Re: [Meta] Mailing list suggestion: PGP encryption

[Viacheslav Usov <via.usov@...>]

On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 1:34 PM Soni "They/Them" L. <fakedme@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> There should be a way to configure the mailing list to encrypt mailing
> list messages

Encryption in the strict sense of the word makes no sense for a public
mailing list, where all messages are relayed to anyone who cares to
subscribe.

If that word was used as a shorthand for "cryptographically-strong
message authentication", then, again, for a public mailing list where
essentially anyone can join and post messages to, this would be of
very limited use. I would not know that Soni "They/Them" L.
<fakedme@gmail.com> is any better than Soni "They/Them" L.
<fakedthem@gmail.com>.

Finally, message authentication is hard for a mailing list and may
seem too much to worry about or be impossible to comply with for its
members. Gmail does message authentication for me, and it routinely
classifies messages of at least one long-term list member as spam. The
member is aware of that, but is unable or unwilling to change that.
(This is not a complaint, just an illustration.)

Cheers,
V.