Lisa,
I don't mind continuing my moderation tasks until August. Let me know if you
still need me.
Charles
On Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 8:58 PM, Lisa L <exexpat2 [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com> wrote:
> (Note: Folks from the volunteer list have been BCC'd directly; apologies
> for any duplicates.)
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Tux 2010 is ready for action. On behalf of the board, I would like to
> enlist your help with a few tasks, and some feedback:
>
> (1) Mailing list moderation: We are looking to set up a moderation team.
> This is more a matter of an ongoing minimal commitment of time more than
> technical skill. Mainly it involves checking your e-mail regularly for
> notices, logging in to an administration area when messages are waiting, and
> approving or rejecting them based on their content. This helps to keep our
> lists free of spam and inappropriate messages.
>
> (2) Mailman setup and migration of archives: One of the next steps is
> moving over our mailing list services. We're looking for folks who are
> familiar with Mailman, and can help migrate our current Mailman mailing
> lists and archives to the new server.
>
> (3) Spam filtering considerations and implementation: We are currently
> outsourcing our spam filtering to Roaring Penguin, a service called CanIt.
> This was kindly set up and monitored by Dave O'Neill a few months ago, and
> is working quite well. Previously we were using SpamAssassin, which had
> also worked very well for a number of years, but the version we were running
> became badly outdated and began to allow some spam through to the lists.
> The problem was not a technical one, but rather one of human resources.
> Initial setup is always more appealing and attracts more attention than
> maintenance, so it's harder to allocate human clock cycles for the latter on
> an ongoing basis.
>
> It has been suggested that since we'll be moving to the new server,
> this is a good opportunity to reflect on our spam filtering methods. Brett
> Delmage recently encountered an issue where accidentally breaking the
> anti-spam headers related to the CanIt filtering, caused the content of his
> messages to disappear. Dave has generously offered to reconfigure this if
> we provide him with a complete list of all list addresses (that is, all @
> lists.oclug.on.ca and @oclug.on.ca addresses) so they can be set to omit
> the anti-spam voting links. However, Brett has also pointed out that
> cleaning up the disorganization could make this ongoing maintenance easier
> and even unnecessary, and make for less hassle and error on an ongoing
> basis. One idea being considered is to reinstate our use of SpamAssassin,
> but install it through the package manager so that keeping it up to date is
> simple and straightforward. As long as it is up to date, we can expect
> similar performance to years past. Continuing to use CanIt requires
> management of an additional login to handle this portion of the moderation.
> Either Canit or SpamAssassin may occasionally require tweaking by those
> familiar with its configuration. The main consideration here, given the
> human factor mentioned above, is to make ongoing maintenance simple enough
> that most ordinary members can do most tasks if given the recipe. This
> would help make more sets of eyes and hands available to keep things running
> smoothly.
>
> So, we'd like your feedback: Would CanIt or SpamAssassin offer a
> simpler way to do our spam filtering, and why? (Dave, do you wish to
> specifically comment on this?) Lastly, would you be willing to do setup and
> configuration on the new server, and/or ongoing maintenance?
>
> (4) Acceptable Use Policy implementation: Unmitigated wiki edits have the
> potential of embarrassing the group. We need ways of verifying the identity
> of would-be editors and having verification that they agree to acceptable
> use terms ("do no harm," etc.). In the past, we had Web of Trust meetings
> for GPG keys with passports and such. Do we know the current status of this
> initiative? It looks like it has been in disuse for some time. Some other
> suggestions have been:
> AUPs signed with a digital signature, or alternatively, printed, signed,
> then scanned. This would avoid a buildup of dead trees to be filed.
> Obtain an "I agree" by e-mail, and confirm in person at meeting or by
> phone with a person we know (web of trust).
> Other ideas?
> We could use one or more of these in combination to cover all our
> bases. Obviously, it needs to be as easy as possible for folks to do, while
> still ensuring that we know who they are and that they agree to the terms.
>
> Thank you in advance for your help and ideas.
>
> Best regards,
> Lisa
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sysadmin mailing list
> Sysadmin [ at ] lists [ dot ] oclug [ dot ] on [ dot ] ca
> http://oclug.on.ca/mailman/listinfo/sysadmin
>
>
--
Charles Nadeau Ph.D.
http://charlesnadeau.blogspot.com/