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

Edinburgh Linux Users Group edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk
Thu Mar 24 13:39:28 UTC 2016


I'm sorry if I came over as abrupt. 

Right now our volunteers are me (non-techie/meetings), my husband (drupal implementation), Joe who gets roped in to make recordings, a guy who volunteered to help with list but seems to be awol, Tai who does a bit of everything, and Alastair who is our original maintainer and keeps us on the straight and narrow. 

Someone volunteered to help with managing the drupal implementation but had to back out due to an increase in work commitments, however, he did let us know and may help out again if work eases off.

Historically, Ian was our listmaster whilst we were on the University's majordomo server,  and Mark helped enormously in locating our old web server, helping me get a backup when said server was dying, and manually transferring all messages from the Sympa mail archive onto our website.

Other than that there have been a few offers of help that have been little more than hot air.

I will admit that over Christmas 

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone

---- Edinburgh Linux Users Group wrote ----

>I would be glad to help!  
>
>I am sorry if you feel like I am having a dig, but it’s clearly broken.  I am so glad to learn that there are volunteers!  Because it’s not obvious when the list is anonymous.
>
>I am not keen to argue; I am more interested in actually fixing stuff.  If anyone believes that this is a sensible default, then consider the following two points:
>
>1. You can register a new anonymous email address in two minutes online.
>
>2. This setting leaves yourself open to other identity attacks.  E.g.
>
>Yours,
>Jan
>
>
>> On 24 Mar 2016, at 12:31, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk> wrote:
>> 
>> The reason the list is set up like this is due to the way the email addresses are displayed in the list archive.  We had the addresses displayed for a while but found that not only was this allowing email addresses to be spoofed but they were also in a format that was easily harvestable by spam bots.
>> 
>> Historically edlug users have been protective of their email addresses, particularly relating to protection from spam. We did have addresses displayed for a while until there was an attack on the list and as soon as we  were aware of the security problem, steps were taken to protect the list from further attacks. If you felt this was an issue you could have helped with (and a request for expertise had been made to the list) perhaps offering to assist might have been a better option than having a dig at the (very) few VOLUNTEERS who are trying to figure out a solution.
>> 
>> Jan
>> 
>> Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ---- Edinburgh Linux Users Group 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 <mailto:john at functorama.com>
>> 
>> http://teoma.io/jmorrice <http://teoma.io/jmorrice>
>> 
>> 
>>> On 24 Mar 2016, at 11:34, Edinburgh Linux Users Group <edlug at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto: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/ <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 <mailto:perloid at autistici.org>
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> EdLUG mailing list
>>> EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk <mailto:EdLUG at lists.edlug.org.uk>
>>> https://lists.edlug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/edlug
>> 
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>
>
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