[EdLUG] Hello from a lurker and why is the list configured this way?

Thu Mar 24 12:55:14 UTC 2016

Hi,

The history behind some of this was that the mailing list was originally
hosted on the University's majordomo service which was then migrated to
Sympa with the archive exported to HTML format which munged peoples
email addresses while still keeping their name where available. If not I
think it retained the first portion of the mail address and munged the
2nd portion i.e. the part after the @ but the specifics are now lost in
the mists of time. Most recently, partly because it transpired that the
archive wasn't visible to anyone outside the University and because
EdLUG were migrating from an ancient University webserver to lug.org.uk
hosting the mailing list was moved to it's present Mailman on lug.org.uk

The current config does make it hard to determine who sent a particular
message but there are good valid reasons for hiding the mail address in
the archive.

If possible it would be good to get back to the previous setup where
posters are identifiable without their email addresses being plastered
on the internet but this would take time wrestling with the Mailman
config (assuming it's even possible of course)

On 24/03/16 12:38, Edinburgh Linux Users Group wrote:
> I personally prefer the default of not having my e-mail address public
> -- I can always waive that by writing my real name and e-mail address
> within the body of the e-mail.
> 
> Relying on your real name is something that Facebook has enforced upon
> us, and (while getting older and more mature certainly can't be ruled
> out here), I've always felt the Internet was a lot more fun back when
> we went by the names we chose for ourselves, rather than the ones
> society has given us. No offence to E.S.R., but I'm not a cracker,
> warez d00d, or hopefully a lower life form. Nor am I a hacker. I'm
> just a person who uses Linux both at home and at work, and it's nice
> to keep up with the people in Edinburgh who also use it, and who
> sometimes share their wisdom with each other.
> 
> Regards,
> Jamie
> 
> On 24 March 2016 at 12:07, Edinburgh Linux Users Group
> <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> wrote:
>> I second this opening up!
>>
>> I am a new member.  When I first joined, I assumed this anonymity was a part
>> of deliberate clique apparatus, and to tell you the truth, it turned me off
>> a little.
>>
>> Restricting knowledge of poster identity makes it harder for a newcomer to
>> break into the established Edinburgh tech scene.  It stops an entrant from
>> understanding the work and thoughts of other local programmers.  I don’t
>> think that is healthy.
>>
>> To quote E.S.R.:
>>
>> Concealing your identity behind a handle is a juvenile and silly behavior
>> characteristic of crackers, warez d00dz, and other lower life forms. Hackers
>> don't do this; they're proud of what they do and want it associated with
>> their real names.
>>
>> As a name is but a means of address, I would suggest this mantra applies to
>> email addresses too. (At least in this context.)
>>
>> I further suggest this is an appropriate attitude not only for hackers, but
>> would be beneficial to the parallel cultures of working developers,
>> freelance programmers, students, and whoever else reads Linux lists too.
>>
>> John Morrice
>>
>> john at functorama.com
>>
>> http://teoma.io/jmorrice
>>
>>
>> On 24 Mar 2016, at 11:34, Edinburgh Linux Users Group
>> <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I've been a lurker on this list for many years. I'm a retired IT guy who
>> used to work at Heriot-Watt. I'm amusing myself in my waning years by
>> being an occasional contributor to (and part-time admin for) Hacker
>> Public Radio (http://hackerpublicradio.org/).
>>
>> I thought it was time I said "Hello".
>>
>> While I'm de-lurking I wondered why the Mailman configuration for this
>> list was set to 'anonymous_list = Yes'. This is documented as:
>>
>> "anonymous_list (general): Hide the sender of a message, replacing it
>> with the list address (Removes From, Sender and Reply-To fields)"
>>
>> Do most list members wish not to reveal their email addresses?
>>
>> I administer the HPR Mailman list and we have this set to 'No'.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Dave
>>
>> --
>> Dave Morriss, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | perloid at autistici.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> EdLUG mailing list
>> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk
>> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> EdLUG mailing list
>> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk
>> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
>>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> EdLUG mailing list
> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk
> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
> 

-- 
/****************************

Mark Cairney
ITI Enterprise Services
Information Services
University of Edinburgh

Tel: 0131 650 6565
Email: Mark.Cairney at ed.ac.uk
PGP: 0x435A9621

*******************************/

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 490 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://lists.edlug.org.uk/pipermail/edlug/attachments/20160324/a0ec4759/attachment-0001.sig>