Hello all,

I am under "attack" (again) from a small faction on one of my lists because
replies are defaulted to be sent back to the entire list (Reply-to= List)
instead of to individual message senders.  I have been asked in so many
words to "justify" this setting and am looking for some pros and cons from
other list owners.

Here's what one user says:

       "Has anyone besides me noticed an awful lot of people accidently
sending
mail that was meant for an individual to the entire IAO list?  This is because
when someone hits reply in their mailer, instead of it doing the sensible
thing, replying to the individual who sent the mail, the list is set up to
make
the mailer send mail to everyone.  This is unintuitive and dangerous.  Every
list I've ever seen that's been set up this way ends up having someone
accidently sending something offensive or insulting to the entire group
when it
was just meant for a single person's eyes.
        Some people may argue that this will make it harder to send mail to
the
list, but I disagree.  Almost all modern mail programs have a "reply all"
button that will send the mail to all the recipients and not just the sender.
"Reply" should mean "reply to sender" and "reply all" should mean "reply to
sender and everyone who received the message in question."  As it is now, we
only have the latter functionality.
        So, once again, I plead with whoever sets this list up, make reply
mean
reply.  It will cut down on the embarrassing number of messages meant for
individuals and will prevent tragedy in the future."

My position as of now is:

1) Reply-to= List stimulates list traffic and facilitates list-wide
responses to others' postings (the list is sometimes traffic-starved for
weeks until some hot topic comes up, at which point it goes nuts)

2) Users are warned in welcome and probe-generated renewal template
messages that all replies go back to the list by default unless a user

3) Reply-to= List is the Listserv default, so it can't be that goofy an idea

4) Nobody on my other lists with which I'm affiliated (some of which have
over 750 members seems to perpetually goof this up)

5) People should always double check where their mail is going; those who
don't do so at their own peril

6) People who don't like the policy can always get off the list

7) The most I would be willing to do would be insert an additional warning
into my already existing bottom banners (which generally deal with other
subjects besides list operation).

I would welcome anyone's comments on any of the above.  Thanks.

-- John