This page has been created for both Links2u and Mylistmaker members as both sites have been shut down due to the problems discussed at the end of this page.

Links2u Members

Any Gold member who upgraded their Links2u membership in the last 30 days will receive a FULL refund
Any Gold member who is a 'Lifetime' member or purchased Gold 'specials' that gave them 1 or 2 year membership will receive advertising in the useAD network to the same value. Please contact me at mvanston@bigpond.com to organize your advert, please include your Links2u ID# in your message.

All unpaid Links2u commissions will be transferred into your useAD accounts. (This may take up to 6 weeks to complete)
All Links2u members already have a useAD.com account which was launched at the end of October 2004.
Your useAD link is http://www.usead.com/?3645189  use the same password you use for Links2u to enter your useAD account.
 

Mylistmaker Members

All paid Mylistmaker members will receive advertising to the value of Australian $150 (invested in Mylistmaker) in useAD.com. Please contact me at mvanston@bigpond.com to organize your advert, include your Mylistmaker ID# in your message.

Any member with unpaid commission will need to open a useAD account at http://www.usead.com
and contact me mvanston@bigpond.com to organize the transfer of your unpaid commission to your new useAD account, please include both your Mylistmaker ID# and new useAD ID# in your message.
 

Why are we shutting down Links2u and Mylistmaker?

Links2u is my 'little baby' started back in February 1998 it is nearly 7 years old. Links2u was one of the very first e-mail list service providers (now called opt-in list service). So it saddens me deeply to let go of 'her'. Both Links2u and Mylistmaker have been operating at a loss for the last 12 months. I have kept them going and making modifications to them in the hope that they are revived and kept alive. But unfortunately the latest issues the sites face have quickened my decision to shut down the services.

Over the years we have needed to defend numerous spam allegations and although our defense of these allegations have been time consuming our ISP was always very quick in understanding our situation and never took the allegations seriously, until recently.

About 2 months ago I awoke to find our listserver (the server that sends out the messages) not working. I contacted Skynetweb the ISP we use for this dedicated server by e-mail to ask them why my server was down. I received an e-mal back stating that it was disabled. They gave no reason why! So I got on the phone (Australia - USA) to find out why. The technical person I first spoke to said my account was disabled due to 'spam'. So I tried to defend the allegation on the phone. Nearly an hour goes by after being transferred from one department to another I finally end up speaking to a customer service representative who told me that e-mails had been sent to me about the spam and they did not receive replies from me. I told him (after searching my entire e-mail box) that I have received no notices from them and asked him to send a test e-mail to me so I can check. Received the test e-mail fine. Not sure what happened to their spam notices. Anyway I finally convinced him that we offer a legitimate opt-in service and that any member can easily opt-out of our service. I also told him that we often get members joining our service and then shout 'spam' just to get us into trouble, he found that hard to believe. At that point I was wondering who am I dealing with here. He wanted me to remove the password protection system we have on the link to delete a member as part of the condition for re-instating my account. I told him that was difficult to do as it is there to protect the paid members account. Without the password anyone knowing a paid members Links2u e-mail address could delete the paid members account without that password protection. I felt that I was the guilty one instead of the person who made the false accusation in the first place. Eventually my account was enabled.

Then on the 23 November 2004 I found out that the listserver is not working again. I send an e-mail to Skynetweb through their web based support form to ask them why my server is down. I receive a reply back from them at 2:52pm (Australian time).
 

Dear Valued Customer,
I am Joseph from Technical Support. I appreciate the time you've spent in writing to us. It is my privilege to be of assistance to you. Unfortunately, your account is no longer active and has been disabled.

If you have any further issues please feel free to contact us again.
Or you can contact us by phone at 1-800-859-3741.
Thank you,
Joseph C.
Dedicated Hosting Support

At this point I'm getting a little angry cause it appears as though I have been disabled again without any notification of their intent or any reason why, so I respond with this message.
 

From: "Michael Vanston" <mvanston@bigpond.com>
To: "SkyNetWEB" <tsnwsupport@affinity.net>
References: <20041122_%TLZ1018285_@TLZ>
Subject: Re: RE:{Case#001-191-868}Site Down
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:13:36 +1100
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
 boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0F95_01C4D16F.0116C120"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0F95_01C4D16F.0116C120
Content-Type: text/plain;
 charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

That is very nice of you to tell me that I am such a valued customer and
in the same message tell me that my account has been disabled without
any explanation as to why this has happened.

As I am such a valued customer I would appreciate some explanation as to
why my account has been disabled.

Regards

Michael Vanston
Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty Ltd
www.usead.com
www.whizbar.com
www.mydailytimes.com
www.links2u.com
www.toplevelmarketing.com
www.hits2u.com
www.mylistmaker.com
www.goto.vu
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: SkyNetWEB=20
  To: Michael Vanston=20
  Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 2:52 PM
  Subject: RE:{Case#001-191-868}Site Down
 

  Dear Valued Customer,
  I am Joseph from Technical Support. I appreciate the time you've spent
in writing to us. It is my privilege to be of assistance to you.
Unfortunately, your account is no longer active and has been disabled.

  If you have any further issues please feel free to contact us again.
  Or you can contact us by phone at 1-800-859-3741.
  Thank you,
  Joseph C.
  Dedicated Hosting Support
 
 

  -----Original Message-----
  From:   mvanston@bigpond.com (mvanston@bigpond.com)
  Date:   Monday, November 22, 2004  10:22 PM
  To:   tsnwsupport@affinity.net (tsnwsupport@affinity.net)
  Subject:  Site Down
 

  Unable to connect to server please fix the problem
 
 

From: "Michael Vanston" <mvanston@bigpond.com>
To: <tsnwsupport@affinity.net>
Subject: Fw: RE:{Case#001-191-868}Site Down
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 16:22:30 +1100
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
 boundary="----=_NextPart_000_1148_01C4D178.A129D310"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_1148_01C4D178.A129D310
Content-Type: text/plain;
 charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Can you please tell me why my account has been disabled.
I am losing business whilst the server is down.

Regards

Michael Vanston
Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty Ltd
www.usead.com
www.whizbar.com
www.mydailytimes.com
www.links2u.com
www.toplevelmarketing.com
www.hits2u.com
www.mylistmaker.com
www.goto.vu
 
 

From: "Michael Vanston" <mvanston@bigpond.com>
To: <tsnwsupport@affinity.net>
Subject: RE:{Case#001-191-868}Site Down
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 00:31:29 +1100
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
 boundary="----=_NextPart_000_4083_01C4D1BC.F0F39A90"
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_4083_01C4D1BC.F0F39A90
Content-Type: text/plain;
 charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

It is now over 9 hours since I asked why my account has been disabled =
and have received no reply.

I am not happy that my account has been disabled without any notice of =
your intention of doing so and now I'm even more upset that I have had =
to wait so long to find out the reason for being disabled

Can someone please tell me what is going on?

Regards

Michael Vanston
Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty Ltd
www.usead.com
www.whizbar.com
www.mydailytimes.com
www.links2u.com
www.toplevelmarketing.com
www.hits2u.com
www.mylistmaker.com
www.goto.vu

The next day (24 hours later) still no reply so I send another message through their web based e-mail system. Here is their e-mail confirming that they received my message.
 

Hi ,

Thank you for contacting SkyNetWeb Support. We confirm the receipt of your recent request, and it has been logged as case # . Please use the Case # as reference in all future communications on this issue.

We are currently processing your request and will get back to you as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience in this regard.

*New Product*
Easy-To-Use Data Backup & Restoration
StoreIt! protects your data from hardware failures and other errors.
Contact Sales today at 888-846-5522 or click the link below to learn more:
http://valueweb.com/dedicated/software/automated-network-back-up.htm

Thank you,
SkyNetWeb Support.

-----Original Message-----
From: mvanston@bigpond.com [mvanston@bigpond.com]
Sent: Tuesday, Nov 23 2004 11:42PM
To: tsnwsupport@affinity.net [tsnwsupport@affinity.net]
Subject: Other

I have asked your company why my account has been disabled and have not received a reply (over 24 hours).

Please refer to communication against Case#001-191-868

I\'m not happy that I was not informed of your intention to disable my account and for not to be told any reason why this has happened.

Further more I find having to wait this long for an answer is most annoying.

I was under the impression that in USA you are innocent until proven guilty, well that is how our judicial system works in Australia, or maybe it is just your company that acts in a strange way.

I don\'t even know what we are \'guilty\' of that has caused our account to be disabled.

Could someone please contact me to at least tell me why our account has been disabled.

Thank you

Michael Vanston
 
 

So why the sudden change in the attitude of Skynetweb? Had no problems with them in the past. It is only just in the last couple of months that they have refused to listen. Well, it might have something to do with the fact that they are part of the Affinity group now.

If you are looking for a dedicated server and want a company that provides good customer service then my advice is to NOT use Skynetweb, Affinity or any other ISP that is part of the Affinity group.
 
 

I really sincerely apologize to all members of Links2u and Mylistmaker for the shut down of these sites. This problem with the listserver as I stated only quickened the decision to shut down. It was not good business to keep them going and now with the server problem I see this as a good time to stop the sites.

I appreciate the continued support you have given us (Links2u in particular) and hope that you continue your patronage with us on useAD.com and with other new sites we have planned for early next year.

Regards,

Michael Vanston

Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty ltd
 
 

I did receive a reply to my e-mail that confirmed my suspicion that the server was shutdown due to spam allegations.
 

From: SkyNetWEB
To: Michael Vanston
Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 3:09 AM
Subject: RE:{Case#001-193-185}Other
 
 

Dear Michael,

According to our Abuse Engineer Department, you have been notified of our AUP, of which they still noticed AUP Violations on your Dedicated server.
Spamming has been reported, and you have been notified of this on several instances in the past.  To protect the integrity of our company, we had to disable your server.  It is to our understanding that you have been given opportunities to correct this issue to no avail.

We apologize that you had to experience this, but please consider the integrity of SkyNetWeb and our network.

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

Ken Thomas
SkyNetWeb Dedicated Customer Care

In the message above they state that I received notices of the AUP violations (according to their own policy they need to advice us of spam allegations before any termination takes place). Well, I did not receive any notices nor did I receive them when the same problem occurred months ago.
So I sent them a message asking them for copies of the alleged spam complaints.
 
 

From: Michael Vanston
To: SkyNetWEB
Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: RE:{Case#001-193-185}Other

Hi Ken,

Thank you for finally contacting me about this issue.

Let me correct a few statements you have made.

Yes, Spam allegations have been made about our site, I agree with that. But they are only allegations. As discussed previously with your company (about 2 months ago) we operate an opt-in list service and have done so for nearly 7 years. Our system is DOUBLE opt-in so no one can join us without their knowledge and they fully understand our terms and conditions, which clearly states that they will receive promotional messages from our service. So we DO NOT spam!

You state that we received notices of the complaints from you, this is NOT true we have received no notices from your company about any spam allegations. I would appreciate if you can send me copies of the e-mail sent to me with full header details of the times sent.

When my account was disabled about 2 months ago. The same thing happened. I received no notices of any spam allegations and received no notices of your intention to disable my account (as per your own policy). I only found out because I could see the server not working. At that time a rep. from your abuse department wanted me to remove our password protection that we use when any member wants to opt-out of our service. I told him that we cannot do that as we need to protect the paid members accounts. Any free member who wants to cause major problems for us could easily remove paid members from our system without the password protection. He wanted this removed so that 'lazy' people would not complain.

We ensure that our system does not allow e-mail addresses to be placed into the list without the owners complete permission and we allow any member to remove themselves from the list if they wish to stop the messages. We are NOT the guilty party.It is the person who is making the accusation (which I have never seen from your company) that is guilty.

We have a huge database of over 130,000 members and we receive around 100 new members each day. In that, one would expect to see some complaints because not everyone reads terms and conditions but does that make us guilty of spam? NO. We do the right thing it is the member who is complaining who is wrong. Every message we send out from the server hosted with you has clear instructions on how to delete their membership. Also, as I explained previously to your abuse rep. we have had instances where people have joined for the sole purpose of causing trouble for us. They join and then shout 'spam' in order to get our business shut down.

I'm not happy about not receiving any notification of the alleged spam complaints that you state have been sent and would really appreciate if your could send me copies,  please include full header details of the time it was sent to me.

I'm also upset that it has taken nearly 2 days to get a reply from your company as to why my account was disabled.

I don't see any reason why my business is being treated so badly. We are not the guilty party.

I look forward to receiving the copies of the spam allegations sent to me.

Regards

Michael Vanston
Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty Ltd
www.usead.com
www.whizbar.com
www.mydailytimes.com
www.links2u.com
www.toplevelmarketing.com
www.hits2u.com
www.mylistmaker.com
www.goto.vu

I did not receive a reply to this message and on the 29th November (4 days later) I sent another message.
 

From: "Michael Vanston" <mvanston@bigpond.com>
To: <tsnwsupport@affinity.net>
Subject: Re: RE:{Case#001-193-185}Other
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 17:17:19 +1100

Once again I receive no response from your company.
Now 4 days and no reply to this e-mail.

I would like to see the e-mails that you say you have sent to me regarding the alleged spam as we have not received any notification from your company.

If I still receive no reply on this issue I will assume you have no proof and that you have shut down my account without any reason at all.

Why is it that you are treating me and my business this way?
We have done nothing wrong and yet I feel that your company is treating us like the guilty party.

Can someone please respond.

Regards

Michael Vanston
Managing Director
Hits2u.com Pty Ltd
www.usead.com
www.whizbar.com
www.mydailytimes.com
www.links2u.com
www.toplevelmarketing.com
www.hits2u.com
www.mylistmaker.com
www.goto.vu
 
 

It is now the 4th December (9 days later) still no response. I have opened another support ticket with Skynetweb today to see if I get a response from that.

Also, my credit card was billed $409.25 on the 19th November 2004 for a full months service, just 4 days prior to being disabled. They have not contacted me to offer any type of refund.

I have been a loyal customer of Skynetweb for nearly 3 years and if this is how the new management of Skynetweb treats their loyal customers how much hope is there for the rest of their customers.
 
 
  .