at least one, often two calls per day. The tone has ranged from arrogance to insult, with some relatively abusive. The callers have refused our request to take our name off the targeted list for their solicitations. This has been going on for about three weeks. Today I mailed a resignation to the Sierra Club, pointing out that I am opposed to all pollution, including sound pollution, and that I consider unwanted harassing phone calls to be sound pollution, and that I had no wish to belong to any organization that operates in this manner. I also plan to contact appropriate federal officials to seek a total ban on telephone solicitation, which has grown to comprise at least 20% of the incoming phone calls at my home. Others are encouraged to do the same. [Moderator's Note: I can't help but wonder if the Sierra Club was doing this or if they had farmed it out to some telemarketing organization. If the latter, you really should not take it out on the Sierra Club until you are sure they are aware of, and approve of the techniques being used. The organization may have not known how obnoxious their agents were on the phone. PAT]