April 27, 1998
3:07 p.m.
"S" == Scott <scott@chronis.pobox.com> writes:
S> i'd like to make it impossible for a
S> person to subscribe some other unconsenting person to a
S> mailling list....while still allowing someone to subscribe to a list using a perfectly valid alternative address. Scott, I haven't seen your patches, but I know that other ML managers handle this in a useful way. They will send a confirmation email to the alternative address that contains a partially random string. The user need only reply to the message and include verbatim this string.
This seems like a small hurdle to impose given the important nature of this defense. A small explanation included with the email (along with a link to a detailed Web page) would go a long way to easing any inconvenience.
S> the only reason i can think of is that people don't want
S> subscribing to involve two steps. i don't personally find this
S> valid given the nature of folks to abuse such services.I highly agree!
-Barry