David Woolley wrote:

Also, membership in "TeamSETI" ranges anywhere from $250-$5,000, depending

I'm not aware of the mailings you refer to.

I received one and sa=tarted this thread.  Just because you didn't get one doesn't mean it isn't so.

on the level of membership that you want.  Why would the Search For
Exterrestrial Intelligence program offer discounts on educational materials
and "official" club cards?

Except that there is no such organisation, it is very common for non-profits to do that.  They have to use marketing tactics to maximise
their revenue to provide the services or do the research.
That's why you get the screen saver animations in SETI@Home.

So you're saying that it is okay for non-profits to spam?  I did not ask to receive anything from them, email or snail mail.  Insolicited is spam.  Period.

I'm not saying that www.seti.org is a fraud, but it does seem suspicious.

www.seti.org and the SETI Institute are very legitimate.

That may be the case, but spam is not a way for them to get on my good side.

Also, I doubt that if SETI wished to mail us about becoming paying members,
it would be mailed as bulk.

Anything like that that Berkeley sends would be sent bulk, as they don't
have the resources to do otherwise.   The SETI Institute wouldn't have
your address on the basis of S@H participation.

Then how did they get my information?