The problem with the emails in text format
Article for LWN subscribers
/ > the Mozilla Manifesto declares the organization's commitment to certain principles, including the privacy of users and the human right to control their work online. As a result, when Mozilla recently announced its intention to remove support for the text format in e-mail distribution lists — to track the receipt of letters by the addressees — the reaction was, to put it mildly, not entirely positive. Text format left, but the reasons why he wanted to cancel has not disappeared. They point to the problems faced by the individual senders of emails.
In September, Michelle Warter announced waiver text format emails (announcement posted to the mailing list mozilla-governance). It soon became clear that the community is configured a little skeptical about this idea, so the Warter explained reason for the changes:
Spam nature of the Internet makes all recipients to filter the stream. Only the unknown and the secret email address you can access for unfiltered e-mail traffic, not reducing the human mind. A significant portion of the filters based on the content analysis, but many of them, especially in some of the major web email providers, allows for and even "reputation" of the domain of the sender.
Some aspects of domain reputation is quite logical and understandable. If specific IP addresses seen sending large volumes of spam, it will quickly contribute to various black lists. If you are using an IPv6 address, then the lock can cover a significant part of the address space, causing considerable damage; this is why the LWN server is configured to send emails via IPv4, if possible. Often restricted to the use of IP addresses home Internet users — if they even allowed to send letters. Every owner of a private mail server would agree that reputation is largely dependent on random factors.
One of the indicators that is used for the calculation of such evaluation of some sites — the number of emails sent to inactive addresses clearly that is a sign of spam. It seems that here at Mozilla have problems. One way to solve this problem is to track which recipients actually read their mail. Any member who does not read mails for a long time, will be automatically unsubscribed from the mailing list. Theoretically, then email service providers will consider the letters from this source as do interest and will cease to be obstacles in their way.
Of course, the problem is that tracking requires a "feedback loop" referred to in the message of the Warter. This feedback is implemented in the form embedded in the body of the email tracking images, which are downloaded from the server to the sender. The implications for privacy are obvious: not everyone wants the sender know when the letter is read and where the reading is at this time. The disclosure of such information seem to contradict the Mozilla Manifesto #4: "the Security and privacy of a person on the Internet is fundamental and cannot be considered as an option". But if you do not comply with these requirements, as said Warter, then we are faced with the problems of delivery of all email Mozilla.
Tracking pictures also have other problems, starting with the fact that careful users for whom privacy is important, generally disable downloading of images by default. Your editor and he recently received a complaint from a Finance company that does not read her letters. In fact, the letters were read, but they were not allowed to call home and inform about this fact. There is a high probability that in the future the popularity of this kind of locks increase. Not everyone wants to become part of an unsolicited "feedback loop".
In this particular case, it seems that still found an acceptable compromise — and text-formatted letters will save. But once a year subscribers to text-only format newsletters will receive a letter asking you to click on a link to confirm that you wish to subscribe further. This will allow Mozilla to weed out inactive readers, while maintaining the reputation rating and not introducing compulsory surveillance.
The fact that even radical organizations like Mozilla feel the need to implement the tracking is not a very good indicator of the state of the email system, although these indicators were accumulated. The harder it will be to pass the test of credibility, the more users will be forced to go to a small number of large email providers (who have no problems with the "feedback loop"), just to work normally. For example, at each stage of the merge of the Linux kernel one or a few developers are experiencing problems with the send pull-requests to Linus Torvalds in his Gmail account. It is unclear how to solve the problem with email, but it is obvious: you have to do something.
Article based on information from habrahabr.ru
/ > the Mozilla Manifesto declares the organization's commitment to certain principles, including the privacy of users and the human right to control their work online. As a result, when Mozilla recently announced its intention to remove support for the text format in e-mail distribution lists — to track the receipt of letters by the addressees — the reaction was, to put it mildly, not entirely positive. Text format left, but the reasons why he wanted to cancel has not disappeared. They point to the problems faced by the individual senders of emails.
In September, Michelle Warter announced waiver text format emails (announcement posted to the mailing list mozilla-governance). It soon became clear that the community is configured a little skeptical about this idea, so the Warter explained reason for the changes:
sorry, text letters don't provide the same feedback loop as the emails are in HTML format. Of course, many consider it a blessing. But the unintended result of a lack of these signals is a negative impact on the rating of our reputation: due to the use of text format we often bring in gray/black lists, and this usually means that we have *no one* can't send email until the problem is resolved.
Spam nature of the Internet makes all recipients to filter the stream. Only the unknown and the secret email address you can access for unfiltered e-mail traffic, not reducing the human mind. A significant portion of the filters based on the content analysis, but many of them, especially in some of the major web email providers, allows for and even "reputation" of the domain of the sender.
Some aspects of domain reputation is quite logical and understandable. If specific IP addresses seen sending large volumes of spam, it will quickly contribute to various black lists. If you are using an IPv6 address, then the lock can cover a significant part of the address space, causing considerable damage; this is why the LWN server is configured to send emails via IPv4, if possible. Often restricted to the use of IP addresses home Internet users — if they even allowed to send letters. Every owner of a private mail server would agree that reputation is largely dependent on random factors.
One of the indicators that is used for the calculation of such evaluation of some sites — the number of emails sent to inactive addresses clearly that is a sign of spam. It seems that here at Mozilla have problems. One way to solve this problem is to track which recipients actually read their mail. Any member who does not read mails for a long time, will be automatically unsubscribed from the mailing list. Theoretically, then email service providers will consider the letters from this source as do interest and will cease to be obstacles in their way.
Of course, the problem is that tracking requires a "feedback loop" referred to in the message of the Warter. This feedback is implemented in the form embedded in the body of the email tracking images, which are downloaded from the server to the sender. The implications for privacy are obvious: not everyone wants the sender know when the letter is read and where the reading is at this time. The disclosure of such information seem to contradict the Mozilla Manifesto #4: "the Security and privacy of a person on the Internet is fundamental and cannot be considered as an option". But if you do not comply with these requirements, as said Warter, then we are faced with the problems of delivery of all email Mozilla.
Tracking pictures also have other problems, starting with the fact that careful users for whom privacy is important, generally disable downloading of images by default. Your editor and he recently received a complaint from a Finance company that does not read her letters. In fact, the letters were read, but they were not allowed to call home and inform about this fact. There is a high probability that in the future the popularity of this kind of locks increase. Not everyone wants to become part of an unsolicited "feedback loop".
In this particular case, it seems that still found an acceptable compromise — and text-formatted letters will save. But once a year subscribers to text-only format newsletters will receive a letter asking you to click on a link to confirm that you wish to subscribe further. This will allow Mozilla to weed out inactive readers, while maintaining the reputation rating and not introducing compulsory surveillance.
The fact that even radical organizations like Mozilla feel the need to implement the tracking is not a very good indicator of the state of the email system, although these indicators were accumulated. The harder it will be to pass the test of credibility, the more users will be forced to go to a small number of large email providers (who have no problems with the "feedback loop"), just to work normally. For example, at each stage of the merge of the Linux kernel one or a few developers are experiencing problems with the send pull-requests to Linus Torvalds in his Gmail account. It is unclear how to solve the problem with email, but it is obvious: you have to do something.
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