[MlMt] Becoming a MM patron

[Bill Cole]

On 2024-06-08 at 10:33:27 UTC-0400 (Sat, 08 Jun 2024 07:33:27 -0700)
Steven Taylor <mailmate at lists.freron.com>
is rumored to have said:

> I am absolutely not surprised that Google would do this. They don’t want desktop email clients to exist; they want you on their web application that they control.

That's a true statement.

It is NOT the whole story. The functional specification of OAuth2 requires that only trusted client software has access to the the authentication token, so providers each need a registry of clients they trust to authenticate. OAuth2 had to be structured that way to support the "cloud" style of application suites which can support secure access by 3rd parties.

Causing headaches for MUA authors was just a handy side-benefit.

> The owner of GyazMail said:
>
>> After May 30, 2022, GyazMail no longer can access your Google account.
>> Secure access (OAuth authentication) to your GyazMail Google account is not supported for the following reasons:
>> A verification process by Google must be required in order to access Gmail more securely.
>> The verification process costs between $10,000 and $75,000 every year.
>> Google will take weeks to complete the verification process.

FWIW, The process was substantially simplified in 2023. See https://appdefensealliance.dev/casa/updates.

My work frequently involves similar processes that I call "checklist compliance" which can be handled in various ways. Some folks feel the need to pay "expert consultants" to do the work. Others do it themselves. I gather that Benny took the latter path, which is much more feasible now than it was 2 years ago.

> Just like they don’t want ad blockers to exist, so they’re switching to Chrome Manifest V3, that is more restrictive to the lists that ad blockers can use, from v2 that is more lenient.
>
> Google isn’t your friend anymore. They have the power and they’re going to use it.

"Anymore" there implies a dangerous misperception.

They never were. It is very unsafe to view any for-profit corporation as a friend. They cannot be your friends. It is alien to their nature.


-- 
Bill Cole