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List:       majordomo-workers
Subject:    subscribe/nosubscribe configuration
From:       bill () ecology ! bio ! dfo ! ca (Bill Silvert)
Date:       1997-08-14 12:18:29
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Bill Houle <Bill.Houle@SanDiegoCA.NCR.COM> makes what I consider to be
an excellent suggestion, when he writes:

>I would like to see the "ban" idea expanded into an allow/deny mechanism
>and be enabled on the per-list level. My thought was to add "subscribe" and
>"nosubscribe" regexp arrays to the config file, similar to adv/noadvertise. 
>
>Addresses matching a "subscribe" regexp would bypass whatever closed/open
>setting was in place and automatically add the user. The subscribe list
>would be empty by default. +confirm would still be honored if set.

This could be used to set up a virtual intranet and I think it has a lot
of potential value.

>Addresses matching an "unsubscribe" regexp would never get to the
>closed/open/auto verification and simply be denied. The unsubscribe list
>would be empty by default.

Other than as a temporary defense against spammers, I'm not equally
convinced of the merit of the unsubscribe list, but others may find it
useful. However, I think that it may be useful to add a server command
that would let the user include a comment in messages that get bounced
to the list-owner for approval, to make the closed lists more efficient
in cases where there might be special circumstances for adding someone.
For example, if I set up a list which is open only to members of my
ministry by allowing all subscriptions from *.dfo.ca and requiring
approval for all others, a colleague who is working on temporary
assignment at a university might try to subscribe from
visitor@mcgill.ca and get refused unless he tells me who he is -- this
could most easily be done if the approval message said not only that
visitor@mcgill.ca seeks approval, but also included the line

comment: visitor@mcgill.ca is really buddy@arctic.dfo.ca

I don't know if this would be easy to implement, but if so, it could
help. I've just had to ask over 100 subscribers here to unsubscribe and
resubscribe to closed lists, and some of the approvals were pretty hard
to figure out.

-- 
Bill Silvert, Habitat Ecology Section, Bedford Institute of Oceanography,
P. O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, CANADA B2Y 4A2, Tel. (902)426-1577

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