John Griessen writes:

Is it feasible to make TinyURLs for archived list threads such as:

It is. Last I checked (Internet-decades ago, I admit) there a lot of third-party URL-compressing services that you can use. So it's certainly possible.

An alternative would be to standardize a few one-letter prefixes such as /m/ for a single message, /t/ for a message as thread head, /d/ for date and /a/ for author which would live under the HyperKitty namespace, with the path functioning as a search key. /t/ could also pull the parents of the message to get the whole thread. The message- and thread-oriented URLs would use prefixes of the message ID hash, and return a page with possible messages or threads if multiple ones have the same prefix, or even a "too short" error message.

There are two problems to understand and perhaps solve before doing TinyURL in Mailman itself. The first is that a small namespace means a larger possibility of collisions. Not with other TinyURLs, but with other URLs on the same site. So this feature needs to be carefully designed, and often tuned to the site (for example, Twitter's use of the "t.co" domain, and Reddit's use of the /r/ prefix). The second is communicating the TinyURL to its users.

What's your use case (why do you need a TinyURL vs. a clickable long URL in a link in a well-known page)? Who requests the TinyURL be created, or is it automatic? What UI do you propose for requesting a TinyURL? How is the TinyURL link communicated to the user who clicks on it or types it? How long does it need to be available?

Also, why wouldn't one of those third-party services serve? That's an honest question to help understand the use case(s), not a brush-off. I have a feeling (that I can't yet explain) that it matters to the design.

Steve