I think on most email programs there is a "reply" and a "reply all" option.
On mine, at least, if I hit "reply all" it will go to the sender and to the
reflector. So, if you want to avoid that kind of duplication, one must
remove the excess addressee, which is fairly simple.
There is benefit to sending it to both! If the recipient is a digest
subscriber, He will get his response forthwith, which may well be
preferable. That way he won't have to wait until the next digest is
distributed to see the response. If the recipient gets all messages as they
are sent, then it can be duplicative. However, you don't know which is the
case. Since I subscribe to digest mode on some reflectors, sending to both
can be helpful to me, if I am the intended beneficiary, but that won't be
the case for everyone.
I also think having a choice between "reply" and "reply all" is very
beneficial. Sometimes you really only want to reply to the sender, and it
should be your choice to do so easily. At least one reflector made an issue
of this, and removed the "reply" option, forcing replies to go to the
reflector--unless you go to great lengths to alter that. I strongly oppose
this attempt to "control" how and to whom a response is set.
Another problem, primarily involving digest subscribers, is how to properly
respond. Too many just hit the "reply" button and end up copying the entire
digest, rather than just copying over the pertinent parts of the single
post. This is most annoying. If the digest mode is better for you, part of
the "price" you pay for that convenience is to have to do a little cut and
pasting on any reply you might make. Yes, it takes a little extra work, but
how often do you have to do it? Copying over part of a post may be very
helpful for continuity, but not the whole darned digest!!! Also, if you
receive in digest mode, and someone replies by copying over the entire
digest, then you have to scroll endlessly to get past that post! It is just
plain inconsiderate! Digest subscribers need to be very careful about how
they formulate their responses.
Hopefully I practice what I preach! In this case I didn't copy over
anything, since I think my comments are self explanatory. If I had needed
additional context, I would have cut and pasted from the digest. It really
only takes a few extra key strokes.
Dave W7AQK
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