FW: [GLLUG] reply to

Jeremy Bowers jerf@jerf.org
Wed, 15 May 2002 14:26:20 -0400


Edward Glowacki wrote:
> Which software were you trying to conform to, the mailing list software
> or your email client? 

Mailing list software, which is what is presenting (or not presenting, 
as the case may be) the UI widget in question, the "Reply-To" header.

Again though, you're telling me to change how I do business, by 
possibly changing my entire client for this *one* thing, which may not 
on the balance still be a good thing. In general, telling the user what 
to do is backwards, and should be reserved as a last-resort measure, 
when they ask the impossible.

I'm not really trying to go to bat on the Reply-To issue; I don't much 
care, except dammit, I have to change the headers again. The meta-issue 
does concern me, though: Balancing UI the user expects, versus 
functionality, versus correctness.

Why, by the way, would adding a Reply-To header remove your 
functionality at all? Given

From: User1@something
CC: Person2@something, List1@something
Reply-To: List1@something

"reply" should go to List1@something, "reply to sender" should go to 
"User1@something", bypassing the Reply-To, and "Reply to all" should go 
to everything there.