It's not just that an increasing number of vendors seem to feel that they have the right to send unsolicited commercial e-mail to their customers on an opt-out basis. A number of readers object very strongly to this practice, but others feel it's not a big deal. If it's a company you have a relationship with, it's not that onerous to opt out when it starts sending you ads.

As AOL customers who had previously opted not to receive pop-up advertisements from AOL and/or its partners, the readers had been surprised to receive an e-mail about "Your AOL Marketing Preferences." The message warned customers that their stated preference "not to receive these valuable offers through pop-ups" was about to expire, and they would have to renew them or the pop-up windows would resume.

Political News from Wired News - Censorship Suit Thrown Out. Turns out that lawyers for the plaintiffs -- which include PSINet, the Virginia ISP Alliance, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and authors Harlan Ellison and Susie Bright -- didn't sue the right people.

Newsbytes - Better Business Bureau Drafts Online Code of Conduct. Bodoff said detailed information on each point is available on the BBBOnLine Web site ( http:///www.bbbonline.org ), along with a request that interested parties look closely at some of the tougher issues - such as online privacy - and offer their own opinions for a final draft.

Highware. SafeMail is distributed as shareware. The current version is 2.0.3 Compatible with the OpenPGP standard, Exchange secured mails with Mac, Windows and Unix users

ZooAtlanta Panda Cams. I guess Panda's don't get privacy.

New York Times - free registration required Senate Approves Electronic Signatures. The legislation would establish a minimum standard for electronic signatures while states work on overhauling their own laws.