[Mailman-Users] Feature Request: Selective Mass Subscription

Stephen J. Turnbull stephen at xemacs.org
Thu Jul 10 06:36:16 CEST 2008

Cyndi Norwitz writes:

 > I appreciate your input.  I am curious what other server owners/
 > ISP's do.  From the talk on this list, it would seem that any
 > restriction on what listowners can do is considered a violation.

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a violation, but I would not
want to work under such restrictions myself.

 > Assuming you ran a system with users you didn't know well enough to
 > judge, what sorts of options would you consider implementing?  If
 > any...

I think that probably what I would consider doing if the market would
bear it, and courts would enforce it, is restrict mass subscription
privileges to people willing to pay upfront for a multi-year contract,
or who pay substantially higher prices for a premium service.  If they
violate the TOS, they get no refund.  If they've been well-behaved but
want out early, I'd pay them back pro rata.  I also wouldn't advertise
the service beyond the bare minimum ... only people who ask for it get

But somebody who's been around for years and is running a reputable
list, hey, that's not that hard to check.  I would think it would be
easy enough for them to find out that much about you and your service;
I think they *do* know you well enough.

I'm not criticizing their policy, especially if they're inexpensive,
though.  Making such judgments is not cheap.

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