----- Original Message ----
From: Robert Horning <robert_horning(a)netzero.net>
There have been many times that I have needed private, personal
communication with specific Wikimedia users. For various and very
legitimate reasons. The e-mail function is explicitly to give this sort
of communication where (particularly with my talk page on en.wikibooks)
the user talk page is a very public forum for communication. Spam in
this situation is very much against this principle, and significantly
reduces the value of this tool when it is needed the most.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Is it written anywhere that the e-mail user function is explicitly only for private,
personal communication?
I, personally, agree with Jimbo with the caveat of another that it should be an opt-in to
receive "special notices" from the Foundation. I have been following the mailing
lists closely, but I really haven't been all that active on wikipedia lately, so I
might have missed the site notice.
I also find it somewhat interesting that the Virgin charity "matching"
advertisment during the last fundraiser was a more prominent site notice than the current
election notice for the board of the foundation. There seems to be something very
backwards about that.
Sue Anne