This post is a formal invitation to Chris MacRaild. As part of the
transition of relax into a community driven, self sustaining project I
would like to create the job position of the Mailing List Manager.
Chris, because of your numerous code contributions to the project, I
would like to offer you this position. However, I would fully
understand if you currently do not have the time to take up the
management position or if you would prefer not to accept. While this
job is not too demanding, if you wish you could easily transition to a
more involved position later on. Below is the full job description.
Edward
1. Tasks
1.1 Configuration
Part of the job is to change the mailing list settings as necessary.
This is a relatively infrequent task. The changes should be discussed
on the relax-devel mailing list first so that subscribers are aware
that the change are about to occur. Changes to relax-users and
relax-devel should also be announced prior to the event.
1.2 Spam
All four mailing lists (relax-announce, relax-users, relax-devel, and
relax-commits) are moderated - only members can post to the lists.
Posts by non-subscribers are first sent to the Mailing List Manager
for approval, denial, rejection, etc. I have, so far, received about
20 spam messages since the inception of the lists so this task isn't
very demanding. I have removed the @ symbols from the mailing lists
on the web pages hence the level of spam shouldn't rise. The number
of spams are low because all posts must first pass through Gna's
blacklists and SpamAssassin
(https://gna.org/cookbook/?func=detailitem&item_id=112).
1.3 Rejection
All posts to relax-announce and relax-commits are to be rejected. The
exceptions are posts to relax-announce by the project admin (currently
myself) and posts to relax-commits by the subversion and CVS relax
repositories (https://gna.org/svn/?group=relax and
https://gna.org/cvs/?group=relax). The repository commit messages are
currently automatically accepted.
1.4 Acceptance
Non-member posts to relax-users or relax-devel should be quickly
accepted if they are legitimate. The poster will receive an automatic
email saying that the list is for members only and that the email is
awaiting approval. So far everyone who has posted a message has
subsequently subscribed to the list. Their post should nevertheless
be accepted by the manager as it will still be waiting for approval.
1.5 Redirection
If people have sent the message to the wrong forum (a post talking
about source code modifications is sent to relax-user, somebody
accidentally sending a message to relax-announce or relax-users when
it should be sent to one of the other lists, or program usage
questions which are sent to relax-users, etc) then redirection is
necessary. To do this, the person should be politely asked to repost
the message to the relevant forum. This should be done publicly as a
reply to their original post unless the message was sent to
relax-announce or relax-commits.
If somebody reports a bug on one of the mailing lists, then the
Mailing List Manager should politely ask the person if they would like
to create a bug report (pointing them to the bug tracker at
https://gna.org/bugs/?group=relax or the bug submission page
https://gna.org/bugs/?func=additem&group=relax). In the post the
person should be directed to the relevant section of the manual
describing how to submit a bug report (both the PDF and HTML
versions). It is quite likely that the poster won't take the time to
create the report. If that is the case then the Mailing List Manager
should create a report pointing to the original post. An example of
this is bug #6873 (https://gna.org/bugs/?6873). Redirection is not an
exclusive job, anyone can request redirection, however if no one
responds then the Mailing List Manager should make the request.
1.6 Invitation
Some people subscribe solely to relax-users or relax-devel. Any
subscribers to these two lists should probably also be subscribed to
relax-announce. If there are people who receive messages from the
other lists but are not subscribed to relax-announce then, from the
relax-announce mailman configuration page, they should politely be
asked if they would like to subscribe to relax-announce. I have done
this once already but have lost the text of that message. If anyone
still has that message, would they be able to respond to this post
with the text attached, thanks. Only new subscribers should be
invited.
1.7 Sharing the job
Importantly these tasks are not the exclusive domain of the Mailing
List Manager. Everyone is free to do any part of the task
description. The job of the manager is to make sure that these things
occur if no one picks up the slack. However, the first four tasks
require the administrative password so only the Manager and the
project admin can do these tasks.
2. Email addresses
The Mailing List Manager is a position of trust. The manager has full
access to the email addresses and names of all subscribers. These
details must not be used in any way or the information disclosed to
anyone. In addition, peoples settings should not be changed. If
someone has 'incorrect' settings, then they should fix the problem.
Posting a private message to them describing the problem and
presenting yourself as the Mailing List Manager is okay.
3. Administrative passwords
The administrative pages of each of the four mailing lists are
password protected. Chris, if you accept the job then you will
require these passwords. A relatively safe way to convey these to you
would be by SMS. If you send me a mobile number by private email, I
can then send you the passwords. In case someone or something
determines the passwords and hijacks the lists, the project admin can
always reset the passwords.
The setup would be that both the Mailing List Manager and Project
Admin keep the passwords. Although I can still perform all the tasks
of the manager, I will leave all the tasks to you. I may however
suggest setting changes, etc., on this forum. By both having access
to the administrative interface, I can clear messages when you are
away or at any other time that you request.
4. Transitions
You may at any time request to forgo the manager position. This may
be because you would like to move onto another job, if job becomes too
demanding, or if you no longer have the time to currently contribute
to the project.
5. Documentation
If you accept the position, I will create a file called 'JOBS' in the
'docs/' directory. In the file I will describe the Mailing List
Manager position using most of the details from this post. There may
be other tasks or details that either I have missed or that you add to
the job as you go. Part of the job description would be to document
all your actions as the managers and to keep the Mailing List Manager
description up to date. This allows the next volunteer to easily take
over when a transition occurs.
Mailing List Manager invitation.