From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on dcvr.yhbt.net X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=3.0 tests=AWL,BAYES_00,DKIM_SIGNED, DKIM_VALID,DKIM_VALID_AU,DKIM_VALID_EF,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE, SPF_HELO_NONE,SPF_PASS shortcircuit=no autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from mail-qk1-x729.google.com (mail-qk1-x729.google.com [IPv6:2607:f8b0:4864:20::729]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (128/128 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (4096 bits) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by dcvr.yhbt.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 681D21F4B4 for ; Fri, 2 Oct 2020 14:34:49 +0000 (UTC) Received: by mail-qk1-x729.google.com with SMTP id 16so1526356qkf.4 for ; Fri, 02 Oct 2020 07:34:49 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=linuxfoundation.org; s=google; h=date:from:to:subject:message-id:mail-followup-to:mime-version :content-disposition; bh=sxbNm152uYdRDub+nzEZ4sPBR27nXzrSRyR6JIP3MxQ=; b=CuxcswvihXPFakLUvmiQuZ8/JFltqN//ESnOVSPWkBBF1vpFyc/JDxa1D6h86MVR9B ShUBew82sE7sR11MmIfTGdjOit1pzVUHEdsTAytMbL9BkTNRPQKCC4Wi5siQCMFqkzxM jCNcCPBCrqYbgUEgUDvf4twIYW4x+S/5mXbLs= X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:date:from:to:subject:message-id:mail-followup-to :mime-version:content-disposition; bh=sxbNm152uYdRDub+nzEZ4sPBR27nXzrSRyR6JIP3MxQ=; b=ARn/Tn6r6Khi1ElAyB4RYZQg1KN3rqNTVhnEbqEQ7u7f7Z2XdOsIAnChLVT+dQfaWO yUQFVVUSiCN/KYGyCVgSWYosw0675DV2vzbavLvX2HTqb6fzrU1zCcmLgkwTX6Gaa7gP 3sJqeAsF+TUAlT9AuoGJ9mEbPeFpgnO6LzhX6WAyVOu9c5d1XCR6xIA4fqfHB0bSdWk9 jaNq8we2NwEVRumULtH6i/zor/vzr1w2PzhCl/P8AdnSS5IKnkw80h7y2wCPPNeCjhij gRtpF36cZuAmY+knRrjbaYz153mWQhoTwvKPvJCjY2kNEeAps8melV4hs+8m5LHJGMpc 3SZA== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM533jPryWWf4/ZdHJJ5uBwEYJm816Elfwb2185VU9iYiSJUjqRrtn 2rieZ0ZUc5Q4qQtZshhA0rmypRtAU+q+J66T X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJwEqj4Q5lEfJDi+wJJ+dcbtcCJPiApzFyNEeBq1V22aOQOTMULFaBWw40dAdgs5Wfp+q/lF6w== X-Received: by 2002:a37:51c2:: with SMTP id f185mr2318271qkb.171.1601649287038; Fri, 02 Oct 2020 07:34:47 -0700 (PDT) Received: from chatter.i7.local ([89.36.78.230]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id o13sm1156542qkm.16.2020.10.02.07.34.46 for (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256/256); Fri, 02 Oct 2020 07:34:46 -0700 (PDT) Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2020 10:34:44 -0400 From: Konstantin Ryabitsev To: meta@public-inbox.org Subject: Thoughts on search-based imap mailboxes Message-ID: <20201002143444.itpfbhg75wqy3eva@chatter.i7.local> Mail-Followup-To: meta@public-inbox.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Disposition: inline List-Id: Hello: While discussing something else on the kernel.org users list, the question of "virtual inbox folders" came up when talking about imap and public-inbox. Here's how I imagine it could work in a way that doesn't require any kind of real user management. - any site visitor can create a saved search against any index, which would be generated with a random name (e.g. guid4) and stored on the server via a simple guid->(index, search terms) mapping - if imap is enabled, any user can also create an imap "account" that would also be a guid random string, perhaps with a random password as well (or no password, since guid4 strings should suffice) - users can freely associate saved searches with these accounts, perhaps optionally allowing them to save them with aliases, such that the record is: user_guid->(saved_search_guid, alias) - when logging into imap with an actual random account name, the associated inboxes would be displayed instead of the general listing - accounts and saved searches that were not accessed within $DAYS would be automatically purged What are your thoughts about this scheme? I like it because it respects users' privacy, since we cannot map accounts to developers, and because it doesn't require any kind of central identity gatekeeping. Anyone setting up a public-inbox mirror can immediately start using this scheme without needing to set up any kind of identity management backends. -K