On Thu, Jul 11, 2002 at 12:40:17AM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Any message sent to the list address is not a private reply.
>
> I suspect you really mean that people who blindly hit "Reply" will send to
> the wrong address. You're right, they will. But that's not the fault of
> the mail headers, it's pilot error. I've said this before and I'll say it
> again: Check your headers before sending, or you will do the Wrong Thing
> sooner or later.
Not only that, but many mailer's automatically accept the "Reply-To"
address. Even if the responder is being diligent about checking mail
headers, he'll have to open the original message and copy-and-paste your
personal email address if he *doesn't* want to reply to the list.
A major annoyance, and one that could lead to extra list traffic, which
I don't like.
IMHO, "Mail-Followup-To" is a cleaner solution. Additionally, it
eliminates the "Please Cc me with responses because I am not subscribed
to this list" type messages, as that information is provided in the mail
headers.
> 1. Very few MUAs currently implement Mail-Followup-To, which makes it
> an ineffective solution in real life.
Very true, though hopefully this will change, as I like the
solution. It does seem to be more effective in more "tech"-oriented
groups.
> 2. As noted above, the problem is really with people who blindly invoke
> the same function in their mailer for all kinds of replies, regardless
> of what they really want to do. So, people who blindly hit "Reply All"
> will still do so, and people who get into the habit of blindly hitting
> "Group Reply" will end up sending private replies to a group.
I find that most people have adjusted to the difference between
"reply" and "Group Reply"/"Reply All" (I might not have been able to say
the same thing, say, 5 years ago). However, mailing lists throw
a monkey wrench in the works. I believe that the proper (and yes,
complete) use of "Mail-Followup-To" keeps the semantics of "[Individual]
Reply" and "Group Reply" the same when mailing lists are used, including
whether or not the individuals are subscribed to the list.
I like *my* solution, and I plan to stick to it. :-)
--
Bob Bell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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