> Open FTP servers are an asset, not a risk, as they're ideal for distributing downloads, uodates, packages, etc.
I agree, I use many of them frequently.
> Thanks to your efforts, many groups which used to provide all downloads via HTTP and FTP have since stoppes the FTP access, and don't provide wget-able HTTP URLs either.
I can't confirm that. Quite the opposite. The number of functional servers actually increases between oftp4 scans. The current one looks like the number is rather increasing.
Public FTPs have always been public. That's their purpose - as you said. Their addresses are listed in many public lists. I don't get how an FTP that is publicly listed and serves the public would suddenly cease operation because it's URL is in yet another public list.
Not because the URL is in the list directly – but the way the list is created seems like public shaming, and I’ve seen unknowing managers go "I’ve read somewhere on the internet that there’s a list of open servers, and I found ours on it, everyone can hack us, remove it now!".
So, that’s the problematic effect – with the way the list is presented, especially the way it seems to publicly shame them (and the "fix it to get off the list" statement, too), can be counterproductive.
> and the "fix it to get off the list" statement, too
Is addressed as "(This doesn't concern FTP servers that are public by design.)"
> seen unknowing managers go
These are not the people managing the FOSS mirrors that are public by design.
In fact, that's one of the reasons openftp4 now stores the complete banner. It makes it easy to identify FOSS mirrors by just grepping for "mirror" et al. and maybe even find new mirrors that you didn't know about. Or older software archives with some awesome abandonware.
Well, I’m not just talking about FOSS mirrors (they wouldn’t require a browser to download stuff in the first place).
I’m concerned about companies that used to host drivers, software, etc on FTP, publicly available, but moved it now behind a clickthrough-wall, impossible to wget.
Works for me.
> Open FTP servers are an asset, not a risk, as they're ideal for distributing downloads, uodates, packages, etc.
I agree, I use many of them frequently.
> Thanks to your efforts, many groups which used to provide all downloads via HTTP and FTP have since stoppes the FTP access, and don't provide wget-able HTTP URLs either.
I can't confirm that. Quite the opposite. The number of functional servers actually increases between oftp4 scans. The current one looks like the number is rather increasing.
Public FTPs have always been public. That's their purpose - as you said. Their addresses are listed in many public lists. I don't get how an FTP that is publicly listed and serves the public would suddenly cease operation because it's URL is in yet another public list.