The security of the IxDA discussion list is built on the goodwill of the membership. We consent not to impersonate each other not because it's impossible, or even difficult, but simply because there's no incentive to act otherwise.
No public mailing list is actually secure. Anyone can post as any other member directly from e-mail. Think about it... how do you know that I'm actually Jeff Howard? I'm posting from e-mail now, but when I set up my Apple mail preferences no one checked my birth certificate to see whether I was telling the truth. I could just as easily have chosen to go by Beril, or Alok, or Dave, or Lin, or Will, or Christopher. Same thing with my e-mail address. Apple mail believes whatever I tell it. In fact, I regularly switch my identity between howardesign.com, ixda.org and Gmail addresses, depending on the message. Requiring passwords for the website would be like installing bars on the windows of a house while leaving the front door standing ajar. That said, the website requires members to confirm receipt of a verification message before it lets them into their account for the first time. No one could easily sign in as you and fill out your profile, upload an avatar or post unless they had access to your Gmail account or to your computer. I could do a better job communicating how the sign-in system works up front, but I'm fascinated that the same standards of security aren't expected of the e-mail channel. // jeff On Oct 22, 2007, at 3:25 PM, Beril Guvendik wrote: > I am actually curious why there isn't any real password protection > to sign in to the IXDA discussions area. ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
