In <416707AA(_dot_)1090001(_at_)erols(_dot_)com> Bruce Lilly
<blilly(_at_)erols(_dot_)com> writes:
Charles Lindsey wrote:
Which is why I said "The only place where it *can* be known ...". For
sure, if the author does not know, then there is even less chance that
subsequent mailing list expanders would know
Amazing -- this has been explained to you in detail several times
and you still don't get it! One last time:
What is so amazing is that you still continue to repeat the same
explanation "one last time" without actually attacking the real problem.
Author A sends a message to mailbox foo. That mailbox, unbeknownst
to A, is a mailing list mailbox, which is expanded to multiple
addresses (any one of which might be yet another mailing list
mailbox). Although A knows nothing about any of those lists,
clearly the administrator of the list associated with mailbox foo
knows that it expands to a mailing list, as do any administrators
of any such downstream lists.
Yes! Yes! Yes! That is all perfectly true. It is also totally irrelevant.
So please answer me. HOW is the mail expander for 'foo' supposed to know
about the totally separate mailing list 'bar' to which the author
crossposted his message. And if it does not know about 'bar', how can it
possibly arrange for replies to be crossposted to both lists (by
appropriate setting of Reply-To/MFT/whatever)?
This whole argument relates to *discussion* lists (of which ietf-822 is a
typical example). Such lists are characterized by long threads of
discussion, with many participants, all posted to the list. It is most
improbable that any participant is unaware that his messages are being
sent to a list. Yes, I know there are other kinds of lists around, but
this is the kind we are particularly concerned with.
Now, supposing some author wants to raise a matter which is likely to be
relevant to both ietf-822(_at_)imc(_dot_)org and
IMAP(_at_)CAC(_dot_)Washington(_dot_)EDU(_dot_) So he
cross-posts to both lists, and ideally he would like all respondents on
both lists to reply to both lists. How can this be brought about?
This is a hard problem. It is entirely possible it cannot always be
solved. But what is clear is that IF the *author* does not solve it, then
there is NO WAY that the list expanders at either ietf-822(_at_)imc(_dot_)org
and
IMAP(_at_)CAC(_dot_)Washington(_dot_)EDU can solve it (because they just do not
have the
information to do so).
But it is at least possible that the author can solve it. It is
inconceivable that he is not aware in this case that he is posting to two
lists. He is in a position to set Reply-To/MFT/whatever to point to both
lists. Nobody else is in a position to do that.
I have been trying to point out this simple fact for nearly two weeks, but
you persist in going on about how you cannot be sure that the author knows
that 'foo' is a list, and that 'foo' might be expanded to lots of other
lists. So what? Have you any better solution to propose?
--
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
Email: chl(_at_)clerew(_dot_)man(_dot_)ac(_dot_)uk Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave,
CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, U.K.
PGP: 2C15F1A9 Fingerprint: 73 6D C2 51 93 A0 01 E7 65 E8 64 7E 14 A4 AB A5