Every now and then I get a request asking that I remove a post from the
time-nuts list archive because it was either meant for to an individual
rather than the list, or it inadvertently included personal information.
There is no easy way for me to remove a message from the archives; doing
so screws up the indexing and requires a lot of manual effort. It's a
bit easier to edit a message, e.g. to remove a mailing address, but even
that requires me to grep through files to find the message and then edit
in multiple places.
Everyone should be aware that there are at least a couple of external
archive sites subscribed to the time-nuts list, such as
mail-archive.com. I have no control over those sites, so my fixing a
posting on the primary archive will not change their archives.
So, here is my policy:
Upon request, and on a time-available basis (which may take a while),
I'll attempt to remove personal identifying information such as
addresses and phone numbers from messages in the febo.com time-nuts
archive.
The request must be made within 10 days of the posting date, using the
same email address used for the posting (so I can verify authenticity),
and provide the date and time the message was posted, the subject line,
and of course the personally identifying information to be redacted.
I will not remove postings entirely, or make changes other than to
protect personal identifying information. And remember that changes in
the febo.com archive will not affect other archive sites.
I'm reminded of a great hacker folk song called "Threes" in which one of
the verses goes:
Three things hold no secrets:
Files that somehow hit the 'net,
Your boss's secretary,
And the third thing I forget.
There is much truth in those lines.
John
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