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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Ideas on Reply-To-List
From:       Simon Perreault <nomis80 () nomis80 ! org>
Date:       2003-11-29 15:48:23
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On November 29, 2003 09:58, Ingo Klöcker wrote:
> > That's also why mailinglists set Reply-To headers to promote the idea
> > that discussions stay on the mailinglist instead of becoming 1:1
> > chats. Unless of course you, as a mailinglist admin, don't want
> > discussion to happen on a particular mailinglist, then you don't set
> > it.
>
> That's a hack for dumb email clients which don't provide Reply to
> Mailing-list functionality.

No, it's not. From RFC 822:

     4.4.3.  REPLY-TO / RESENT-REPLY-TO

        This field provides a general  mechanism  for  indicating  any
        mailbox(es)  to which responses are to be sent.  Three typical
        uses for this feature can  be  distinguished.   In  the  first
        case,  the  author(s) may not have regular machine-based mail-
        boxes and therefore wish(es) to indicate an alternate  machine
        address.   In  the  second case, an author may wish additional
        persons to be made aware of, or responsible for,  replies.   A
        somewhat  different  use  may be of some help to "text message
        teleconferencing" groups equipped with automatic  distribution
        services:   include the address of that service in the "Reply-
        To" field of all messages  submitted  to  the  teleconference;
        then  participants  can  "reply"  to conference submissions to
        guarantee the correct distribution of any submission of  their
        own.

Three uses, all legitimate. Nothing about "dumb email clients".

> > Since I always use the toolbar icons [1] for replying, I have the
> > choice of "Reply" and "Reply to all" and neither of these options do
> > what I want in current versions.
>
> Sorry, but I assumed a KDE old-timer like you would know that the
> toolbar can be configured. Why don't you simply replace the Reply icon
> with the Reply to Mailing-list icon?

Usability-wise, an app should not expect its users to configure the toolbar. 
It should instead expect that its users will *not* configure it, and try to 
provide a default that is acceptable.

-- 
Simon Perreault <nomis80@nomis80.org>
http://nomis80.org
"If voting could really change things, it would be illegal."
    --Excerpt from a Diebold Election Systems internal memo.

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