OT - Mailing list headers

[Martin Maney]

On Thu, Oct 21, 2004 at 11:05:34AM +0800, John wrote:
> I thought the correct use of Reply-to: was to direct replies to the 
> correct place: in this case the list.

If there were never any reason to reply off-list, you'd be right.  For
the subset of users whose From: address is always valid, you're not
wrong - see for example the Reply-To: I've chosen to set for messages
to this list.  :-)  But that doesn't make it right all the time.

> Rather than just making assertions, explain why you're right.

There are people who need to use Reply-To:, and though they may be few,
it's rude to tell them that they're screwed in order to make life
simpler for badly-implemented tools and those who choose to use them. 
There would be no ubuntu in such behavior.

> Even if you are right, the current behaviour is inconvenient for many 
> users who have no easy way round it.

You pick your [partly broken] tool, you get what you chose.  Think of
it as the natural back-pressure on you for using a tool that's
incomplete - encouraging you either to fix it, if you're able, or to
replace it... or to decide to live with it because you appreciate the
other things it does well.  It's unseemly to choose a deficent tool and
then whine that everyone else has to adapt a work-around so as not to
incovenience you.

-- 
"All mail programs suck."