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Date:      Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:30:19 +1100 (EST)
From:      Ian Smith <smithi@nimnet.asn.au>
To:        "David F. Severski" <davidski@deadheaven.com>
Cc:        freebsd-security@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: ports/128999: [vuxml] [patch] update audio/streamripper to 1.64.0, fix CVE-2008-4829
Message-ID:  <20081125153335.Q43853@sola.nimnet.asn.au>
In-Reply-To: <20081124222029.GM85200@geoff.deadheaven.com>
References:  <200811230855.mAN8tmXo091500@freefall.freebsd.org> <731a66520811241055x62a013at71bc1d08bcc6bda8@mail.gmail.com> <492B2242.4080102@vwsoft.com> <731a66520811241406r6269274ft8a41666efd85560d@mail.gmail.com> <20081124222029.GM85200@geoff.deadheaven.com>

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On Mon, 24 Nov 2008, David F. Severski wrote:
 > On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 11:06:56PM +0100, William Palfreman wrote:
 > > That's nice.  I am sure it is very useful on the ports mailinglist
 > > where it belongs.  I also greatly enjoy the frequent interesting and
 > > informed discussion on the security mailinglist - of which Eirik
 > > Overby's thread recently about syn+fin is one example.  But all these
 > > ports announcements, raw patches, garbled html etc. I could really do
 > > without.  It is why there are separate lists.
 > 
 > Was there a discussion or even an announcement indicating that the
 > security-related port commit messages would be sent to freebsd-security?

Not that I could find.  The other day I reviewed the last three months' 
archives looking for any notice I'd missed.  These ports security issues 
and patches postings began on Nov 8; I've resisted commenting until now.

 > This seems to have started just this month. Like William, I also find the
 > explosion of commit messages and bug tracking minutia detracts from the
 > low volume and high value of the freebsd-security list. The list
 > description on mailman indicates the intent of the list is to be a
 > 'high-signal, low-noise discussion of issues affecting the security of
 > FreeBSD.' Including every single obliquely security related port commit
 > seems counter to this intention.
 > 
 > I'd very much like to see a separate list for the automated port postings,
 > leaving this list to it's historical usage.

I'm also finding these to be swamping S/N (as are these posts, I know!)
and no, switching to security-advisories@ wouldn't cut it for me, for 
the same reasons William mentions above.

We're heading towards 20,000 ports these days, and while I appreciate 
and rely on the vuxml database and portaudit for vulns and updates for 
those ports I use, and am glad to see such active work going on, I'm 
feeling the separation of base system (including contrib) from ports 
remains important - especially in the security context.

My 2c (now scarcely U$1.3c),

Ian



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