[Mailman-Users] Re: The Password Feature.

[Jeme A Brelin]

On Mon, 2 Oct 2000, Gary Wilson wrote:
> My ONLY problem with it is that it requires passwords (a unique
> feature not found on any other listserver that I know of, so that
> users find it an unfamiliar requirement) and that the required
> passwords aren't optional. When Mailman has so many options that are
> configurable, I don't know how this one got overlooked. :-)

I don't see how Mailman is even remotely useful without passwords.

With passwords, you can:
read list mail on the web
change your configuration
subscribe/unsubcribe

Without passwords, you can:
not access the list when you're away from your mail
hassle the list admin endlessly for check-box changes.

Where's the advantage, exactly?

> I'm hoping for a change (in the password requirement area). I really
> don't want to abandon Mailman. But I also can't continue to ignore the
> hundreds of administrative requests that each list administrator must
> bear because of the unique password requirement.

Well, this isn't commercial software and threatening to leave the
user-base doesn't exactly carry any weight with the developers.  If you
think you'd like to turn off passwords, turn them off.  Go into the code
and kill the authentication routines and let anybody do anything to
anyone's account.  Then see what happens when a listmember gets
hostile.  And how many more admin requests you get from users to fix
problems they could've otherwise fixed themselves (or were created by a
lack of security on the admin pages).

Jeme.
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     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
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