mail to individuals

Cameron Hutchison lists at xdna.net
Wed Sep 30 05:13:12 BST 2009


Odd <iodine at runbox.no> writes:
>Samuel Thurston, III wrote:

>> "why is the list configured wrong" when in fact the proper question is
>> "why is my email client broken, and why do i continue to use it even
>> though it is".

>The email client isn't broken. It simply lacks a function that wouldn't
>be needed if lists are set up in a way that makes the most sense.

"Makes the most sense" to who?

If the list were to be configured the way you propose it should be, what
button/key-press/menu-item should I use when I want to privately reply
to the author of an email sent to the mailing list? 

It seems email clients would need a new function called reply-to-author
for this case. This means the "reply" function is now polymorphic/modal
- in some cases it will reply to the author, in others it will reply to
the list. Modal interfaces are usually considered confusing,
particularly when there is no indication of the mode.

To me, the functions reply, reply-all and reply-to-list having
well-defined and invariant behaviour is what makes the most sense.




More information about the sounder mailing list