Ok there is some confusion coming about due to terminology….
Email HARVESTING is generally defined as the collection of email addresses by an automated means and the recipients have NOT opted in to receive this email. This is commonly done by spiders (automated scripts) which comb the web and look for “email to:” links then add these to a SPAM list. These are whats most commonly thought of when we use the term “harvested” emails. This is SPAM and a definite NO NO.
Newsletter Opt In’s are just that, people that have manually entered their email adresses and are opting in to receive newsletters or other email items.
This is NOT SPAM and is perfectly acceptable. Its NOT email harvesting. It’s newsletter registration and is practiced by virtually everyone.
I think the bluring of the lines expressed by some of the members is when an opt in box is placed on a website and it’s not clear to the people registering that they will be receiving emails from another party and NOT from the website they are signing up at. This is a moderately grey area. It is OPT IN email though, so technically its not SPAM. And its NOT harvesting.
Hope this helps and doesnt muddy the waters even further.