Email Policy Statement

(Last updated January 20, 2009)

We at Pikauba Software understand and appreciate the difficulty communicating with email has become with the proliferation of unsolicited commercial email, commonly known as spam. To that end we have designed an email policy which will clearly indicate how we use email, and how any email you send to us will be treated.

Note: We consider this to be one part of running a responsible business, and would encourage anyone viewing this policy to encourage their employer to adopt a similar policy.

Email promotion

In plain English:

We do not promote any Pikauba Software product or service via email to prospective customers. We don't believe it is an effective business practice to annoy a potential customer, and that is generally the only real result sales oriented email obtains.
We may occasionally sponsor newsletters and other periodical content which could be distributed by email. Generally individuals receiving the newsletter will have subscribed to receive such content (opt-in), and as such we are only advertising within the newsletter.
Any current advertising campaigns, which could be distributed by email (e.g. within a newsletter), will be clearly listed on the "About Pikauba" web pages. This always provides a clear way for recipients to determine that any email they receive containing any reference to Pikauba.com, where products or services were promoted, was authorized by Pikauba.com.
We understand that there are unscrupulous marketers who will promote products or services using means which are illegal. Such means include email forgery. If at any time you receive an email of any nature purporting to originate from Pikauba Software which you believe to have been sent under false pretense, please let us know. If we have inadvertently contracted to advertise with such an organization, the campaign will be terminated and no future advertising will occur with that organization.
We do not send any promotional email, with the exception of free update notices for which you are entitled under a previous purchase. Effective June 1, 2005, free update notices will no longer be sent via email, unless as a result of an email conversation initiated by you. Updates are available via RSS .
We never initiate email communication using a support email address. Replies to inquiries sent to a support email address may be sent from a support email address, but generally will be from a 'real' email address.
We will only initiate free upgrade email communication from a sales email address. Inquiries of a sales nature may be replied to from a sales email address, but generally will be from a 'real' email address..

How we handle your emails

Your requests to Pikauba Software for information and support are very important. Due to the level of spam (unsolicited commercial email) recevied by Pikauba Software, multiple email filters have been implemented. Given the nature of the filters, it is possible that your legitimate communication will be filtered and not seen. What follows is a plain description of how we process emails. If you follow these guidelines, your email will get through to a person who can act upon it.

If you have provided an email address to Pikauba.com, that email address will only be used within the guidelines established by you. Specifically,
1. It will only be used to reply to inquiries you have initiated.
2. If you have purchased a product and are within the free upgrade period, the availability of any free upgrade will be promoted. Effective June 1, 2005, free update notices will no longer be sent via email, unless as a result of an email conversation initiated by you. Updates are available via RSS .
3. If you have previously indicated a willingness to participate in a beta program, you may be informed of upcoming programs related to the product(s) you purchased from us.
4. Your email address and any other information associated with you will never be sold, rented, traded, or "leaked" to any third party. We do not maintain any online accessible list or database of customer email addresses.
We make use of white lists to screen email. An email address is added to the white list when it is determined that the sender is a customer of Pikauba.com, or is making a valid inquiry of Pikauba.com. Any email address used during registration/purchase of a Pikauba.com product is automatically added to the white list.
If you are making a request of Pikauba.com, and are not on the white list, you should include the name of a Pikauba Software product in the subject line. If no mention of a Pikauba Software product or of Pikauba Software is made in the subject line, your email will be subject to additional processing.
If you are reporting a bug using the dedicated bug email box, please use the template. Emails sent without the appropriate template will be subject to additional processing.
If your email becomes subject to additional processing, it will be handled by a number of filters, including a black hole check and Bayesian statistics. If your email fails these checks, it will not be seen by a human. This means that you should not expect any reply, nor will the email be viewed.
Occasionally the postmaster of Pikauba.com will look for quantities of rejected email originating from the same servers, or promoting the same product. In such situations, if your inquiry appears legitimate (in other words the filters incorrectly marked your email as spam), it will be released. Generally, senders of spam will receive a blanket request to remove all members of the Pikauba.com community from their mailing lists and any future emails from them will be quarantined.

If you wish to comment on these policies and procedures, please contact sales, and include the phrase "Email policy comment".