Re: [META] proper use of mailing list (was RE: Capturing current handler name in a string variable)
Re: [META] proper use of mailing list (was RE: Capturing current handler name in a string variable)
- Subject: Re: [META] proper use of mailing list (was RE: Capturing current handler name in a string variable)
- From: Paul Berkowitz <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 12:25:08 -0800
All this is very true, Chuq. But I think it's safe to say that just about
everyone who is Replying to All is using it as a device to reply to the list
without having to copy and paste the list's email address every time, with
an email client that doesn't have another easy way of doing so. I just now
got a personal reply to a question someone else asked, simply because I had
answered it first, so the next replier used my message as blotting paper.
And since I don't Reply to All myself, my headers did not include the
original sender's address at all. I'm the only one who get the extra copy.
I'm sure the person sending it to me not only didn't really mean to send it
to me, he quite possibly didn't even have any intention of replying to the
true original sender either (I don't know that for sure). Most likely, he
didn't care - he was just trying to reply to the list.
So you should probably count "sightings" of such strings of multiple
recipients and cc's as evidence of a desire for the alternate "Reply to
List" behavior, in addition to what you found were small numbers in favor of
it. Probably quite a few people now have email clients that will do whatever
they want anyway, so it's not an issue aside from getting these multiple
copies. You can't really set up a filter for rejecting duplicate subjects
and senders, as you were advising Sander, because lots of people reply more
than one to a thread - their later messages would get deleted. I'm not even
sure how to do that anyway, or if it's possible. I don't think so, not
without a script. And to have the filter check the content of every incoming
message against all previous messages in the same mail folder - not only do
I think that not possible without some intricate applescript, it would take
forever even if it were possible. Or maybe you know some neat way to do it?
So we really are stuck with the annoyance. Yes, it's a minor annoyance, like
any sort of spam, but does get more irritating the more there is of it.
Tolerance is a good idea. But it's not unreasonable of Sander to draw
people's attention to this problem - there may be some considerate people
out there who just never thought about it before and now might take the
extra trouble not to annoy others. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
I do understand the safety measure of protecting people - in particular
Apple employees - from accidentally replying publicly when they meant to
reply privately, as spelled out in the FAQ. That's certainly less dangerous
than replying privately by mistake instead of publicly. And I myself have no
problem replying to the list because my email client can do it for me. I do
find it hard to believe that most people prefer to reply privately - I just
don't believe that. I think most people just didn't reply to the survey
(what survey?) because they can deal with the list's behavior as it is, by
one means or another. It's obviously how it's going to remain, and you do
have your reasons, so that's OK. But it doesn't hurt for people to become
aware of the annoyance they might be causing some other people.
BTW, what's that "Elm" being referred to by the author of the paper
referenced in the FAQ, as his favorite email client? Some relative of Pine?
--
Paul Berkowitz
>
From: Chuq von Rospach <email@hidden>
>
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 12:03:26 -0800
>
To: Sander Tekelenburg <email@hidden>,
>
<email@hidden>
>
Cc: Joe Kelly <email@hidden>, "'billp'" <email@hidden>,
>
Emmanuel <email@hidden>
>
Subject: Re: [META] proper use of mailing list (was RE: Capturing current
>
handler name in a string variable)
>
>
On 12/28/01 8:07 AM, "Sander Tekelenburg" <email@hidden> wrote:
>
>
> Could you all please stop sending your message to every address that
>
> the previous poster just happened to add? I'm getting tired of
>
> needlessly receiving duplicates of many of this list's messages.
>
>
Then you should teach your client to strip duplicates out or your incoming
>
mail stream. Trying to get everyone else to do it the way you prefer won't
>
work, and forgets that there are are lot of different people on the list,
>
and they have their preferred ways to use the list, too. Would you be happy
>
if someone came up and said "I insist you CC me on all mail you send to the
>
list?" of course not. And you'd ignore them, most likely.
>
>
So show the same tolerance of other people's preferences that you'd want
>
shown to yours. People use the lists the way THEY feel comfortable with. If
>
you want it to look a certain way, teach your client to do it for you, don't
>
try to retrain the hundreds of folks on the list that what you want takes
>
precedence over what everyone else wants.
>
>
> Suggestion to Chuq: How about adding a Reply-To:
>
> <email@hidden> header?
>
>
Read the FAQ:
>
>
<http://www.lists.apple.com/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?id=208>