In <20041006113510(_dot_)57c66fac(_dot_)moore(_at_)cs(_dot_)utk(_dot_)edu>
Keith Moore <moore(_at_)cs(_dot_)utk(_dot_)edu> writes:
I don't think that's true at all. The way they tend to be implemented,
these extra header fields just make things more confusing.
Well the way(s) in which Reply-To is implemented certainly have that
effect, as you and others have pointed out.
Which merely argues for a new header with a carefully written semantics
and intended method of use.
That's not sufficient. At a minimum, the replier needs to be able to
edit the recipient fields AND see the fields of the subject message
while he's composing the reply. More realistically, the replier needs
to
a) Know (probably via an alert of some kind) when the sender of the
subject message requested that replies go to some non-default set of
recipients
I have no objection to alerts provided I don't have to give extra clicks
to turn them off, or if I can configure them off.
b) Be able to easily select from "reply to author" "reply to all" and
"reply to where the author of the subject message recommended"
(in addition to being able to add or delete recipients from this list)
_at any time before sending the reply_
Yes, that last one is what the "Reply-to-List" button would do (though it
might reflect the list maintainer's recommendation if the author had made
no special request).
And if you design an MUA only for the "average user", you
degrade everyone's capabilities. Because even the average user
sometimes needs capabilities beyond his "average" use.
No, you provide some extra hoops for the expert user to jump through if he
wants to do something different than the "average" user. Just so long as
the defaults provided for the average user are not such as to upset
everybidy else (that is where Microsoft came unstuck- and also in that
their hoops were sometimes almost impossible to find :-( ).
--
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131 Fax: +44 161 436 6133 Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
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