On 4 Jun 1999, Harald Meland wrote:
I have no problem seeing the usefulness of adding non-personal addresses to mailing lists. I was merely stating that you shouldn't be using a very "private" password when doing so (i.e. don't use passwords that are used for other subscriptions as well).
It doesn't matter how personal the password is; the point is that any person using the local exploder could go to the member page and unsubscribe, thus cutting off everyone else who relies on the exploder. They might even be misled into doing so, thinking that they were unsubscribing themselves only.
[ Even if the automatic reminders are turned off, people can still go to the list's member page (if it is open), click on some member address, and click on the "Send me my password now" button to have Mailman distribute the password to the member (which could be an exploder). ]
True, but there's a difference between having to actively go looking for a password and having that password sent to you unsolicited.
I understand if there's a technical reason this can't be made a personal preference before the release, but please consider at least making the installation default be to NOT send these messages, and include some kind of warning to the list admin about why he might not want to turn it on.