"GM" == Gregory Maxwell gmaxwell@gmail.com writes:
GM> On Sat, Aug 22, 2009 at 11:20 PM, jidanni@jidanni.org wrote:
All I know is I don't know of any other examples of "security through obscurity" on mailing lists. Wasn't Jimbo inventing a new search engine? I don't know though... can't search for the announcement.
GM> Download the gzipped mbox files from when you were not subscribed, for GM> example http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-July.txt.gz
GM> Import this into the client software of your choice. Enjoy your GM> new-found ability to search.
Why have each user jump through such hoops, and still leave this door open to the "the bad guys" whoever they are.
Anyway my preferred client is http://www.google.com/ so that won't help anyway.
I don't see why all the years and years of technical discussion must be held at ransom just because one article where someone said one thing that he is afraid his future employer will see or something.
Just remove that one article for heavens sake, and ask the user concerned to be more careful in the future.
Or say: "We here at Wikimedia are happy to announce that beginning of 09/09/2009 the Wikimedia mailing lists will again allow search engines to index. Any users who wish an article they wrote to be removed can contact us at any time..."
What if the Linux Kernel list had to be held at ransom just because one little article? How could anybody look up a technical problem that had been encountered in the past?
How can one instruct good netiquette that one should first check if a problem has been solved in the past before posting a question, if there is no way to check? (Other than hoping that something got indexed anyway elsewhere due to "leaks" (I.e., gmane, telling us to look there while not willing to index primarily, is cheating.).
How can one user's one personal problem hold all those technical references at ransom? What other organization blackholes their entire technical discussions just because one person's one time personal problem? Remove the thing that is bothering that user, and then get these lists back into Google where they belong.
The usual way organizations deal with sensitive discussions is to have a separate closed "personal problems" list that is not indexed, instead of taking down all the other lists, North Korean style.
(Mr. Peachy, I have left the formatting in this time. Thanks.)