SEELANGS Administrivia - The Reply-To address

[Alex Rudd]

Dear SEELangers,

I always encourage you to write me directly (off-list) with any
questions you may have about the list or LISTSERV and its commands.
What I usually do is answer you directly via private e-mail.
However, if I think the answer may benefit other list members, I
like to answer on the list.

Tonight someone wrote me with a question which I'd like to answer
on the list.  Because he/she did not know I was going to do that,
I'm deleting any reference to the inquisitor's identity below.

He/She said:
>I'm fairly new on SEELANGS (about 2 months?), and I have been puzzled almost
>from the onset by something.  I guess either I'm confused as to what is proper
>to do, or people just want to share a LOT with other subscribers.
>
>What I'm referring to is people who respond to postings on list, rather than
>to the original poster.  I have noticed that this happens even when the
>original posting specifically asks people to reply to them off list!  Is it
>that people don't pay attention, or don't know how to do it, or do they maybe
>think that their response will be thrilling to all of us?

An excellent observation, and a good question.  I suspect that it may have
most to do with their failure to pay attention coupled with a lack of
knowledge of how to reply directly.

If you send the command REVIEW SEELANGS SHORT to LISTSERV at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
you'll be sent the list header.  The list header contains the parameters
under which the list operates.  If you do that, you'll see that, among
other things, it says:

* Reply-to= List,Respect

What this means in English, is that, by default, SEELANGS is configured
to direct all replies back to the list address.  It accomplishes this by
inserting into every out-going post a line in the mail header beginning
with "Reply-To:" and pointing to the list address.  When someone receives
a post from the list and selects "Reply" on their local system, that
reply is automatically directed back to SEELANGS where it is distributed
to the entire list membership.

But SEELANGS is a discussion list... It makes sense that that's the
way the list should be configured, right?  Right.  Okay, but doesn't
it also make sense that if someone wants replies directed back at him,
the original poster, he should be able to do so?  Of course!  That's
why, if you take a look at the line from the list header, I've put the
word "respect" there.  That instructs LISTSERV to "respect" the decision
a subscriber may make to alter that Reply-To: line.  For example, look
at the mail header of *this* post.  I've altered it to insert my own
e-mail address as opposed to the list's.  Anyone simply selecting "Reply"
to this post will find their response directed straight back to me.

I would encourage anyone wishing that replies be sent directly to
him at his personal address learn how to change that "Reply-to:"
field in his posts.  I can help anyone using an IBM Mainframe
running CMS to do that.  Others should check with their local
mail guru or Internet service provider.

Moving to the next point, it's important to know that, even though by
default replies are directed back to the list, you can *change* the
address to which your reply is directed, locally, before you send it.
In other words, you don't have to reply on the list if your intent is
to reply only to the person who posted the original message.  This is
easily accomplished simply by being conscious of the address in the
To: field and being sure to change it before you send your reply.

For some of us it's easier to do than for others.  It is, however,
something we all can do.

>It strikes me that some "threads" go on eternally...probably long after the
>original person's question/curiosity has been satisfied.  Would it be met
>with hostility if you were to gently suggest that people respond off-list to
>such things, and then the individual can summarize responses (if s/he deems
>them sufficiently interesting...) and post it to the list?  Or would this
>provoke cries of outrage?  (I'm thinking in particular about the saga on
>numbers of flowers in a bouquet; consonant clusters in Russian; and various
>requests for software (availability, troubleshooting, etc....although the
>flowers one really had me ready to scream in anguish!)

I would hope that no one would meet such a suggestion with hostility.

I know many of you are real veterans at this e-mail thing, but
some of you are not.  For those whom it might benefit, I'd like
to describe a convention common to mailing lists such as SEELANGS
which can be used when asking for help.

When you post to the list and request information, leads, tips,
suggestions, etc., on a specific topic, you often get lots of
positive and useful feedback.  Usually, whether you request it
to be or not, many of the replies arrive via direct e-mail, not
on the list.  When they do arrive on the list, as in the case of
the odd/even number of flowers thread, they can overwhelm people
and get a little out of control.  Both scenarios can be considered
problematic, considering that in the first case there are probably
other list members who are likewise interested and would like to
know what you found out, and in the second case, mailboxes can
fill up and people can leave the list in frustration.

So here's the convention:  When posting to the list and asking for
assistance with a particular topic which the poster thinks may also
interest others, he/she will include a line at the bottom of the
post which reads something like:

"Please direct all replies to my personal e-mail address.  After
I've heard from everyone who'd like to help, I'll summarize and
post to the list."

So people reply to this original poster and offer whatever help
they'd like.  That person then summarizes all the information
he/she has received and posts the summary to the list for all to
see.  It can be in any format, but it often takes this one:

John Smith said:
"blah blah blah.....         blah blah blah....       blah blah...
blah blah....       blah blah blah ...    blah"

Jane Doe said:
"blah blah...    blah blah.....   blah blah blah...... blah...
blah..  blah blah blah blah...   blah blah"

etc....

Anyway... I mention this only because it's a convention with which
I suspect many of you may be unfamiliar, because there are many
requests for help on the list, and because there are quite a few
bright people whose knowledge and wisdom, when offered, could be
of benefit to more than just the one person who asked the question.

To be clear, I'm not trying to tell anyone to do anything.  I am
offering a suggestion for one approach you can take when asking
for help on the list.  Whether you choose to use it is completely
up to you.  Keep in mind, though, that it was originally offered
by one of your fellow list members.

>Just some thoughts -- needless to say, many of the postings I've read have
>been quite interesting.  But sometimes there was an overabundance of (at
>times conflicting) opinions!

I hope all that was helpful.  If I've left any of you with questions or
concerns, feel free to write.

Thanks.

- Alex, list owner of SEELANGS
.............  ..................................  ......................
Alex Rudd    ||     |    |  __| John Jay College || ahrjj at cunyvm.cuny.edu
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