This site did not show evidence of storing passwords in plaintext.
This site does allow secured connections (https)
This site did show a clear way to unsubscribe from their emails
This site does verify your email address.
Membership Emails
Below is a sample of the emails you can expect to receive when signed up to Open Web Design.
Thank you for registering
You can confirm your account here:
http://www.openwebdesign.org/user/confirm.phtml?hash=47f48d6eff4477173b28&tuid=103279
Once you confirm, you may have full access to the site.