[Ponte Alto] Clarification of how the list server works

[Dave Aronson (w/ Ponte Alto)]

Irwin [mailto:dwatsonirwin at cox.net] writes:

 > There are other list-servs that do not operate in this fashion. When you
 > hit reply it actually just replies to the sender and reply all sends it
 > to the entire list. Mind you I have no clue how these programs work but
 > is there anyway to change this unfortunate attribute? Is this just the
 > way the program runs or can it be modified?

Most such programs can be configured so that one or the other happens (i.e., it inserts a Reply-To so replies default to the list, or it doesn't, so replies default to the sender).  However, there are good reasons for each approach.  Which is better, depends on the general nature of the list, such as how frequently each one is actually used, how sensitive are the replies that the sender thinks are private, how annoyed will the other people be with such things being on the list, how bad it would be for a reply intended for the whole list to actually get sent only to the original poster, etc. etc. etc.  Every once in a while, some of the lists I'm on, switch policies.  This one simple change can DRASTICALLY change the nature of the group, from lively (even if by accident) to nearly dead (because the traffic drains away).

Personally, I've always believed in "caveat scriptor" (let the writer beware), including making sure what the To line says before you send.  (That's not to say I've never erred, just that I'm ready to take the flak when I do.)  All the more so in a very open, friendly, forgiving place like the SCA.  We can "deal" with a little extra traffic, and anything accidentally sent publicly is unlikely to be terribly sensitive, or even very far off-topic....

-Simon des Beaux Eaux