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2 <title>Samba - Policy for Archiving Mailing Lists</title>
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5 <h2 align="center">Samba list archive editing policy</h2>
8 This document outlines the conditions, requirements, and
9 considerations for processing archival edit requests.
10 <u>After</u> you have read the complete document, you may send any
11 comments to the address listed in this document.
13 <p>This document is based on the
14 <a href="http://www.w3.org/Mail/ArchiveEditingPolicy">W3C Archive Editing Policy</a>,
15 but please do not contact W3C about samba.org's policy.
18 <h3>Outline of the need for a policy</h3>
21 The effectiveness with which the Samba project attains its objectives
22 centers on a trust between participants.
25 Participants in samba.org activities, and subscribers to its lists,
26 where much of the day-to-day discussion of technical, operational,
27 and communications issues occurs, rely on the mailing lists and
28 archives to be persistently accessible repositories of e-mail
29 communications regarding the various activities and operations of
34 Accordingly, it is paramount
35 that the archives are maintained at a consistent level of integrity:
36 they should rarely be edited.
41 <b>If a sender posts to a public forum, it should be understood
42 the information will be publicly available in perpetuity.</b>
45 On the rare occasions that need arises to edit information contained
46 in archived messages, careful examination will be given to the
47 particular circumstances of the request, in order to ensure a fair
48 and balanced disposition.
52 <h3>Conditions for its application</h3>
56 The need for editing or excising material contained in an archived
57 message is addressed <em>only</em> when the sender of the archived
58 message requests it. Carefully documented exceptions may be
64 A request for an archival edit is not a remedy for indiscriminate
65 handling of personal privacy information. It is the sole
66 responsibility of each user of the archives to exercise care in the
67 disposition of privacy information. Neither is the editing of the
68 archives an appropriate palliative for decreasing one's exposure to
69 spam or email viruses.
74 While we are sensitive to the need for protecting personal
75 information from exploitation by spammers, we cannot engage in the
76 revision of the archives for the sole purpose of decreasing one's
77 vulnerability to spam. Neither can we revise archival material for
78 the purpose of updating personal contact information within posts:
79 archives are historical documents, not personal records.
82 Editing of the archives is also not a solution for accidental or
83 careless transmission of security-sensitive information. If you do
84 disclose a password or similarly sensitive information, you should
85 change the password immediately. Editing the archive will not regain
86 the security lost by broadcasting your password to hundreds or
90 If a poster wishes to correct, clarify or withdraw a statement made
91 on a public list, they should post another mail to do so. List
92 archives will generally not be edited for these purposes.
95 Once information has been distributed through the samba.org mailing
96 lists it is no longer under our control. Third parties can and do
97 run public or private list archives. Even when a message is removed
98 from the archives on samba.org, it may still be retained elsewhere.
101 It is the nature of the archives to house, and make available, the
102 records of discussion in each of the individual fora. Any request
103 for editing of the archives entails a change in these records, and is
104 very carefully scrutinized.
109 <h3>Specific request components</h3>
112 All requests should include detailed justification that will give
113 evaluating staff a clear sense of the urgency and needs of the
118 All requests will be examined by samba.org managers to ensure careful
119 and efficient processing of each request, and will receive either
120 positive or negative acknowledgment.
124 A request for an archival edit should include the following:
128 <li>A complete detailed rationale for the request.</li>
129 <li>A precise description of the material to be
131 <li>A statement indicating an understanding of this policy.</li>
137 <h3>Evaluation of requests</h3>
141 Timeliness is paramount for effectively countering
142 any adverse circumstances resulting from posted
143 material in samba.org archives. Mail sent to a list is
144 immediately distributed to all subscribers of the list.
145 Therefore, requests should be submitted
146 as soon as the need for the action is identified.
151 It is difficult, at best, to account for the wide variety of
152 circumstances that might warrant favorable consideration for an
153 archival edit. Some of those which may be favorably considered are:
157 <li>The post is made to a public list and contains information
158 intended for an audience with more restrictive access controls.</li>
160 <li>The sender inadvertently divulges sensitive
161 project-related or security vulnerability information.</li>
166 The Samba community provides the list and answers questions on the
167 list not for the sole benefit of the original poster. By working on
168 mailing lists, and making the list archives public, we build an
169 ongoing body of knowledge. The archive may be directly referred to
170 as a reference of history, may be searched for answers to similar
171 problems, and referenced in other ways.
174 The request should demonstrate an ongoing harm that would be reduced
175 by editing of the archive, and that outweighs the need for an
180 <h3>Method of request</h3>
183 The request should be submitted by the sender of the archived post
184 via email to the team-only list, mailman.at.samba.org, in order to
185 assure that the issue is carefully tracked and archived for future
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