Subject: Lists & "Reply to All?"

From: [email-masked] ()
Date: 19 Oct 1995 23:10:58 GMT

Dear Pine Experts,

Could you tell me whether I should "Reply to all Recipients" when I am 
simply replying to a message that has come to me via a mailing list? My 
hunch is that should not.

Thanks for you help,

Nannette Kenison -- A Pine novice

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From: [email-masked] (Sherwood Botsford)
Date: 21 Oct 1995 06:55:06 GMT

Eric Tse ([email-masked]) wrote:
: On 19 Oct 1995 [email-masked] wrote:

: > Could you tell me whether I should "Reply to all Recipients" when I am 
: > simply replying to a message that has come to me via a mailing list? My 
: > hunch is that should not.

:   No, you shouldn't reply to all recipients. Just reply to the address on
: the "From:" line. :)

Depends on how the list is set up, and the charter for it.

E.g. next-managers has a deliberate policy when you post a problem that
you reply to the poster only.  He sumarizes to the whole list.  This
keeps the volume very small.

On the strawbale list, we brainstorm a lot, and the convention is that
we reply to the list.

One thing I find aggravating however is people who reply all, then don't
notice that they are replying to the list, and cc'ing to the list.  If
the list server is slightly stupid, this results in everyone getting two
copies.  

So my answer would be, say yes, then look at the headers and check where
it's going.

--
Sherwood Botsford          #  [email-masked]
Physics Dept               #  403 492 5728 mornings (Math Dept)
University of Alberta      #  3713 afternoons 0714 Fax 
Edmonton, AB, T6G 2J1      #  Contract Unix system admin & troubleshooting

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From: [email-masked] (Rick Troxel)
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 14:44:42 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] () writes:

   Could you tell me whether I should "Reply to all Recipients" when I
   am simply replying to a message that has come to me via a mailing
   list?  My hunch is that should not.

If in doubt, one can always reply Yes and inspect the addresses Pine
supplies, deleting any that seem undesirable.

My experience has been that usually this just duplicates the mailing
list address in the Cc: header; but I don't think this need *always* be
the case.

Regards,
--
Rick Troxel     [email-masked]     [email-masked]     301/496-4823
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
     All effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his
     heart is worship, if it  is prompted  by the  highest motives and
     the will to do service to humanity.                 --Abdu'l-Baha

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From: Eric Tse <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 14:58:14 GMT

> hunch is that should not.

  No, you shouldn't reply to all recipients. Just reply to the address on
the "From:" line. :)

Eric

-=  Eric Tse - [email-masked] - [email-masked]  =-
-=  http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~jyetse      =-