[WSIS CS-Plenary] To whom should a "reply" to the Plenary listserv go?

Thu Jun 30 19:09:04 BST 2005

Hi Karen and All

I would suggest that an automated reminder be set at the top of every
posting. 

It could read something like "Please note that you are replying to the
entire list. For a personal reply to the person who posted, kindly reply
directly"; or something along those lines. 

The reminder is easy to set up by the list administrator, going to the
Member Options (Regular-member options and Digest-member options) and typing
in the reminder in the "HEADER" space.

The other way round (re-setting list to 'reply-to-sender' can cause
complications because of the way the "Reply-to" headers are programmed,
depending on something called 'munging'. The way 'munging' is set up, could
even mean that resetting the list to 'reply-to-sender' mail could cause mail
delivery failures.

To read more about munging, see below.

Best regards,
Rui
(Associate Member of the Mailman Developers Team)
_______________________________________________________________________
MUNGING

"Reply-To" Munging Considered Harmful
An Earnest Plea to Mailing List Administrators

An email message requires some amount of processing when it is redistributed
to a mailing list. At the very least, the envelope must be rewritten to
redirect bounces directly to the list administrator. While the message is
being processed, the list administrator might take advantage of the
opportunity to munge some of the message headers. 

Some forms of header munging are helpful, such as special loop-detection
headers. Others are questionable. Most are ill-advised or dangerous. Many
list adminstrators want to add a Reply-To header that points back to the
list. This transformation also is one of the most ill-advised. 

Some administrators claim that Reply-To munging makes it easier for users to
respond to the entire list, and helps encourage list traffic. These benefits
are fallacious. Moreover, Reply-To can have harmful -- even dangerous --
effects. If you think Reply-To munging is a good idea, I hope I can change
your mind. 

________________________________________________

Rui Correia
Advocacy, Media and Language Consultant
38 Finch St, 
Ontdekkers Park, Roodepoort, 
Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel/ Fax (+27-11) 766-4336
Cell (+27) (0) 83-368-1214

-----Original Message-----
From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org] On Behalf
Of Thomas Ruddy
Sent: 30 June 2005 12:14
To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
Subject: [WSIS CS-Plenary] To whom should a "reply" to the Plenary listserv
go?

Anyone who objects to having the Plenary listerv
reconfigured so that a reply goes by default to the
sender of the previous message, not to the whole list,
please protest. 
Otherwise let's have Karen do it to reduce noise on
the list.
Thomas

--- karen banks <karenb at gn.apc.org> wrote:

> Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:06:33 +0100
> To: thomas at thomasruddy.org
> From: karen banks <karenb at gn.apc.org>
> Subject: Re: Please fix the Plenary listserv
> CC: wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de
> 
> hi thomas
> 
> please post the request to the plenary - many do not
> like the option of 
> replying to sender by defualt and for sure many will
> inadvertantly do so 
> intending to send to plenary - but it might not be
> bad thing, will 
> certaunly reduce noise on the list
> 
> karen
> 
> At 11:04 30/06/2005, Thomas Ruddy wrote:
> >Karen,
> >Today this is yet another example of how the
> listserv
> >is misleading people to send private messagfes to
> the
> >list. Cannot someone please configure the listserv
> to
> >direct replies to the sender, not the whole list?
> >Best,
> >Thomas
> >
> >--- Wolfgang Kleinwächter
> ><wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de>
> >wrote:
> >
> > > From: Wolfgang Kleinwächter
> > > <wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de>
> > > Subject: AW: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: Taipei
> > > To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
> > > Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:30:24 +0200
> > >
> > > Thanks Cees,
> > > it is always a pityif I miss you at IAMCR
> > > Conferences. It was your election as president
> in
> > > 1988, which paved the way for my 10 years of
> > > presidency of the IAMCR Law Section.
> Unbelievable,
> > > this was 17 years ago in Barcelona.
> > >
> > > Hope everything will work okay with your eye
> > > operation. I had one earlier this year and it
> was
> > > perfect.
> > >
> > > Best regards to Seija and hope to see you
> somewhere,
> > > sometime.
> > >
> > > best
> > >
> > > w
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > >
> > > Von: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org im Auftrag von
> Prof.
> > > Dr. Cees J. Hamelink
> > > Gesendet: Do 30.06.2005 09:06
> > > An: plenary at wsis-cs.org
> > > Betreff: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: Taipei
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear Wolfgang,
> > >
> > > Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the
> > > Taipei conference and contribute
> > > to you session. I have to undergo some minor eye
> > > surgery and the summer time
> > > seems the best moment given all the commitments
> as
> > > from September. As one ages
> > > these things just happen. Otherwise I am doing
> fine,
> > > writing a new book for
> > > Sage, rehearsing for a jazz CD which will be
> > > released later this year,
> > > preparing for a new chair on Public health and
> human
> > > rights and working towards
> > > the 50th anniversary of Gazette in November this
> > > year.
> > > .
> > > Best wishes also from Seija and hope to see you
> soon
> > > again, somewhere, sometime,
> > > Cees.
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------
> > > This message was sent using IMP, the Internet
> > > Messaging Program.
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Plenary mailing list
> > > Plenary at wsis-cs.org
> > >
>
>http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Plenary mailing list
> > > Plenary at wsis-cs.org
> > >
>
>http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary
> > >
> 
> 

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