[MT-users] Blocking archives of this list from Google?

[Paul Makepeace]

When I'd originally created mt-users there was a component of producing
a generally available useful collection of MT related support.
At this point in my Web-using life, and I'm sure I'm not alone here, I
have had an uncountable number of problems solved thanks to publicly
archived mailing list posts that contain solutions, and there are many
such solutions now on mt-users. I even have had comments over email and
blog saying "thanks for that".

I have also suffered a frankly appalling experience where a relatively
sensitive private list I hosted for free became un-private during an
automatic mailing list archive upgrade: the contents ended up in google,
a couple of the members flew into an apoplectic fit, and I felt like I
was being skinned alive. I just shut it all down. I doubt that would
happen here but once you've touched a live wire...

So I must admit I'm reluctant to make it private.

That all said, if there's strong feeling either way I'm happy to
collaborate on a solution (e.g. one public list I run is semi-anonymous
with firstnames and last name initial only, no emails).

By all means more discussion...

Paul

Je 2005-02-08 21:40:44 +0000, David Jennings skribis:
> I guess this is mainly a question for Paul, but I'm sending it to the 
> list in case others have opinions...
> 
> Is it (a) possible and (b) desirable to block Google and other search 
> engines from indexing the archives of this email list, which are on 
> the web at http://paulm.com/mail/mt-users/index.html ?
> 
> Normally I'm fairly careful about what I say on the web, because you 
> never know who might be reading, but this is the kind of forum where 
> I am quite likely to reveal the kind of psychopathic torture routines 
> I'd like to subject comment spammers to. And other things not really 
> for public consumption.
> 
> So my vote would be to block search engines from indexing these 
> messages, if that's possible.
> 
> David

-- 
Paul Makepeace .............................. http://paulm.com/inchoate/

"If bees make honey, then I'll have another glass of the single malt,
 please."
   -- http://paulm.com/toys/surrealism/