On Sat, 2 Aug 2003, at 11:52pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > It should be possible to participate in a public forum without being > forced to reveal your private information.
I don't consider an email address private information in this context, given that, when you post to a public list, you are broadcasting your email address to the list. I disagree with X-no-archive on principle. Simply put, a public list is, well, public. You don't get to choose who sees them; that's what "public" means. If you don't want your posts to be seen, don't post. I note, with irony, those who do not post can still make use of the list archives. I rather suspect people who try and keep their public messages from being public have no qualms about using public archives to solve their own problems. I find that attitude selfish and distasteful. (I don't "publicly and strenuously object" to it, though.) I don't think trying to control access to an email address you broadcast publicly is a reasonable proposition. Sooner or later, the secret *does* get out, and when that happens, the game is over. Archiving a list is a complete separate function from managing the list. Anyone who wants to can archive this list -- it is a public list. The fact that the list operators are also operating an archive does not mean it cannot be found elsewhere. I *would* prefer it if the archives at mail.gnhlug.org had automatic spam-guards. That works for everything, and not just when people choose not to mention an email address. But I'm not going to get broken up over it. For that matter, there is nothing to keep a spammer from subscribing to the list and harvesting directly. Myself, I realize that participating in a public forum opens myself up to certain abuses. I make the conscious choice: I can participate, and reap whatever rewards there may be, or I can abstain, and lose whatever rewards there may be. I don't expect to have my cake and eat it too. I'm a victim of spam, too. I don't blame others for distributing my email address when I freely give it out, though. Derek (and others), I'd hate to see you go, but (for the reasons described above), I think you're fighting a loosing battle anyway. If you're that worked up over the fact that someone else might see your email address, you really should not be posting publicly, here or anywhere. -- Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | The opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do | | not represent the views or policy of any other person or organization. | | All information is provided without warranty of any kind. | _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
