[Mailman-Developers] Monthly reminder sent by mailman-owner considered harmful

[Bart Schaefer]

On 4 Jun 1999, Harald Meland wrote:

> I have no problem seeing the usefulness of adding non-personal
> addresses to mailing lists.  I was merely stating that you shouldn't
> be using a very "private" password when doing so (i.e. don't use
> passwords that are used for other subscriptions as well).

It doesn't matter how personal the password is; the point is that any
person using the local exploder could go to the member page and
unsubscribe, thus cutting off everyone else who relies on the exploder.
They might even be misled into doing so, thinking that they were
unsubscribing themselves only.

> [ Even if the automatic reminders are turned off, people can still go
>   to the list's member page (if it is open), click on some member
>   address, and click on the "Send me my password now" button to have
>   Mailman distribute the password to the member (which could be an
>   exploder). ]

True, but there's a difference between having to actively go looking for a
password and having that password sent to you unsolicited.

I understand if there's a technical reason this can't be made a personal
preference before the release, but please consider at least making the
installation default be to NOT send these messages, and include some kind
of warning to the list admin about why he might not want to turn it on.