[plug] PLUG list archives are now in a private web area

[Craig Ringer]

On Sat, 2004-03-06 at 20:43, James Devenish wrote:

> As some of you recall (and point out every few weeks), the plug at plug
> archives on mail.plug.linux.org.au have exposed our e-mail addresses to
> the wider Internet without obfuscation. This leaves them vulnerable to
> harvesting by spammers. Prevention can be undertaken by obfuscating the
> addresses, removing the addresses, or making the archives password-
> protected. My preference is to obfuscate the addresses.

I tend to agree.

> Well, the upgrade to Mailman 2.1 occurred this week (after some
> mild opposition). However, the archives haven't been retroactively
> fixed, and there has even been an explicit objection to the idea of
> doing it. Because of this, I have "bitten the bullet" and made the
> archives "private".

Well... it's better for most subscribers than having them wide open. My
craig at postnewspapers.com.au address is a total lost cause (only spam
filters keep me sane now), but many don't suffer this problem.

That said, I would _strongly_ prefer obfuscated addresses. I think the
PLUG archives are too valuable a resource to be restricted from
crawling. I get queries about PLUG posts all the time from people who
found them on Google, so it's definitely a resource that sees use.

Craig Ringer