Re: Does Spectrum have a web submission endpoint for b4?

Demi Marie Obenour
2025-07-27T22:18:40Z

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On 7/26/25 06:08, Alyssa Ross wrote:
> Demi Marie Obenour <demiobenour@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I'm curious if Spectrum has a web submission endpoint for b4.
>> would lower the barrier to entry for those who have bad mail
>> clients, like the GMail web UI.
>>
>> I did notice that .b4-config did not mention one.
>
> It doesn't. We could set one up, but I'd have to research how to
> prevent it being used for spam, since it sounds like it would basically
> be an open relay, and we've had a number of GMail users able to submit
> patches successfully using git-send-email so far. Isn't all you have to
> do create an app-specific password and use that as your SMTP password?

b4 web submission is authenticated: the user must prove they own the
email address before they can send as that email address.

Creating an app-specific password does work, but it isn't always
an option:

- Enrolling in the Advanced Protection Program (recommended for the
very users Spectrum targets!) disables app passwords.

- Google Workspace admins can disable app passwords.

- Microsoft 365 has either removed support for SMTP basic auth
or will do so soon.

OAuth is still supported, but it isn't always an option, and even
when it is it is still a huge barrier to entry:

- Obtaining an OAuth token for SMTP requires registering an app,
and admins (at least in Microsoft 365) can disable that.

- There is no builtin OAuth support in git send-email. There are
sendmail compatible CLIs that do have such support, but everyone
who packaged it might need to get their own client ID for legal
reasons. This would also cause problems in corporate environments.

- Some email servers add legal disclaimers that are inappropriate
for public mailing lists.

Using a separate email account for patch submission works, but in
some cases third-party SMTP servers are blocked by a corporate firewall,
and it is also a large barrier for new contributors.

In contrast, using b4 web submission only requires that one be able
to make an HTTPS request and prove control over the email address one
is using. That's a vastly simpler process than having to configure
git send-email manually.

It's worth noting that supporting web submission does require that
the mailing list rewrites the From: header, as otherwise DMARC will
fail and the mail will be rejected or marked as spam.