Fwd: [pgsql-www] Forums at postgresql.com.au - Mailing list pgsql-general

On 20/11/2010, at 9:52 PM, Magnus Hagander wrote:

> On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 02:57, Elliot Chance <elliotchance@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On 20/11/2010, at 3:58 AM, Magnus Hagander wrote:
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 16:14, Alvaro Herrera
>> <alvherre@commandprompt.com> wrote:
>>
>> Excerpts from Dave Page's message of vie nov 19 11:43:34 -0300 2010:
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 19, 2010 at 1:19 PM, Elliot Chance <elliotchance@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> However if I had signed up to the forum (and not the mailing list) my From
>> would have to be subscribed for the mailing list to accept it like:
>>
>> Elliot Chance <forums@postgresql.com.au>
>>
>> John Smith <forums@postgresql.com.au>
>>
>> ... etc.
>>
>> OK, so after a brief background I'd like to organise a solution. Without any
>> other feasible option would this generic address system be allowed?
>>
>> I wouldn't be happy with that as it prevents private replies to the
>>
>> author and would make it easy to send what was intended as a private
>>
>> reply to the public forums by mistake.
>>
>> Isn't that a secondary use case, though?  It would be easy to solve this
>>
>> by providing a URL to the post in the forum that you can click; assuming
>>
>> the forum interface gives you the option to reply privately.
>>
>> That would pretty much make it impossible to use offline.
>>
>> That would be annoying, but I guess survivable. But how would that
>> work for a user that hasn't signed up for the forum? How does it
>> verify the sender?
>>
>> The forum uses the same confirmation as the mailing list where an email is
>> sent to the address and they have to click on a link to activate their
>> account - this very standard practice on forum software.
>
> Oh, I assumed that - you're missing my point.
>
> The point is this:
> Assume John Doe posts something to the list. I am reading this, and
> want to use "alvaros suggestion" for doing a direct response. So I
> click the link that was in the email. *I* am not registrered in the
> forums. How do I respond to his post in a safe way?

You are registered in the forum already (it does this automatically), you simply reply on the mailing list as you have
alwaysdone. If you feel the sudden urge to only reply via the forum then simply use the recover password to login and
replyfrom there. 

>
>
>> I did have a look
>> at https://github.com/mhagander/hamn/blob/master/listsync.py and I an do the
>> submitting the part quite easily myself but how does that activate the user
>> without an email being sent to them?
>
> Yeah, that's the part that needs to be added to it. But I don't see
> any reason that shouldn't be fairly simple - you probably just need to
> include a set nomail command as well.

Using nomail still requires you to confirm your email address (I know because i've tried it.) If there were a magic
valueyou could pass then it would defeat the purpose of having email confirmations and people would just write scripts
tocheat it - like I want to do. 

>
>
>> When you say offline I assume you mean replying to one or more threads while
>> not connected to the internet, then releasing your outbox when you get back
>> to an internet connection?
>
> Yes. For example, when on a plane or somewhere where the cell coverage is bad.

Like I explained this is no problem. After all you still get the same problems with a pure mailing list. For example if
someoneposted the question "How do I insert records?" and your on a plane typing "Use INSERT ....." but before your
planelands someone else has already responded to the person. Your email will still be sent so that the person gets two
answers.Just like the persons email program will rank the answers by timestamp so will posts to the forum. 

>
>
>> That's fine because all the posts are back dated
>> to sync with the email send time, so your replies will still appear after a
>> given post even if there has been more replies since then.
>
> I think you're again missing that this was a comment to Alvaros
> suggestion, which was the "have a link at the bottom of the email
> going back to the forums".
>
> And you're also missing the fact that I'm talking about doing a
> private response to the person who posted it, not a general
> to-the-list response.

Forums and mailing lists have the same functionality they just do the same things different ways. If you want to use
themailing list you have to use it like a mailing list, if you want to use the forum then you have to use it like a
forum.

If John Doe signs up to the forum he is expecting the forum to work like a forum. When his answer is posted to the
forumthread he will be notified. If in rare cases someone needs to send him a private message or email they can still
doso through those features provided inside the forum software. 

>
>
> --
> Magnus Hagander
> Me: http://www.hagander.net/
> Work: http://www.redpill-linpro.com/