[Mailman-Users] obscure email addresses_ where?

Odhiambo Washington wash at wananchi.com
Thu Oct 31 17:22:07 CET 2002


* TyrusMaynard <rustym at main.nc.us> [20021030 20:18]: wrote:
>    In my short experience as a Mailman 2.0.13   list administrator, I have had this 
> setting:
> obscure_addresses (privacy): Show member addrs so they're not directly 
> recognizable as email addrs?
> 
> toggled  as  "Yes"  since the inception of the list.
> 
> The help says that the following will result:
> "Setting this option causes member email addresses to be transformed when 
> they are presented on list web pages (both in text and as links), so they're not 
> trivially recognizable as email addresses. The intention is to to prevent the 
> addresses from being snarfed up by automated web scanners for use by 
> spammers".
> 
> However the mail items  in the list archives  still show the  "@"   in all email 
> addresses.   Only the  list of  member addresses  has an "AT" replacement to 
> thwart  spam robot scanners  ( and that is configured to be viewed only by 
> admin anyway).
> 
> ???Is this feature working properly? ...  and will there be a future  Mailman 
> version that will  eliminate emails entirely so that they elude more than trivial  
> interpretation?
> 
> Since I also have the archives set to a private status:
> (archive_private (archive), could  this privacy setting be the reason why the  
> "@"  values are not substituted.?     If so , can I expect for the emails to be 
> hidden or substituted  if and when the archive is coverted to public status.


In summary, that feature doesn't work. I can say that conclusively. Some experienced
list admins have it working but I believe they used some patch that someone forgot
to document ;)



-Wash

-- 
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