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273 lines
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<head>
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<title>MetaSystema.Net: Reply-To Munging Considered Useful</title>
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</head>
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<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#336666" alink="#336600" vlink="#003333" text="#000000">
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<h1>This Page is a Mirror</h1>
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<p>This page has been mirrored for historical preservation</p>
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<hr>
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<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Reply-To Munging Considered Useful</H2>
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<H3 ALIGN=CENTER>An Earnest Plea to Mailing List Administrators</H3>
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<H4 ALIGN=CENTER>Last revised: 3 January 2000</H4>
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<HR>
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<P>An email message requires some amount of processing when it is
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redistributed to a mailing list. At the very least, the envelope must
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be rewritten to redirect bounces directly to the list administrator.
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<P>While the message is being processed, the list administrator might
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take advantage of the opportunity to
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<A HREF="http://www.fwi.uva.nl/~mes/jargon/m/munge.html">munge</A> some
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of the message headers. Many list administrators want to add a
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<KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header that points back to the list. This transformation
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is also one of the most useful.
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<P>Some administrators claim that <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging
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can have harmful -- even dangerous -- effects. I assert the opposite,
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that <EM>not</EM> adding a <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header has even more
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harmful effects. If you think
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<KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging is a <EM>bad</EM> idea, I hope I can change your
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mind.
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<H3>RFC 822 and "Text Message Teleconferencing"</H3>
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<P>The first thing to consider is that
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<a href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc822.html">RFC 822</a>, the document which
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defines the standards and usages for email, specifically mentions this usage in
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section 4.4.3:
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<pre>
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A somewhat different use may be of some help to "text message
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teleconferencing" groups equipped with automatic distribution
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services: include the address of that service in the "Reply-To"
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field of all messages submitted to the teleconference; then
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participants can "reply" to conference submissions to guarantee
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the correct distribution of any submission of their own.
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</pre>
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<P>Aside from this official sanction, there are a number of reasons for munging
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the <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header. The arguments which follow are my own.
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They may not be comprehensive, but I think they are compelling.
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<H3>The Principle of Minimal Bandwidth</H3>
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<P>The ``Principle of Minimal Bandwidth'' is a good rule that will keep
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you out of trouble. It says that you <EM>should</EM> make any changes
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which will reduce the amount of email traffic on the Internet.
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The ``Principle of Minimal Bandwidth'' will help you avoid the sorts of
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problems we are about to discuss. This principle <EM>is</EM> a rule
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designed to be broken, but you can avoid some significant heartache
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by thinking hard and long before you do so.
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<H3>Reply-To Munging Adds Something</H3>
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<P><KDB>Reply-To</KDB> gives the respondant an option which would not
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otherwise exist: namely the ability to <EM>reply only to the list</EM>.
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Despite the fact that many (though not all) email clients have the
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ability to "reply to sender" or "reply to all recipients", many list
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subscribers want to <EM>reply only to the list</EM>, which is not the
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result of selecting either of these options. So, to ensure that the
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reply goes to the list, they select "reply to all recipients", which
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generally results in the sending of <EM>at least two</EM> email messages, one
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to the list, and one to the original sender.
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<P>This is frequently quite annoying to the original sender, who now
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receives two copies of the reply. Furthermore, in many cases the original
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sender has added additional recipients. Not only does "reply to all
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recipients" send the reply to each of these additional recipients
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(who are frequently also members of the list), it also propagates this
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list of recipients onto the reply to the list.
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<P>The effects of this snowball, as each additional person replies to the
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messages using "reply to all recipients", they become the sender, and thus
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get added to the list of recipients with the next reply. Thus the list of
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recipients grows and grows. Frequently, as the subject matter changes,
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members of the list find themselves receiving multiple copies of messages
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which have strayed from the topic in which they were originally interested,
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<i>even after they have unsubscribed from the list</i>.
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<P>Many people have pointed out that it is relatively easy to implement a
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<KBD>procmail</KBD> filter to remove duplicates. This attitude merely reveals
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a Unix-centric and US-centric viewpoint. Many users of inferior operating
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systems <i>do not</i> have a tool powerful enough to ensure the removal of
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duplicate messages. Furthermore, in many European countries, connect time is
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charged by the <i>minute</i>. Even with <KBD>procmail</KBD>, the duplicates
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have to be <i>downloaded</i> before they can be filtered, resulting in
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unnecessary additional expenses for some of our European list mates.
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<P>This last fact reveals that the issue is really related to bandwidth.
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By applying the ``Principle of Minimal Bandwidth'', we conclude that it
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is necessary to add a <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header that points back to the list.
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<H3>It Doesn't Break Reasonable Mailers</H3>
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<P>If you use a reasonable mailer, <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging <EM>does</EM>
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provide new functionality, namely the ability to <EM>reply only to the
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list</EM>. Furthermore, it does <EM>not decrease</EM> functionality. In Pine,
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for example, when there is a <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header, Pine will ask,
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``Use "Reply-To:" address instead of "From:" address?'', easily allowing
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one to reply only to the original author. In KMail, it is even easier. One
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merely right-clicks on the hyperlinked <KBD>From</KBD> address.
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<P>If your mailer doesn't have this option, you should request it from its
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development team. Any mailer, whose development team refuses this simple
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request due to some ideological position, cannot be said to be reasonable.
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<H3>Freedom of Choice</H3>
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<P>Since <KDB>Reply-To</KDB> munging adds additional functionality, it actually
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<EM>increases</EM> freedom of choice. Not only can you now <EM>reply only to
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the list</EM>, you still have the option to reply to the original
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author, or to all recipients, easily and conveniently.
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<H3>Some Mailers are Broken</H3>
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<P>There are, unfortunately, some poorly implemented mail programs that lack
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separate "reply-to-author" and "reply-to-group" functions. A user saddled
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with such a mailer can benefit from <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging. It makes
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it easier for him or her to send responses directly to the list.
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<P>Furthermore, this change <EM>does not</EM> penalize the conscientious
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person that uses a reasonable mailer. Reasonable mailers give one the
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ability to reply to the <KBD>From</KBD> address. Therefore, it would be
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unkind to further penalize those with poorly implemented mail programs, since
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munging the <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header causes no harm to those with reasonable
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mailers.
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<H3>Principle of Least Total Work</H3>
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<P>For discussion type lists, I would estimate that ninety percent of the time,
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people want to reply to the list. Without munging, they either have to break
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the ``Principle of Least Bandwidth'', or type in the list address. Many people,
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being lazy, will choose the former, sending unnecessary copies of emails to
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people who will either have to delete them, or take the time to set up a
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filter (if they are lucky enough to be running an operating system which
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facilitates this).
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<P>On the other hand, about ten percent of the time, replying to the sender
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might be more appropriate. Even if the respondant has an unreasonable
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mailer (a decision for which they are probably responsible), the worst case
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scenario is that they have to type in an address ten percent of the time.
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Of course, if they took the time to add this recipient to their address book,
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they could reduce the amount of typing to a minimum.
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<P>So, which produces least total work: typing in the list address ninety
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percent of the time (plus possibly taking the time to set up a filter), or
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typing in an individual's address ten percent of the time?
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<P>I'll take munged <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> headers every time, thanks.
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<H3>People are Responsible for Their Own Mistakes</H3>
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<P>Some administrators claim that munging <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> headers is
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harmful because it surprises people, and can cause damage when things go
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awry. They assert that administrators should prevent the possibility of a
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private message being mistakenly broadcast to the entire list.
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<P>This is simply not the responsibility of the administrator. People are
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responsible for their own mistakes. If someone is sending a private email
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which is derogatory, or otherwise embarrassing were it to be made public,
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they should probably be sending it directly, rather than as a reply to a
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public message. They should also pause and think about whether they should
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be sending it at all. This pause should be quite sufficient for a
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conscientious person using a reasonable mailer to catch any mistake that
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they might be about to make.
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<P>In any case, it is an entirely trivial matter for the list administrator
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to provide an obvious clue in the subject line of every message that the
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message was received from a mailing list. If your Mailing List Manager doesn't
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provide an option to prepend "[listname]" to the subject, then switch to one
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that does ( e.g. <a href="http://www.list.org/">GNU MailMan</a>
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or <a href="http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/">Majordomo</a> ).
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<H3>And in the End...</H3>
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<P>If you are not convinced yet, then allow me one final plea. Most mailing
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lists are intended to facilitate discussion on a given topic. If this is
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indeed the primary purpose of your list, then you <EM>really should</EM> add a
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<KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header which directs replies to the list. This helps to
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ensure that the entire thread of the conversation is available to all who
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might be interested.
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<P>I can't count the number of times I have searched the archives
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of a list for a solution to a problem, only to find the question asked, but
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no solution. Yet, when I subsequently post the question to the list, the
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long-time members insist that it has already been discussed, and that I should
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search the archives. If I'm lucky, a newer member forwards to me the private
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reply which answered the question.
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<P>Thus, munging the <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> header benefits those lists which are
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intended for serious discussion. If your list is intended primarily for
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announcements or other one-way mailings, you may safely ignore these arguments.
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<H3>It's What People Want</H3>
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<P>I have been and am subscribed to both munging and non-munging mailing lists.
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On the non-munging lists, there are regular requests to change the list so
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that <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> replies to the list. On the munging lists which
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already do this, there are hardly any requests for change.
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<H3>Summary</H3>
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<P>Many people want to munge <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> headers. They believe
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it makes reply-to-list easier, and it encourages more list traffic.
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It really does both of these things, and is a very good idea. To reiterate:
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<UL>
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<LI>It adheres to the principle of minimal bandwidth.
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<LI>It provides additional functionality to the user.
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<LI>It increases a subscriber's freedom to choose how to direct a response.
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<LI>It does not reduce functionality for the user of a reasonable mailer.
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<LI>It aids and assists the user with a deficient mailer.
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<LI>It adheres to the principle of least total work.
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<LI>It helps to ensure that questions are answered on the list.
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<LI>Your subscribers want you to do it.
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</UL>
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<P>
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<H3>Addendum</H3>
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<P>There are, of course, a few details that need to be addressed to make
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<KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging more pleasant and productive for everyone. One
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potentially serious problem with <KBD>Reply-To</KBD> munging is the possibility
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of mail loops. It should be possible for the list server to detect and prevent
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this. If anyone has any patches to implement this feature, I would be happy
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to provide a link to the patch on your ftp server, or to make it available on
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my own ftp server.
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<P>Also, patches are needed for any mailers that do not implement the ability
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to reply to the <KBD>From</KBD> address. Please send links or patches to me
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at <i>sdhill at metasystema.net</i>. Thanks.
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<H3>Patches</H3>
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<P>
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A patch for Emacs rmail is available at: <a href="http://www.metasystema.net/pub/patches/emacs/rmail-query-reply-to.el">http://www.metasystema.net/pub/patches/emacs/rmail-query-reply-to.el</a>.
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<H3>Dissenting Opinion</H3>
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<P>I originally wrote this essay as a response to Chip Rosenthal's
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<a href="harmful.html">
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Reply-To Munging Considered Harmful</a>.
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<p>
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<address>Simon Hill</address>
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<address>sdhill at metasystema.net</address>
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</body>
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</html>
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