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List:       kmail-devel
Subject:    Re: Ideas on Reply-To-List
From:       Ingo =?iso-8859-1?q?Kl=F6cker?= <kloecker () kde ! org>
Date:       2003-11-29 16:28:29
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On Saturday 29 November 2003 16:48, Simon Perreault wrote:
> 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:
[snipped quotation from the obsolete RFC 822]

Yes, it is.

RFC 822 has been obsoleted by RFC 2822. Here's what RFC 2822 has got to 
say about this:
=====
3.6.2. Originator fields

   The originator fields of a message consist of the from field, the
   sender field (when applicable), and optionally the reply-to field.
   The from field consists of the field name "From" and a
   comma-separated list of one or more mailbox specifications.  If the
   from field contains more than one mailbox specification in the
   mailbox-list, then the sender field, containing the field name
   "Sender" and a single mailbox specification, MUST appear in the
   message.  In either case, an optional reply-to field MAY also be
   included, which contains the field name "Reply-To" and a
   comma-separated list of one or more addresses.

from            =       "From:" mailbox-list CRLF

sender          =       "Sender:" mailbox CRLF

reply-to        =       "Reply-To:" address-list CRLF

   The originator fields indicate the mailbox(es) of the source of the
   message.  The "From:" field specifies the author(s) of the message,
   that is, the mailbox(es) of the person(s) or system(s) responsible
   for the writing of the message.  The "Sender:" field specifies the
   mailbox of the agent responsible for the actual transmission of the
   message.  For example, if a secretary were to send a message for
   another person, the mailbox of the secretary would appear in the
   "Sender:" field and the mailbox of the actual author would appear in
   the "From:" field.  If the originator of the message can be indicated
   by a single mailbox and the author and transmitter are identical, the
   "Sender:" field SHOULD NOT be used.  Otherwise, both fields SHOULD
   appear.

   The originator fields also provide the information required when
   replying to a message.  When the "Reply-To:" field is present, it
   indicates the mailbox(es) to which the author of the message suggests
   that replies be sent.  In the absence of the "Reply-To:" field,
   replies SHOULD by default be sent to the mailbox(es) specified in the
   "From:" field unless otherwise specified by the person composing the
   reply.

   In all cases, the "From:" field SHOULD NOT contain any mailbox that
   does not belong to the author(s) of the message.  See also section
   3.6.3 for more information on forming the destination addresses for a
   reply.
=====

The most relevant sentense is: "When the "Reply-To:" field is present, 
it indicates the mailbox(es) to which the author of the message 
suggests that replies be sent."

The author (!!!) of the message. The mailing-list software is not the 
author of a message. Therefore there's nothing wrong with an email 
client that tries to figure out what the _author_ of the message 
wanted. In fact one could argue that mailing-list software that sets 
the Reply-to header is violating RFC 2822 because it makes it 
impossible for the receiving email client to figure out the real intent 
of the author.

> > > 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.

And that's why I've just added the Reply to Mailing-list icon to the 
toolbar.

Regards,
Ingo

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