[Mailman-Developers] GSoC 2015: brainstorming ideas suitable for beginners?

[Chris Nulk]

On 2/23/2015 8:08 PM, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
> Andrew Stuart writes:
>
>   > I am currently associating users, not addresses with these
>   > permissions, so your suggestion is compatible with my stuff.
>
> +1 on associating users with permissions (plus the validation Barry
> recommends).
>
>   > site owner does sound more appropriate than server owner.
>
> Users think of "site" as being nearly synonymous with "domain",
> though.  I don't think we should use "site" in a different way, that
> would confuse them.
>
> There should be a way to contact the actual operator of the host,
> which I think of as "hostmaster" or "server owner".
>
> Steve

My .0002 cents. :)

In a previous message, the thought of making Mailman usable in an 
enterprise environment was brought up.  A good idea.  Also, I believe I 
remember a goal for Mailman v3 was to have one instance of Mailman be 
able to host lists for multiple domains.  Given that information and 
information from Andrew and Stephen, there are several different layers 
of "ownership".  Thinking about it a little, I see:

"Owner"                    Description
------------                    --------------------------
List Owner                 can administer a list
Server Owner            can administer all lists on one server (server 
may host multiple domains)
Site Owner                can administer for all lists at a site (site 
has multiple servers) (site is a physical location)
Domain Owner         can administer for all lists for a domain (domains 
may be hosted on multiple servers possibly across multiple sites)

Note: if site is considered a physical location, then an additional 
owner permission may be "Host Owner" for all their sites at different 
locations.

Nailing down a good permissions structure is very important if Mailman 
is to be used in the enterprise, both in a large organization or by a 
hosting company (e.g. Rackspace, etc.).

Better people than I can come up with a better solution than my quick 
thought.  I do think it is important that once you get past the "List 
Owner" level of permissions, there is potential interaction between 
"Server Owner", "Site Owner", and "Domain Owner".  This also points to a 
need for a robust authentication system that can handle multiple ways to 
authenticate the various owners.

Well, probably in over my head again.

Thanks,
Chris