[OS X TeX] Lobbying for Reply-To as it used to be

[Ross Moore]

Hello Will, (and everyone else)

On 23/03/2004, at 10:08 PM, Will Robertson wrote:

>
> I just noticed that the last two emails I sent in reply to list posts 
> I forgot to cc them to the list. This is why I think it should go back 
> to the old way. Good behaviour (according to the Apple HIG if I recall 
> correctly) is that default options are non-destructive. They may be 
> more inconvenient, but at least people aren't losing hair by doing as 
> they thought was right.

Aren't you now arguing against yourself ?

I thought that the *old way* only made it easy to reply to the list
--- to reply to the OP requires searching through the email (headers?)
to locate the address for a personal reply. Hence this one
is the "destructive" way which should be avoided.

The *newer way* is the one that allows your email software to provide
both options, each at the click of a button, or with a modifier-key.

That is certainly the way it works for me, using Apple's  Mail.app.

I've stopped using the  elm  and  pine  dinosaurs, now that VPN  and/or
SSH  tunnelling (or port-forwarding)  allow the same Unix mail-server
to be used from anywhere in the world, despite being behind a 
fire-wall.)


So, unless I'm mistaken (quite possibly!), then the current config
of this mailing-list is far preferable to the old way.

Nevertheless, others feel differently, for reasons which I suspect
are related to software *usage* rather than *capability*.
If the consensus is to return to the old way, then I'll be one of those
that have to work a little bit harder whenever I feel that a personal
reply seems more appropriate --- presumably so also for most other 
people.


(The argument about the original poster perhaps receiving
a duplicate copy of the email is quite immaterial --- especially
given the high level of spamming and other spurious postings
that arrive every day.)


Other issues:

  * a reply intended as personal, but sent to the whole list,
    can be embarrassing and perhaps damaging
    --- though hopefully any personal message that might risk
     such mis-direction will be civil, if not just esoterically
     technical;

  * a reply intended for the whole list, but sent to one person
    only, can be recovered from the "Sent Mail" and redirected
    to the list at a later time when the mistake is discovered.

This seems like a valid reason to retain the current settings.


Hope this helps,

	Ross

>
> W
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Please see <http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/> for list
> guidelines, information, and LaTeX/TeX resources.
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross Moore                                         ross at maths.mq.edu.au
Mathematics Department                             office: E7A-419
Macquarie University                               tel: +61 +2 9850 8955
Sydney, Australia                                  fax: +61 +2 9850 8114
------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------
Please see <http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/> for list
guidelines, information, and LaTeX/TeX resources.