[geeks] Gmail's attraction

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Sun, 05 Sep 2004 @ 16:01 -0600, Dan Duncan said:

> Now you have users managing individual ftp servers and
> expecting them to manage security, and a requirement to use

No, you have users using a managed ftp server, or share, or something
else.  They aren't doing that part of the work.

They are users after all.

Besides, none of this is relevant.  Using email for file transfer is
using the wrong tool for the job.  

Arguing why it is done anyway doesn't change the fact it isn't the right
tool.

The right way might well be inconvienient and annoying, but that doesn't
mean it isn't the right way.

> If you're worried about passing in the clear, why propose FTP?

Because it is the right tool for the job.  Both methods are insecure, so
at least use the one designed for file transfer.

> I don't LIKE it that email has become a standard corporate method of
> file transfer any more than I like it that Windoze has become the
> corporate desktop platform, but in a given environment there are
> advantages to limiting the number of tools users need to work with.
> Most users in a company have email and know how to use it.  They
> don't necessarily have experience with FTP or publishing web pages so
> if they need to send a file to someone then email has the smallest
> learning curve.

That may be true, but dumbing people down only makes the problem worse.

That's a lesson I wish I could get people to understand.

> Is it ideal?  No, of course not, but it allows an existing tool
> with existing security to be used by users with existing knowledge,
> all of which saves time and money.

...in the short term, yes.

> Let me ask you this:  The last time you sent out a resume, how did you
> send it and why?

I sent it out as an attachment because the receiving end won't cooperate
otherwise.  Also, it's a very small file, security is low priority,
and it's almost always to a person with whom I have no established
relationship.

My main thing against email attachments is when it is used wholesale,
and for large files.  This is especially bad when it happens inside a
company, since there is no reason for it at all then.

Otherwise, I send links and let the receiver decide if and when they
want to transfer the data.

-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["Star Wars Moral Number 17: Teddy bears are
dangerous in herds."]