Replying to list messages

[Ben Finney]

Paul McNett <p at ulmcnett.com> writes:

> Ben Finney wrote:
> > For Thunderbird (which I see you're using, Paul), the open bug
> > report is
> > <URL:https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=45715>.
> > Meanwhile, you can install an add-on to provide the function
> > <URL:http://www.juergen-ernst.de/addons/replytolist.html>.
> 
> Thanks; I'll follow up with those. In general I don't tend to use
> add-ons because I have at least 3 computers I regularly use and it
> is a pain to keep them all configured consistently.

You're welcome. It sounds like you're definitely in the position of
wanting to get the above bug fixed; hopefully you can use the
frustration you expressed as motivation for getting progress on that.

> > [some mailing lists are misconfigured such] that a message sent
> > using the “Reply to sender” function, with content written in
> > the knowledge that only the original message's sender should be
> > reading it, instead ends up going to the mailing list. That damage
> > can't be undone.
> 
> Well, when you are a member of a public mailing list, replying to a
> thread, the expectation is that you are replying to the list, so I
> happen to think the correct behavior is the one you think is broken,

Those lists are misconfigured because they violate the email standards
(in this case, RFC 2822) by munging the ‘Reply-To’ field, reserved for
use only by the author of the message. That's broken, and enabling
that broken behaviour by failing to provide a ‘Reply to list’ function
in a mail client is also broken.

More at <URL:http://woozle.org/~neale/papers/reply-to-still-harmful>.

> If I want to send a private message to someone, I'll start a new
> mail to that person, or simply copy/paste their email addy over the
> list address

All of that bother is avoided by simply using the ‘Reply to author’
function of any mail program, so long as the mailing list isn't
misconfigured.

> but the most common case is that someone intends to reply to the
> list.

Indeed it is, which is why RFC 2369 is a standard: it recommends (and
just about every mailing list active today conforms by) providing
fields in the header of mailing list messages to allow a mail program
to implement the ‘Reply to list’ function for that common case.

That's been a standard for over ten years. The mailing list programs
are pretty much all conformant with it, and have been for many years.
Any mail client that *still* isn't making use of those fields, not
even for the very common use case of a ‘Reply to list’ function, is
rather backward.

> But arguing about this here isn't going to change anything: opinions
> differ just like tabs/spaces and bottom-post/top-post.

In cases like this, one side can simply be wrong :-)

Best of luck getting your programs behaving as you want them to!

-- 
 \            “Program testing can be a very effective way to show the |
  `\        presence of bugs, but is hopelessly inadequate for showing |
_o__)                              their absence.” —Edsger W. Dijkstra |
Ben Finney