Only tangentially related, but I'm always fascinated that mailing lists are still a thing in 2025.
replies(3):
• Non-proprietary
• Federated
• Archivable
• Accessible
• Not dependent on a specific company
- can only participate in conversations via e-mails
- unclear how to participate in / reply to an older thread that wasn't delivered to your mailbox
- NOT accessible, especially in the disabilities sense
- doesn't have a search feature; depends on external search engines to crawl the mailing list for discoverability
- no responsive design, tiny text and horizontal scrolling on mobile phone screens
- sends you your password in cleartext via e-mail
- actually complicated to unsubscribe from a list / manage your membership
The web has horrible usability if you use a text-based browser. I.e. if you use a mail reader with good usability, a mailing list has good usability. This is a client-side issue, not a technology issue.
> - can only participate in conversations via e-mails
Um, yes, a mailing list uses e-mail. I don’t know what you expected.
> - unclear how to participate in / reply to an older thread that wasn't delivered to your mailbox
If you are a new user, and want to reply to a mail you read in the list archive, just write a new mail; there is no strict rule that any discussions must be restricted to one thread.
Indeed, if you want to start a new discussion after some time has elapsed, a new thread may be preferred.
> - NOT accessible, especially in the disabilities sense
Again, this is a client issue. I believe that e-mail is actually the preferred form for those with accessibility needs.
> - doesn't have a search feature; depends on external search engines to crawl the mailing list for discoverability
Somewhat true, but this depends on the list – some list archives do feature search – and is very rarely a problem in practice, since external search engines are very efficient.
> - no responsive design, tiny text and horizontal scrolling on mobile phone screens
Again, a client issue. Get a better e-mail client.
> - sends you your password in cleartext via e-mail
Yes, many lists do this, but this is not a requirement of the technology. Some lists could require all your mails to be signed with PGP or S/MIME; it is entirely up to the list.
> - actually complicated to unsubscribe from a list / manage your membership
Not really. The ”List-Unsubscribe” header is commonly sent in every mail to the list.