Confronted by a virtual mob of nonprofits brandishing the online equivalent of pitchforks and torches because of its plans to charge what they say is an "email tax" on those willing to pay in order to guarantee email delivery, AOL has apparently decided on a strategy of divide and conquer. Silicon.com reports that AOL will not charge nonprofit organizations that send bulk emails to AOL members, offering two options to such groups. The first is AOL's Enhanced Whitelist, which the company had said it would phase out but subsequently backtracked, saying it would retain it; messages would not be marked as "certified" but would be delivered for free.

The second choice for nonprofits is to use a third-party email accreditation service to authenticate messages - with AOL promising to pick up the costs of the flat, non-recurring fee charged by such services, several of which AOL is in talks with to arrange a deal.

Meanwhile, USA Today writes that the company at the center of the AOL controversy, Goodmail Systems, is not necessarily pleased with all the attention its service is getting. After all, "Restoring trust in email" is its motto, but the recent ruckus seems to have had a different effect.

Prior coverage:

- AOL Faces Ruckus from 'Email Tax' Protestors

- AOL Changes Mind, Will Retain Whitelist

- Return Path: AOL-Goodmail Deal Harmful to Reputable Marketers

- AOL Implements Goodmail CertifiedEmail