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Click on your question:

What, Why, Who, When, Where

   · What is the Steely Dan Newsletter?
   · Who writes it?
   · How often is it sent -- and how timely is the info?
   · Where can I read back issues?

Joining, Leaving, Changing Subscriptions

    · How do I subscribe (join)?
    · Can I email my subscription request?
    · Why (and how) do you require confirmation?
    · I'd like to sign up my [roommate/brother/friend]. Can I?
    · Can I receive the Newsletter at multiple email addresses?
    · How do I unsubscribe (leave)?
    · Why don't you require confirmation of an unsubscribe request?
    · How do I change my subscription address?
    · I think I'm already subscribed but...how can I be sure?

Delivery and Subscription Problems

    · I signed up but I don't get newsletters. Why? What do I do?
    · Hey - I'm sure I never subscribed. So why did I get a newsletter?!
    · What events can result in my being removed from your list?
    · My unsubscribe request didn't work. Why? What do I do?
    · I missed something. Can I get back-issues delivered to me?
    · I submitted the same address more than once. What now?
    · Why don't the links in my Newsletters work?

Information and Privacy

    · What info do you collect when I subscribe?
    · How will you use my email address?
    · When I signed up before 2001, you collected more info. What changed?

 

 
 

WHAT, WHY, WHO, WHEN, WHERE

What is the Steely Dan Newsletter?

The SD Newsletter is a free, emailed newsletter sent from The Official Steely Dan Website to those who have requested to receive it. The Newsletter was established for DanFans who are interested in what Steely Dan is up to and who want to be kept informed. Our first Issue was December 4, 1999, as the release date for "Two Against Nature" approached.

Historically, Newsletter recipients have been among the first to receive official and confirmed news regarding Steely Dan tour dates, release dates, and other projects and events. We sometimes cook up the odd subscriber exclusive or giveaway, too -- goods for past exclusives have included autographed CDs, tickets to TV tapings, tour tickets, signed and unsigned promotional items -- and we provide the occasional "insider info" on an upcoming project or endeavor. We also sometimes pass along pointers to selected updates on our website, or links to sites, activities, and projects of SD fans and colleagues.

The best way to get a sense of what we do is to browse the past issues here.

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Who Writes It?

The Newsletter is written, produced, and distributed by The Steely Dan Website with guidance (sometimes), final approval (always), and contributions (occasionally) provided by Becker and/or Fagen. Guest columnists and reporters may also appear from time to time.

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How Often Is It Sent -- And How Timely Is The Info?

How Often? Our policy is to link our publication rate to the level of public, professional activities of Steely Dan. Moreover, we send a mailing only when we feel we have a critical mass of relevant items to report; we have never sent out a single-item "blast" mailing, and it is unlikely -- although not impossible -- that we will do so in the future.

And what are "relevant items" according to us? They are those concerning Steely Dan projects, releases, appearances, awards, major press notes, and other related or similar happenings or events.

Thus, we will not send out regular mailings no matter what is (or is not) happening in the public endeavors of Steely Dan. Instead, our policy is:

High professional/public activity = more frequent mailings
Low professional/public activity = less frequent mailings
No professional/public activity = no mailings

We expect many of you appreciate this conservative mailing policy.

[NB: You may also wish to subscribe to Becker and/or Fagen's solo project newsletters at donaldfagen.com and walterbecker.com].

How Timely? Newsletter readers are often the first to receive official announcements and confirmations of major events, and they have gotten the occasional "sneak peek" as well. For example, Newsletter recipients got the first official word on the release date of "Two Against Nature", and were the first to get confirmed touring dates and information on tapings for TV specials. Newsletter recipients also got first listen to Two Against Nature soundclips, and had access to a "sneak peek" page for the first few photos from the start of the 2K tour.

On the other hand, the best venue for fast-breaking information remains the Steely Dan Website, mainly when we have no advanced knowledge of said information. So, for example, although Newsletter readers were the first to get confirmed touring dates, notification of on-sale dates for individual shows -- determinations which were out of our hands, changed almost daily, and for which we never received advanced notice -- was updated [sometimes hourly in the thick of things] on the website.

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Where can I read Back-Issues?

In the archives, here. We usually post Newsletter issues in these archives shortly (but not immediately) after sending them to subscribers.

 

JOINING, LEAVING, CHANGING SUBSCRIPTIONS

How do I subscribe (join)?

The Web-based sign-up takes place in three stages:

  • First, go to the subscription page, find the "Subscribe" section, and enter your email address [e.g. joeblow@aol.com] Please type carefully.

  • This initial subscription request generates a confirmation email from us to the email address you typed in. You will be asked to reply to this confirmation email in order to finalize the subscription (read about the reasons for this procedure in the section below).

  • Once you reply to the confirmation email, we will send you a "Welcome" email, confirming that your subscription is complete, and you're scheduled to get the next Newsletter. You should make a note of the exact email address this "Welcome" message was originally sent to -- or just keep the message for your records; if you want to unscubscribe using the web-page method, you will need that exact address.

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Can I email my subscription request?

No. Subscriptions are accepted via web sign-up only.

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Why (and how) do you require confirmation?

Subscriptions to the Steely Dan Newsletter use a "Confirmation Mode" process (also sometimes referred to as a "double opt-in" procedure). In Confirmation Mode, an individual signs up to receive the Newsletter, and we send an email to that individual requiring they confirmation their subscription request via a reply. If no confirmation email is received, the address is not added to the subscription list.

The reasons for using the Confirmation Mode are many, but they boil down to providing several critical safeguards for you, for others, and for the integrity of our mailing list:

  • Without Confirmation Mode, Person A could "force-subscribe" Person B to the List -- even if Person B does not want to join the list

  • Without Confirmation Mode, many anti-spam watchdog groups may presume our Newsletter is an unsolicited mass-mailing, and block its delivery. Our operation in Confirmation Mode shows that Newsletter recipients have confirmed that they wish to receive it.

  • Occasionally, subscribers forget that they've subscribed and, upon receiving our next Newsletter, report us as a spammer. Our confirmation records allow us to assure any ISP that we run a clean, Confirmation Mode ship -- thereby protecting the very existence of the Newsletter

  • The Confirmation Mode guarantees that our list contains only valid email addresses, because it does not allow the addition of a non-existent address.

  • Occasionally, people who have multiple email addresses (or use forwarding or alias addresses) find they have trouble unsubscribing using the web-page method because they can't remember which address they signed up with. Confirmation mode cuts down on this problem somewhat since the "Welcome" email is an immediate record of the email address you will have to use if you ever want to unsubscribe.

We know that some potential subscribers chafe at being asked to confirm their subscription request, but for the reasons above and more, we are confident that the procedure provides the best protection for all involved.

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I'd like to sign up my [roommate/brother/friend]. Can I?

It depends: do you have access to your [roommate/brother/friend]'s email account? Due to our "Confirmation Mode" policy described above, an email address can be added to our subscription list only after an individual sends a reply confirmation from that email address. So you can submit anybody's email address, but only the person(s) at that email address can decide to actually subscribe (via a confirming reply)

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Can I receive the Newsletter at multiple email addresses?

Yes. As long as you can read and send email from an address, you can add the address to our subscription list. You must sign up separately for each email address you wish to add (see sign-up section here), and you will also have to confirm each request you submit (see confirmation section here)

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How do I unsubscribe (leave)?

There are two ways to unsubscribe.

The first way is Newsletter based:

  • Each Newsletter delivered to you will contain an Unsubscribe link customized for your subscription email address.

  • To use this method, scroll down to the end of your latest Newsletter, and look for the line reading: "To Unsubscribe or Change your newsletter address, click here [followed by a link]". Click the link to unsubscribe your email address

  • We then send you a final "Farewell" message, which is confirmation that you have been successfully unsubscribed.

The second way is web-page based:

  • Go to the subscription page, find the "Unsubscribe" section, and enter the email address you want to unsubscribe. You must enter the exact same email address that your "Welcome" letter was originally sent to.

  • If the email you entered exactly matches an email address on our list, it will be removed immediately.

  • We then send you a final "Farewell" message, which is confirmation that you have been successfully unsubscribed.

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Why don't you require confirmation of an unsubscribe request?

The short answer is: we are obliged to comply with an unsubscribe request immediately -- and with as few additional requirements placed on the requestor as possible.

Our "Farewell" message is the best compromise; for the person who meant to unsubscribe, it provides confirmation that they are indeed off the list and that they did not inadvertently enter a non-matching email address. For the person who has not meant to unsubscribe, it notifies them that someone else (or perhaps their own error) has removed them, and provides instructions for how to resubscribe if desired. And it conveys information to both of these potential recipients with as little additional email as possible.

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How do I change my subscription address?

There are two ways to unsubscribe.

The first way is Newsletter based:

  • Each Newsletter delivered to you will contain a Change Address / Unsubscribe link customized for your subscription email address.

  • To use this method, scroll down to the end of your latest Newsletter, and look for the line reading: "To Unsubscribe or Change your newsletter address, click here [followed by a link]". Click the link to change your delivery email address. This new subscription request will generate a confirmation email from us to your new email address, to which you must reply in order to finalize the subscription. Once you confirm, we will send you a "Welcome" email, verifying that your new subscription is successful. You should get the next Newsletter Issue at your new email address!

The second way is web-page based:

  • Go to the subscription page and find the "Change Your Email Address" section

  • In the "Old Email Address" section, enter the email address you want to remove. If the email you entered exactly matches an email address on our list, it will be removed immediately.

  • In the "New Email Address" section, enter the new email address you want to add. This new subscription request will generate a confirmation email from us to your new email address, to which you must reply in order to finalize the subscription. Once you confirm, we will send you a "Welcome" email, verifying that your new subscription is successful. You should get the next Newsletter Issue at your new email address!

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I think I'm already subscribed but...how can I be sure?

Visit the subscriptions page and submit your address in the "Subscribe" box. If your address is already on our list, you'll get an automated email saying so. [If your address wasn't on our list, you'll receive a Confirmation Request instead -- and can join by replying as directed].

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DELIVERY AND SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS

I signed up but I don't get newsletters. Why? What do I do?

Every successful sign-up entails the following four events. Which did and did not happen in your case?

#1 - You Sign Up: You submit your email address on the subscription page

#2 - We Email You: We send you a "confirmation required" email, requesting that you confirm your subscription via reply email

#3 - You Reply: You reply to our email according to its instructions

#4 - We Confirm: Once we receive your confirming e-mail, we send you a "welcome" email showing that we got your confirmation and that you have successfully signed up

IF you did #1 but did not receive #2

FIX: You almost certainly mistyped your email address in step #1. Please return to the subscription page and try again

IF you did #1, and received #2, but did not do #3

FIX: Do #3

IF you did #3 but never received #4

FIX: Try Steps #1 - #3 again.

IF #1, #2, #3 and #4 happened (that is, you did receive a Welcome message from us), but you believe you are still missing your Newsletter(s), then

I. It is possible that there has been no Newsletter issue(s) during the interval in which you were expecting one. FIX: Check the archives page for the latest delivery date. If it is before the date of your "Welcome" letter, then wait: you should receive the next Newsletter mailing


II. Even if you have signed up successfully (above), you may fail to receive your Newsletter because of one of the following delivery problems or issues:

a -1) SPAM Filtering You Know About: Do you use Spam-filtering programs, options services, or software? Please check all of them to ensure that our Newsletter will not be turned away at your InBox front door. NOTE: Because our Newsletter is automated, we cannot respond to human-reply-request filtering programs such as Matador, ChoiceMail, and others. If you use such programs, you must set the options provided by those programs to allow newsletter and mailing list deliveries, otherwise the Newsletter will get returned to us, undelivered. After two such "bounces", your email address will be removed from our list.

a -2) SPAM Filtering You May Not Know About: Your incoming email may be heavily filtered even without your knowing it -- and this may be blocking delivery of our Newsletter. For example, almost all high-volume ISPs and email providers/programs such as Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN, Earthlink, AOL, Microsoft Outlook [and many others] will automatically deliver most Newsletters to the Bulk Mail or Junk Mail Folder or even to the Trash Mailbox unless told to do otherwise. Although our Newsletter is not strictly a "mass mailing" -- because as of January '03, each Newsletter is addressed to a single (rather than to multiple) recipients -- it is still possible that your service provider or email program is "suspicious" of our Newsletter based on other criteria, and will block it. FIX: Discover if you or your provider has a SPAM filter on your incoming email. Look for our Newsletter wherever such filtered "Junk" mail is stored. Use the options provided by your email service or program to always accept email from the Steely Dan Newsletter (consult your providers and programs for instructions on how best to do this with your system -- and see Page 1 and Page 2 on About.com for info and tips). Once you identify the Newsletter as "Not SPAM" and OK by you, the Newsletter will be delivered to your In-Box instead of getting put out with the trash.

b) Non-Delivery: It is possible that our Newsletter mailing to you bounced back to us, undelivered. This could be because:

1. Your email program and/or your service provider has rejected our Newsletter because it thinks it might be unwanted SPAM. FIX: See above section

2. Your email In box has exceeded it's space limitation. FIX: Clean out your mailbox!

3. Your Newsletter met a fatal clog fate; due to 'Net traffic and/or a heavy mail queue on your home server and/or problems on your server or somewhere between us and you, your mail was not deliverable in some allotted period of time, and so was returned to us undelivered. This happens more than you might think, especially with high-traffic and/or free e-mail site addresses. We have no control over how long a server allows mail to sit in a queue before returning it to the sender; that is at the discretion of your ISP, and many ISPs have become very strict in order to avoid mail queue clogs due to spam.

IF you have missed only ONE Newsletter delivery, FIX: Do nothing. You are still on the list, and we will attempt to send the next Newsletter. Go to the archives to read the newsletter you missed.

IF you have missed TWO Newsletter deliveries, this means that we received two bounced-back deliveries in a row from your address and you have been removed from our list (we have no way of distinguishing between permanent versus transient causes for multiple sequential bouncebacks). FIX: Return to the subscription page and sign up again (you will again be asked to confirm your sign-up as before). Go to the archives to read the newsletter you missed. Consider talking to the Customer Service department of your ISP and telling them that you have experienced email delivery problems severe and frequent enough to cause your removal from this list.

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Hey - I'm sure I never subscribed. So why did I get a newsletter?!

We can think of two possibilities:

  • You may be an indirect victim of a Virus or a Worm which forges "From" fields of infected emails, and which can theoretically generate unwanted subscriptions. For more information on how viruses like these operate and the steps we have taken to limit the damage, please visit our Klez Information Page, here.

  • There is also the slim possibility that the Newsletter you received did not originate from us, but was instead forwarded to you by a friend or associate. Please check the "From" header of the offending Newsletter carefully to determine if this might be the case.

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What events can result in my being removed from your list?

There are four possibilities:

  • You were automatically removed because two mailings to you in a row bounced back to us undelivered or undeliverable (see the section immediately above

  • You unsubscribed yourself -- in which case you would have received a "Farewell" confirmation from us (see unsubscribing section)

  • Someone else unsubscribed you -- either by entering your email address on our web page or by using the unsubscribe link at the end of your Newsletter -- in which case you also would have received a "Farewell" confirmation from us (see section on this issue here)

  • You attempted a hijack of our subscription list by trying to send unsolicited email to the list members. Please be advised: a) safeguards are in place that will cause any such attempt to fail, b) we do record and track such attempts, and c) the subscription of any list member identified as part of such an attempt will be immediately and silently terminated -- at minimum. Additional measures may also be taken by which we will register and express our zero tolerance for such behavior. [Read our full Privacy and SPAM Policy here]

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My unsubscribe request didn't work. Why? What do I do?

If you tried to unsubscribe but a) didn't receive a "Farewell" confirmation and/or b) are still receiving Newsletters, it is overwhelmingly likely that you tried to unsubscribe an email address that is not on our list. *

Do you use any email aliases or forwarding addresses? Do you have multiple email addresses? Our webpage-based unsubscribe process depends on an exact match between the email address of the unsubscribe request and an email address on our list. It is also possible that you used the Subscribe or Change box instead of the Unsubscribe box on the web page, or that the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of your Newsletter was mangled or broken into two lines.

  • If you think there is a chance of any of the above errors in your first unsubscribe attempt, please try unsubscribing again -- see this section for the two ways to unsubscribe. The most foolproof Unsubscribe method is to find an old Newsletter from us, and use the customized "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom.

* There is also the slim possibility that a Newsletter you received after unsubscribing did not originate from us, but was instead forwarded to you by a friend or associate. Please check the "From" header of the offending Newsletter carefully to determine if this might be the case.

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I missed something. Can I get back-issues delivered to me?

Sorry; we do not deliver back-issues. But you can read them online in the archives. We usually post Newsletter issues in the archives shortly (but not immediately) after sending them to subscribers.

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I submitted the same address more than once. What now?

Not to worry; the same address cannot be subscribed more than once. If you submit a subscription request for an address that's already on the list, you'll receive an "Already subscribed" email notification.

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Why don't the links in my Newsletters work?

Most modern email clients such as Eudora, Outlook Express, Netscape Mail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail, etc. will render the URLs we place in the Newsletter texts as an underlined link; simply clicking or double-clicking on links preceded by an "http" will bring you to the corresponding webpage in your browser. Similarly, embedded email addresses preceded by a "mailto" code will automatically start an email message addressed to that location. If you have a modern email client and are still having trouble, you may need to change some settings in your email program; please refer to the documentation for your program.

The notable exception -- why doesn't this surprise us? -- is AOL email, which does not reliably convert link texts into clickable links. If you are having trouble using the links, you will have to copy the link text by hand and paste it into your browser window (if it is an "http" or website link) or into your email window (if it is a "mailto" or email address link).

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INFORMATION AND PRIVACY

What info do you collect when I subscribe?

Your email address

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How will you use my email address?

Your email address will be used only for activities of The Steely Dan Website and Newsletter -- for us to communicate with you -- and will never be given to anyone else, period.

You can read our complete website privacy notice here.

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When I signed up before 2001, you collected more info. What changed?

When we first started the Steely Dan Newsletter, we collected some demographic information from subscribers, such as zip/postal code, gender, age, country of residence. We used this information in the aggregate to get a picture of who was most interested in hearing from us. We also used country and zip codes to select geographically appropriate winners for ticket giveaways to tapings and shows.

This information was useful; we especially liked being able to identify subscriber by location when designing ticket giveaways. But we ourselves are frequently turned off when a sign-up process asks for anything other than our email address. Why should we ask you to do what we ourselves find objectionable? Hmmmm?

So it's "email only", at least for now. If some future promotion or giveaway requires geographical information (or any other data), well...we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

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