Every time I want to ask a question, I have to sign up, and it's usually not a very friendly or intelligent system. Memorable messages include: "Do not use a sensitive password because it will sometimes be mailed to you in cleartext" and "This is a reminder, sent out once a month, about your python.org mailing list memberships."

Then I have to mail my question in and wait for other people to answer, while in the meantime my inbox gets flooded with long threads about the project which are of no interest to me. After people have answered my question I still have to remain registered for some time, just in case someone will still have something insightful to say. All the while still getting unwanted messages. After that I have to interact again with the mailing list software to unsubscribe.

Why? Am I missing something here?