ietf
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: mailing list memberships reminder -> passwords in the clear

2012-11-02 10:39:56
On 1 Nov 2012, at 20:20, Paul Aitken <paitken(_at_)cisco(_dot_)com> wrote:
Why does the "mailing list memberships reminder" send passwords in the clear?

Because mailman is brain-dead stupid.  See:
http://www.jwz.org/doc/mailman.html

Sadly, and despite my best efforts to find alternative mailing list software, 
mailman wins on popularity (ugh) and hence support with practically no 
competition.  Only majordomo2, which has been unmaintained for a while now (and 
it's author calls it "Dead" holds much of a chance, but I doubt it would work 
for the IETF in its current condition.

But have hope!  The IETF serves the mailman interface over TLS, and it is an 
option that you can exercise *not* to have passwords mailed to you.  Go to your 
membership options page, and in the group containing the option to turn off the 
membership reminders, check the checkbox to make it global.  Later, you can 
have the password mailed to you on demand, or unsubscribe without needing a 
password at all (email confirmation loop).

For everything else I'm subscribed to, if I forget my details, one click 
sends a one-time password-reset link.
Passwords are never mailed out, and never shown.

Yes.  Sadly this isn't possible with mailman; you will always be mailed your 
password if you need it and can't remember it.

HTH.

Cheers,
Sabahattin