*** HEADS UP *** FreeBSD.org commit mail list changes

[Peter Wemm]

On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 10:36 AM, Vadim Goncharov <vadim_nuclight at mail.ru> wrote:
> 09.10.08 @ 00:17 Peter Wemm wrote:
>
>>> I've had cvs-src@ set to nomail, could write but msgs were not delivered.
>>> I've read them via Gmane, my NNTP newsreader offers very flexible way to
>>> filter them. Now, mail lists are switched WITHOUT 'nomail', and my local
>>> hard drive is being spammed, instead of NNTP (and freebsd.org also wastes
>>> resources fot that, eh?). And worse, I just CAN'T disable it again: when
>>> I
>>> trying to login to http://lists.freebsd.org for svn-src-all@, it simply
>>> says
>>> about authorization error!
>>>
>>> Moreover, this change is pain in the ass for all users who don't care
>>> about
>>> SVN switch - while CVSUP/CSUP is in use, it is not-so-worth to care. And
>>> it
>>> is now more difficult to manage for those who were used to cvs-all@ - a
>>> bunch of lists instead of one. Mailman DOESN'T give me interface to
>>> manage
>>> all my subscriptions at once - I must go and login for every one!
>>>
>>> I've heard several complains about this spamming change on local IRC
>>> channels.
>>>
>>> Breaking POLA is bad.
>>
>> The password reminder thing isn't that hard.  Go to the single list
>> that I subscribed you to.
>> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/svn-src-all then click on
>> "unsubscribe or edit options".  Type your email addres.  Instead of
>> entering a password you cllick 'send password to me'.  It shouldn't
>> take much more than 30-60 seconds.
>>
>> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/options/svn-src-all
>
> Because it is not clear that I should go and use password reminder - just a
> few days ago mailman has sent a password reminder, as it does every month,
> I've just did copy&paste for password. Finally, it sent a reminder to me,
> yes, but why ever password and delivery flag were not preserved?..
>
> --
> WBR, Vadim Goncharov

I would have if I could have.  Mailman isn't exactly admin friendly on
this front.  Mailman stores the subscriber info in bianry python
pickle files.  To get at the data I'd have had to write stuff that
gropes around in the internals of Mailman.  The risk was just too
great, especially given that my python skills are not that great.  I'd
likely have broken things horribly.

-- 
Peter Wemm - peter at wemm.org; peter at FreeBSD.org; peter at yahoo-inc.com; KI6FJV
"All of this is for nothing if we don't go to the stars" - JMS/B5
"If Java had true garbage collection, most programs would delete
themselves upon execution." -- Robert Sewell