X-Message-Number: 31218
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 02:32:54 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Who or what is "the Cryonics Society"?
From: 

The other day Keith Lynch received an email newsletter from the
Cryonics Society.  He went on to ask who or what the Cryonics Society
was, whether it was legitimate, and whether it was spamming, or after
people's money.

The answer to most all these questions can be found just be reading
the newsletter.  For instance, it says, "This is an email from the
Cryonics Society, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation working to inform and
educate the public, raise money for legitimate research purposes, and
offer assistance to those seeking cryonics-related services."

In other words, it's a legitimate non-profit organization, recognized
as such after legal review by United States government authorities. A
visit to http://www.CryonicsSociety.org will tell you more about what
the organization is and what it does.

Spam?  CS certainly does not send emails out indiscriminately.  People
subscribe directly to the CS newletter on the contact page on its web
site.  They can also suggest the email addresses of individuals they
think might be interested in receiving the newsletter, and CS has
occasionally also used list brokers who supply names of individuals
that have indicated an interest in the subject or related subjects.
The email newsletter delivery which delivers the email is Constant
Contact at http://www.ConstantContact.com which is also linked to
from the enewsletter.  It serves over 200,000 businesses, and has a
strict no-tolerance spam policy. CS does not want to send email to
people who are not interested in getting it.  That's why the
newsletter in question features a header stating, "You may unsubscribe
if you no longer wish to receive our emails," a footer stating, "If
you would prefer not to receive further email communications from the
Cryonics Society, please click here," and yet another footer stating,
"Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe?" So if someone's not interested in
receiving the newsletter, it's easy enough to arrange -- just say no.

What is the Cryonics Society? You can find out by following the
Cryonet link itself at http://www.cryonet.org/other.html or you can
go to the organization's web site directly at
http://www.cryonicssociety.org

Who's behind it?  Again, it's no secret.  The personnel are listed on the
web site in several places,
http://www.cryonicssociety.org/aboutcs_nonprofitstatus.html for one.

Essentially, CS is a nonprofit led by independent members of Alcor, CI,
and, formerly, CryoCare, who are deeply concerned at the negative and
inaccurate treatment of cryonics by the mass media.  The Cryonics
Society works to educate the public and lawmakers by providing free
informational resources, and assists people with questions about
cryonics.

It also advocates for public donations for cryobiological research,
and for scientific accuracy in reporting.  It takes a pro-active
stance in fostering and facilitating positive presentations about
cryonics in various media.  And it helps direct journalists and those
interested in cryopreservation to legitimate provider organizations.

The Cryonics Society wants to be an organization where people who
support research into cryonics, and the rights of cryonicists to make
their own post-mortem choices without interference, can come together
to do so without the stigma of negative PR that has been the
unfortunate legacy of existing provider organizations.

The Cryonics Society receives no funds or financial support for its
efforts from any of the leading cryonics organizations. It's supported
entirely by donations from supporters. That's why -- like Alcor, like
the Cryonics Institute, and like virtually every non-profit charitable
organization -- it does ask for voluntary donations. Sending direct
mail, assembling newsletters, maintaining a web presence, speaking to
the public and journalists, preparing articles, and so on, takes time
and costs money, and any help is gratefully received.

It's easy to find out more.  Just go to http://www.CryonicsSociety.com
and look.

Or read the latest e-newsletter:
http://www.cryonicssociety.org/cs_enewsletter_1108.html

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