Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
"JC" == JC Dill <lists05@equinephotoart.com> writes:
JC> I personally don't see it as being a significant endorsement. JC> AIUI, it's a patch that allows 2 software programs to work JC> well together.
My understanding is that the programs already work well together; you just type "archive@mail-archive.org" into "Mass Subscribe", hit "Submit" and you're there. The patch changes this to "one-click," ie, advertises the Mail Archive as part of the ordinary configuration process.
But *only* for lists on a server whose listmaster has explicitly:
A) patched mailman to add this feature or B) toggled the setting in a mailman install to turn this feature on.
so it's the *listmaster* who has to do something to make this available for the server users in the ordinary configuration process.
This is very different from patching the docs to explain that the Mail Archive is an alternative / supplement to pipermail, MHonArc, or Gmane.
Mailman is what the listmaster makes of it, isn't it? The listmaster
makes various decisions about how to patch and install mailman on their
particular server. Once installed, it's not "our mailman" it is "their
mailman" with the features and customization the listmaster selects. A
patch that defaults to "off" unless the listmaster does something
explicit to turn it on (by downloading a separate patch or by
specifically changing the setting to "on") is not an endorsement, IMHO.
It's just one more feature that allows the listmaster to easily
customize mailman for their particular user needs.
From a technical standpoint, I'm all for it (subject to the "defaults to OFF" policy). Archiving is a sore point with all the MLMs; giving admins another easy-to-install option is a plus. But from a support and PR standpoint, I think it does constitute an endorsement.
Would it help if the patch documentation elaborated on this concern?
Example:
This patch is provided for those who wish to enable their list owners to have a one-click option to have their lists archived with The Mail Archive. This patch is not an endorsement for The Mail Archive, each mailman server installer needs to make their own determination if this feature is desired on their server or not.
jc