Re: Application

[william@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Will Yardley)]

On Wed, Jun 25, 2003 at 08:21:22PM -0500, Dan Nelson wrote:
> In the last episode (Jun 25), Will Yardley said:

> > I know it's been said before, but I find that the spam and viruses
> > I get through this list almost exceed the useful information I get
> > from it. Most technical lists these days require subscription,
> > and while this may be problematic for some, I think the benefits
> > outweigh the drawbacks.

> This list is the only one I'm subscribed to that has gotten flooded
> with these Sobig viruses, and I don't think any of them require
> subscription to post.  I don't know if that means the other lists
> have virus filters, or that they just aren't popular enough to be in
> many Outlook users' mailboxes :)

I'm on a number of technical lists, and I've seen viruses hit lists
which you would definitely not expect them to hit (the mutt-users and
mutt-devel lists, for example).

> Putting even TMDA on a help list is going to discourage people from
> posting.

Well not to be a jerk, but I don't really think that responding to
a confirmation message or subscribing to a mailing list is going to
deter someone who really wants help. It's never deterred me in the
past. Hell, I doubt someone would really mind moderating / manually
approving messages which are from non-subscribers.

A list which gets more spam / viruses than actual content IS likely to
make people who are able to help those that need it UNsubscribe.
Programmers and geeks tend to get a lot of email, and none of us need
more spam or viruses than we already get.

-- 
"Since when is skepticism un-American?
Dissent's not treason but they talk like it's the same..."
(Sleater-Kinney - "Combat Rock")