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Difference between revisions of "Mailman retirement to Google Groups"

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(Initial Page created from Staff Project Template)
 
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#REDIRECT [[Staff-Projects/Mailman-EOL]]
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= Overview =
 
= Overview =
  
−
Each project will have a 2-3 paragraph overview narrative. Keep to the key top points about the project. Visitors should be able to read this short narrative and have a good understanding of the project without having to scroll the entire document.
+
Since very early in OWASP's history, Mailman has been used to facilitate communication between various members of the community.  While Mailman has served the community well for years, the decision has been made to migrate from a self-hosted Mailman installation to Google Groups.  The migration will allow the community to continue to have an email address to reach a particular segments of the community just like Mailman provides but without the administrative burden of running a server for Mailman.  The reasons for this migration were stated at length on the leaders list [https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-February/019675.html here] but are summarized below in no particular order:
 +
* Mailman is old software and doesn't follow current security best practices.
 +
** It sends passwords in the clear which has been repeatedly pointed out by the community for quite some time as noted [[About Mailman at OWASP|here]].
 +
** It has a single shared password for overall site administration for the staff to use to oversee the installation
 +
** If a mail list has 2+ list owners, they must share a password for managing the list
 +
* Mailman has an extremely dated UI/web interface.  This makes OWASP appear out of date/out of touch to new, potential community members
 +
* Since the Foundation has a very small staff, administering a server takes away staff time from focusing on OWASP's mission / [https://www.owasp.org/index.php/About_The_Open_Web_Application_Security_Project#Core_Purpose core purpose].
 +
* The Anti-SPAM gateway service from Barracuda, which was previously donated, is ending on March 24th, 2019.
 +
* Due to the current climate of increased privacy and the existence of the GDPR, the migration will allow the membership in our lists to be reviewed/audited by the current user base (aka opt-in).
 +
* Mailman does not get the use it formerly had ~80% of the lists are inactive/dormant/abandoned - some numbers:
 +
** 875 - total lists prior to initial review/clean-up
 +
** 181 - lists of the 875 which had at least 1 email to them in the last calendar year
 +
** 693 - lists with no email posts in over 1 year
 +
In 2017, the current community manager (Tiffany Long) suggested a migration from Mailman to Discourse. This was the original direction of efforts until it was reconsidered at the 2019 Staff Summit, a face to face meeting to plan out 2019. Instead, Mailman will be migrated to Google Groups.  The following reasons were crucial in the choice of Google Groups
 +
* Functionally equivalent to Mailman as a 'mail list'
 +
* Already part of the G-Suite donation from Google
 +
* Can be run for $0 cost and with 0 administration of the underlying infrastructure
 +
* Includes Anti-SPAM filtering that is already part of our G-Suite email infrastructure
 +
* Inbound and outbound email handled by Google email infrastructure - no need to run a MTA (mail server)
 +
* Mobile-friendly, modern UI and significantly better TLS configuration for web interactions
 +
* Has robust admin and permissions available via G-Suite Admin tool
  
 
= Project Links =
 
= Project Links =
 +
* [https://lists.owasp.org/mailman/listinfo Mailman legacy install]
 +
* [https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/stats/ Mailman stats] - created via monthly cron job / run manually
 +
* [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VDIeT0Wfrt2_v5hY6by984H5fya56xe7E_rZDird8qg/edit?usp=sharing Google Sheet of mail lists and their most recent post] (publicly available)
 +
* [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Fn1t_-tcw3duCC0QMhKXEMqdKcHvqsi21e7LuiOphM/edit?usp=sharing Google Sheet of mail lists, most recent post and owner(s) of the list] (only available to Foundation Staff since it contains email addresses of list owners)
 +
* [https://support.google.com/groups/?hl=en#topic=9216 Google Groups Help pages]
 +
* [https://goo.gl/forms/mmYMglHD9EXrEznm1 Form to request early migration to Google Groups]
  
−
Use this section for important links for projects/events that visitors will need.
+
= Goals =
−
For instance, if this is an event, links to CFT, CPT and registration is handy
 
−
If there is a microsite, that would be good to link to as well
 
  
−
= Goals =
+
Overall Goal: Migration of any active list from lists.owasp.org to Google Groups by March 24, 2019.
  
−
Include top-level goals of the project in an ordered list
+
Details:
−
Give thought to the ordering of goals. Revenue, attendance, launch date
+
* Active is defined as a list which as received at least 1 non-SPAM email in the last 12 months as of 2019-01-29 when initial activity reporting was run
−
Make sure goals are measurable from undisputed source
+
** Mail lists for inactive projects and chapters will not be migrated
 +
** Archives on lists.owasp.org will be migrated to a static host under the same URL scheme as before
 +
* '''High-level Workflow'''
 +
** Announce plan
 +
** Email notifications of cut-over date
 +
*** Instruct list members to join the new list but continue to post to lists until 2019-03-22
 +
*** 3 notifications will go out to all lists
 +
** Setup new Google Groups for migrating lists, ordered by most recent post as of this [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VDIeT0Wfrt2_v5hY6by984H5fya56xe7E_rZDird8qg/edit?usp=sharing spreadsheet]
 +
** If requested, any list can be migrated prior to the cut-over date by completing [https://goo.gl/forms/mmYMglHD9EXrEznm1 this form].
 +
** Hard cut-over to Google Groups on 2019-03-22
 +
** 2019-03-24 - Service from Barracuda is disabled & inbound email to lists.owasp.org will fail.
 +
* '''Timeline'''
 +
** 2019-02-26 - Create this plan
 +
** 2019-02-26 - Socialize this plan on the leaders list
 +
** 2019-02-28 - Complete review of remaining mail lists
 +
** 2019-03-01 - Send email to all list owners about his plan and an overview of the migration effort
 +
** 2019-03-06 - Complete review of Project lists with Harold & Chapter lists with Dawn to remove inactive projects/chapters from the migration effort
 +
** 2019-03-08 - Send out a reminder to all remaining lists of the transition
 +
** 2019-03-15 - Send out 2nd reminder to all remaining lists on the transition
 +
** 2019-03-22 - Final notification email sent to all remaining lists
 +
** 2019-03-22 - Inbound email to lists.owasp.org set to bounce
 +
** 2019-03-24 - Inbound email to lists.owasp.org will fail
 +
** 2019-03-25 - Retire lists.owasp.org server at Rackspace and migrate static archives to new host
  
 
= Milestones =
 
= Milestones =
  
−
* In an unordered list (billeted) list major milestones in chronological order
+
* Review the inventory of lists to determine which are inactive - '''DONE ('''total lists = 875)
−
* Use the syntax of 2019-01-19, Milestone name [Name of Owner]
+
* Use the data above to retire any inactive list - '''DONE''' (total lists = 181, 693 inactive lists removed)
−
* When milestones are completed, mark them as such with ??
+
* Complete Staff Project Plan - '''DONE'''
−
* A milestone isn’t everyone’s to-do list, it is the high level tasks of the project
+
* Review remaining list for any that can be retired due to ownership (e.g. owned by staff and unused) or  mail in the last calendar year is SPAM - '''In Process'''
−
* If you have more than 20 milestones, you’re being too granular
+
* Review remaining lists and remove any projects or chapters which are inactive.  A new Google Group can be created for chapters that become active again
 +
* Send out initial communication to all lists which will be migrated,
 +
* Create Google Groups for all remaining mail lists
 +
* Send out 2nd communication to all lists which will be migrated
 +
* Send out final notice to all lists
 +
* Cut over to Google Groups
 +
* Migrate static archives from lists.owasp.org to a new host
 +
* Retire lists.owasp.org server at Rackspace
  
 +
= Communications =
 +
The following lists communications where the retirement of Mailman was discussed publicly
 +
* Posts to Leaders lists (prior to creation of staff projects template)
 +
** https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-January/019608.html
 +
** https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-January/019613.html
 +
** https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-February/019663.html
 +
** https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-February/019675.html
 +
** https://lists.owasp.org/pipermail/owasp-leaders/2019-February/019700.html
 +
* Posts to the Blog and Connector
 +
** https://owasp.blogspot.com/2018/12/december-2018-connector.html & [https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?u=a8012c9e2e384bf8ea8d7deb7&id=31f131180e December Connector]
 +
** https://owasp.blogspot.com/2019/02/owasp-community-our-instance-of-mailman.html
 +
** https://owasp.blogspot.com/2019/02/owasp-community-and-chapter-reminders.html
 +
** [https://mailchi.mp/90cc34fc2cdd/0rleggjjx3-222491 February Connector]
 +
* Leaders Meetings
 +
** AppSec EU 2018 (London) Leaders Meeting - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy6R0SbJrS8&list=PLpr-xdpM8wG9yT6HD6YeCbf6wymhAAqRb&index=6&t=0s recording]
 +
** AppSec US 2018 (San Jose) Leaders Meeting - recordings - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGEfVNuFIZk&t=0s&list=PLpr-xdpM8wG-ma2GOBmdpGGfnVPVwFFQd&index=6 part 1] & [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxqtiwzz90c&t=0s&list=PLpr-xdpM8wG-ma2GOBmdpGGfnVPVwFFQd&index=7 part 2]
 +
* Board Meetings
 +
** [[October 11, 2016|October 2016]] - Migration from Mailman raised by Tiffany in her [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-4fIJfiLa8l02Hf1XBMqRYEiY2z6g4qwln-_ZLQ6GIs/edit Community Manager Report]
 
= Leadership =
 
= Leadership =
  
−
* unordered list of each leader and a hyperlink to their email address.
+
* This is a Foundation staff run initiative including
 +
** Matt Tesauro - primary point of contact
 +
** Harold Blankenship - staff representation for project mail lists
 +
** Dawn Aitken - staff representation for chapter mail lists
 +
[[Category:Staff Projects]]

Latest revision as of 21:49, 26 February 2019

Redirect to:

Overview

Since very early in OWASP's history, Mailman has been used to facilitate communication between various members of the community. While Mailman has served the community well for years, the decision has been made to migrate from a self-hosted Mailman installation to Google Groups. The migration will allow the community to continue to have an email address to reach a particular segments of the community just like Mailman provides but without the administrative burden of running a server for Mailman. The reasons for this migration were stated at length on the leaders list here but are summarized below in no particular order:

  • Mailman is old software and doesn't follow current security best practices.
    • It sends passwords in the clear which has been repeatedly pointed out by the community for quite some time as noted here.
    • It has a single shared password for overall site administration for the staff to use to oversee the installation
    • If a mail list has 2+ list owners, they must share a password for managing the list
  • Mailman has an extremely dated UI/web interface. This makes OWASP appear out of date/out of touch to new, potential community members
  • Since the Foundation has a very small staff, administering a server takes away staff time from focusing on OWASP's mission / core purpose.
  • The Anti-SPAM gateway service from Barracuda, which was previously donated, is ending on March 24th, 2019.
  • Due to the current climate of increased privacy and the existence of the GDPR, the migration will allow the membership in our lists to be reviewed/audited by the current user base (aka opt-in).
  • Mailman does not get the use it formerly had ~80% of the lists are inactive/dormant/abandoned - some numbers:
    • 875 - total lists prior to initial review/clean-up
    • 181 - lists of the 875 which had at least 1 email to them in the last calendar year
    • 693 - lists with no email posts in over 1 year

In 2017, the current community manager (Tiffany Long) suggested a migration from Mailman to Discourse. This was the original direction of efforts until it was reconsidered at the 2019 Staff Summit, a face to face meeting to plan out 2019. Instead, Mailman will be migrated to Google Groups. The following reasons were crucial in the choice of Google Groups

  • Functionally equivalent to Mailman as a 'mail list'
  • Already part of the G-Suite donation from Google
  • Can be run for $0 cost and with 0 administration of the underlying infrastructure
  • Includes Anti-SPAM filtering that is already part of our G-Suite email infrastructure
  • Inbound and outbound email handled by Google email infrastructure - no need to run a MTA (mail server)
  • Mobile-friendly, modern UI and significantly better TLS configuration for web interactions
  • Has robust admin and permissions available via G-Suite Admin tool

Project Links

Goals

Overall Goal: Migration of any active list from lists.owasp.org to Google Groups by March 24, 2019.

Details:

  • Active is defined as a list which as received at least 1 non-SPAM email in the last 12 months as of 2019-01-29 when initial activity reporting was run
    • Mail lists for inactive projects and chapters will not be migrated
    • Archives on lists.owasp.org will be migrated to a static host under the same URL scheme as before
  • High-level Workflow
    • Announce plan
    • Email notifications of cut-over date
      • Instruct list members to join the new list but continue to post to lists until 2019-03-22
      • 3 notifications will go out to all lists
    • Setup new Google Groups for migrating lists, ordered by most recent post as of this spreadsheet
    • If requested, any list can be migrated prior to the cut-over date by completing this form.
    • Hard cut-over to Google Groups on 2019-03-22
    • 2019-03-24 - Service from Barracuda is disabled & inbound email to lists.owasp.org will fail.
  • Timeline
    • 2019-02-26 - Create this plan
    • 2019-02-26 - Socialize this plan on the leaders list
    • 2019-02-28 - Complete review of remaining mail lists
    • 2019-03-01 - Send email to all list owners about his plan and an overview of the migration effort
    • 2019-03-06 - Complete review of Project lists with Harold & Chapter lists with Dawn to remove inactive projects/chapters from the migration effort
    • 2019-03-08 - Send out a reminder to all remaining lists of the transition
    • 2019-03-15 - Send out 2nd reminder to all remaining lists on the transition
    • 2019-03-22 - Final notification email sent to all remaining lists
    • 2019-03-22 - Inbound email to lists.owasp.org set to bounce
    • 2019-03-24 - Inbound email to lists.owasp.org will fail
    • 2019-03-25 - Retire lists.owasp.org server at Rackspace and migrate static archives to new host

Milestones

  • Review the inventory of lists to determine which are inactive - DONE (total lists = 875)
  • Use the data above to retire any inactive list - DONE (total lists = 181, 693 inactive lists removed)
  • Complete Staff Project Plan - DONE
  • Review remaining list for any that can be retired due to ownership (e.g. owned by staff and unused) or mail in the last calendar year is SPAM - In Process
  • Review remaining lists and remove any projects or chapters which are inactive. A new Google Group can be created for chapters that become active again
  • Send out initial communication to all lists which will be migrated,
  • Create Google Groups for all remaining mail lists
  • Send out 2nd communication to all lists which will be migrated
  • Send out final notice to all lists
  • Cut over to Google Groups
  • Migrate static archives from lists.owasp.org to a new host
  • Retire lists.owasp.org server at Rackspace

Communications

The following lists communications where the retirement of Mailman was discussed publicly

Leadership

  • This is a Foundation staff run initiative including
    • Matt Tesauro - primary point of contact
    • Harold Blankenship - staff representation for project mail lists
    • Dawn Aitken - staff representation for chapter mail lists
Retrieved from "https://wiki.owasp.org/index.php?title=Mailman_retirement_to_Google_Groups&oldid=247919"