Your definitions are (in my opinion at last) valid. However not everybody necessarily agrees with them. One thing I find interesting about the original article on Slashdot is that it says he is "Circumventing CAN-SPAM" which in reality he is not. Political and Non-profit organizations are exempt from CAN-SPAM. As such he can hardly be Circumventing a law which does not apply to him. (All ethics aside of course!)