Re: List 'linux-dvb' closed to public posts

[Russell King <rmk+lkml@arm.linux.org.uk>]

On Wed, Jan 21, 2004 at 09:15:50PM +0000, Dave Jones wrote:
> Closed lists are just *rude*. The only intention is to stop spam,
> but personally, I find hoop-jumping like this *more* of an inconvenience
> than spam, (and I get a *lot* of spam, several megs a day on a quiet day)

Umm, I don't think that's entirely correct.  There's a problem in the
UK and EU with 100% open mailing lists - it's called data protection,
where the owner of their personal data has certain rights.  I believe
that it is questionable whether such open lists can be run in the EU,
or even by EU individuals.

There appears to be two ways around this problem:

1. Only allow list members to be able to look at the list archives.
   This precludes the ability of search engines (eg google) to be able
   to index such archives.  It also means that archive sites outside
   the EU must not be permitted to subscribe to such a list.  (List
   owner control over this is virtually impossible since archive sites
   don't generally ask permission before hand.)

2. Allow member-only posting and make membership of the list conditional
   on an agreement which allows all information contained within the
   message to be made publically available, and that such information
   will be internationally distributed.  This means that people who
   have not agreed to the terms must be prevented from posting to the
   list.

(1) is fine for things like LUG lists where the membership is fairly
small and the subject matter is not of international or universal
interest.  However, it is unacceptable for highly technical lists
and/or those of international interest.

Note that I'm not saying that closed lists are a good thing either -
I don't like closed lists either, both from the user and more especially
the admin point of view, but I've have come to the conclusion that it
is a necessary evil which we have to bear in our increasingly litigious
world.

[Please note: I am aware of an instance where someone has indeed used
the UK's Data Protection Act in connection with a mailing list to get
the lists archives modified or the list shut down.]

-- 
Russell King
 Linux kernel    2.6 ARM Linux   - http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/
 maintainer of:  2.6 PCMCIA      - http://pcmcia.arm.linux.org.uk/
                 2.6 Serial core