On Sunday, September 24, 2006 8:34 AM -0500, Stephen wrote: > On Sat, Sep 23, 2006 at 01:22:30PM -0500 or thereabouts, Seth > Goodman wrote: > > > You are right in saying there is no apparent way to subscribe > > without getting all the list traffic. Without this feature, it > > is impractical to require that posters first confirm their email > > address. > > Why ? I don't know of any e-mail list, (other than this one) that > doesn't require people to first confirm their address -- It's > pretty much a standard practise.
Andrei pointed in http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2006/09/msg01837.html that for an occasional poster to a high volume list, it is a burden to require them to receive all list traffic. It's not a problem when the list allows subscribing for posting only (i.e. majordomo 'nomail', Mailman 'set delivery off'). Debian lists don't provide this feature. It would also be helpful to people who go on vacation, or get very busy, and want to temporarily stop high-volume mail sources. You're quite right in pointing out that most mailing lists require registration before posting in order to control spam. That doesn't mean they require the user to receive all list traffic. I quite agree with Hans in http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2006/09/msg02163.html that anyone who can't successfully respond to a confirmation email probably won't be able to deal with Debian. I think the following would make Debian lists better for everyone: 1) allow users to subscribe for posting only, 2) require users to subscribe before posting and 3) allow users to temporarily turn off list mail -- Seth Goodman -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]