[Linux-aus] Hiya

[Bret Busby]

On Thu, 12 Dec 2002, Brendan O'Dea wrote:

> Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 16:35:18 +1100
> From: Brendan O'Dea <bod at debian.org>
> To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> Subject: Re: [Linux-aus] Hiya
> 
> On Thu, Dec 12, 2002 at 02:18:35PM +1100, Jan Schmidt wrote:
> >So, as Anand suggested months ago, I finally got around to
> >subscribing...
> >
> >Who's listening on this list, anyway?
> 
> You can view the subscriber list[0] if you're really curious.
> 
> This is generally a fairly low-traffic list.  Take a peek into the
> archives[1] for a sample.
> 
> [0] http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> [1] http://lists.linux.org.au/archives/linux-aus
> 
> --bod
> _______________________________________________
> linux-aus mailing list
> linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au
> http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus
> 
> 

I have two problems with that information being so available.

The first, is that publishing the email addresses of subscribers, is an 
invasion of the privacy of the subscribers to the list. I, for one, was 
not aware that anyone other than the list administrators, would have 
access to a list of subscribers to the list.

The publishing of the first web page URL above, and the information on 
the first web page of the URL above, allowing any person to subscribe to 
the list and then download a list of subscribers, is not what I regard 
as good faith administration.

Apart from the privacy violation, another issue, is one that results 
from that privacy violation; by allowing the process to occurr, where 
anyone other than the list administrators has access to the list of 
subscribers to the list, the process is a clear approval of spamming, 
which is one of the results of publishing such information.

Whilst the open source movement, and Linux, are supposed to involve a 
certain rebel elemnt, the violation of list subscribers' privacy, and, 
the clear approval of spamming, resulting from that policy, apart from 
the spamming that occurs via the list, are not what I regard as 
consistent with the respect for people, that I personally would have 
attributed to the open source movement, which (supposedly), was 
(emphasised, was, until this) supposed to be about protecting the 
interests of the little people.

Thus, I am thoroughly disheartened with this revelation of impropriety 
by the list.

-- 
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
 you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
  Chapter 28 of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- Douglas Adams, 1988
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