> I propose that the linux-kernel mail list be setup to exclude postings
> from non susbscribers. This would reduce the spam to nearly zero.
...
> I see no reason to be concerned that this will prevent non subscribers
> from being able to post.
Many of us (including myself) follow linux-kernel on the web.
Many of us follow it on unauthorized 1-way newsgroups, some
of which would become buggy 2-way disasters if your suggestion
was implemented. Many of us just post oops info, and do not
even read the list most of the time.
If this policy was implemented and the "no news gateway" policy
was not changed, I and many other people would need to subscribe.
That puts more load on vger.rutgers.edu. Many people would have
to give up, perhaps even myself. I'm addicted to the elm mailer,
which was never designed to handle such a flood of email.
Perhaps Linus Torvalds could share his choice of mailer with us.
He must get thousands of messages every day.
Still, I like elm. I'm not about to change because I have
memorized all of the user interface. I can type ahead without
worry that I might delete all my mail. I simply can't deal
with hundreds of incoming messages every day.
Perhaps the list submission address could change every few
days. Perhaps there could be a password that must appear
somewhere (header, .sig, whatever) in the email.