> I'm receiving some flames as to why I am on such a control trip
> about this and so forth.  But I really am seriously just asking
> why MLMs that have similar but different syntax for a common set
> of features couldn't or shouldn't share the same syntax for those
> features.  The only answer I am getting so far is "because they
> don't have the same syntax".
>
> I am sorry that this question seems so offensive to some, but I
> only ask it because I have users that ask *me* these questions:
> why is it "listserv@here" and "majordomo@there"; why is it
> "subscribe list your name" here and "subscribe list your@address"
> there?  I assume that if it confuses some, it probably confuses
> others also.
 
A serious request deserves a serious answer.  These questions have
been discussed so many times, that perhaps some of us have forgotten
that there are new-comers to any list...
 
Intuitively, you might think that there should be agreement on a very
common command, such as "subscribe".  However, the history is that no
concensus has been reached, and probably won't be.  IMHO, the reason
there is different syntax is that different list managers have
different needs, and in some cases, these needs are incompatible, so no
one syntax meets all needs.  For example, many list managers need to
have a way to allow a user to put *any* address on the list.  Other
list managers need a way to prevent users from putting any address on
the list other than their own.  Some managers really want the users
"real name", others could care less about it.
 
Yes, a syntax could be agree upon that meets all the needs, but
probably it would be so complex that users would have trouble with it.
Instead, I have always argued that the MLM's should become more
flexible in what they accept (my suggestions have been accepted to
some extent).
 
For example, suppose a MLM receives the following sample requests:
 
1.   subscribe
 
   If the message was sent to a list-request address, then the MLM
   should get the user's address from the header, and subscribe the
   user to the appropriate list.  If the request was sent to a generic
   "listmaster@host" address, then the MLM sends back a nice response
   saying "subscribe to what?".
 
2.   subscribe [log in to unmask]
 
   The MLM says, hmmm, the second word is an address (has an @ sign
   in it, or more sophisticated parsing).  First, do I have a list
   name, as in #1?  If so, does the list manager allow folks to
   specify addresses?  Does the list manager need a "real name"?
   Depending on the answer, MLM either puts the address on the list,
   or sends back a message saying "Sorry you can't specify an
   address other than your own," or "Sorry we really need your
   real name to do this request".
 
You get the idea.  It wouldn't be perfect, but the MLM could reasonably
reply to 99% of the requests it receives.  The problem is that doing
this requires work on the part of the MLM authors.  Also, there is
honest disagreement among the authors and list managers as to whether
"coddling" users is a Good Thing.
 
--Mike