[Mailman-Users] A Vote Against Passwords

[Derek Simkowiak]

-> > 	Then try to imagine having to explain passwords to these people.
-> 
-> Those people aren't on mailing lists, because they can't find the
-> keyboard to subscribe.

	Not yet.

	But several market studies show that the "network appliance"
market is poised to explode.  IBM, Oracle, Netpliance and others have
developed set-top and low-profile systems that do email and websurfing
only.  Some of them don't even have a mouse (just custom-labelled buttons 
on the keyboard).

	...not to mention the fact that Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 game
consoles have 'Net access.

	Soon all those grandmothers, low-income households, and slow
adopters will be getting online.  Some of them will want to subscribe to
community/clubs/family/hobby mailing lists, and dealing with a "password"
will be just one more barrier to communication for those people.

	But, since we agree that passwords should be optional, the
discussion is for naught.


--Derek