Re: [RFC] send mails and identity

[christophe barbé <christophe barbe ml online fr>]

Le mar, 14 aoû 2001 14:19:56, M . Thielker a écrit :
> > We need to add a "Multi-Identity support" checkbox in the preferences
> > DBox.
> > This box should be unchecked in 1.2 and this feature considered
> incomplete
> > in 1.2.
> > The main reason to disable it by default in 1.2 is that the duplicated
> > mails in this mailing list are caused by this feature. This is an
> > indication that we need to work it a little more.
> 
> How does that cause duplicates?

Because when you get a "waiting moderator approval", the mail is certainly
approved by the moderator but because you have already resent it, it
finishes in double in the ml. 

> > Setting the default SMTP server empty will (optionnaly) ensure that a
> ID
> > has been choosen with the rules.
> 
> NAK!

This is funny because I was believing that It was your suggestion. But I've
misunderstood it.

> It cannot be assumed, that a user who wants to be asked every time an
> identitiy is to be chosen is willing to enter (and possibly change) the
> SMTP
> server on ever identity record, in case his SMTP server changes.. Setting
> a
> default should not rob the user of the choice to be prompted for
> confirmation on a background action.
> 
> My suggestion: [x] Always confirm automgically chosen identity
>                [x] Always confirm selected identity on send   [x] Exclude
> explicit rules

I agree that we need to add an option to basically inform user when no
magic ID was choosen. It can be more elaborate too.
 
> and keep the default SMTP server as it is. Unovious side effects of
> existing
> settings should be avoided at all cost. We cannot let function follow
> form
> and refrain from GUI changes at the expense of usablity. In all of the
> discussions here i see a pervasive hesitancy to change GUI aspects of
> Balsa.
> Whether that is just because hardcoded gtk is not for everyone or some
> people think prefs are something bad, I don't know.

Yes you like preferences more than others. This is often seen as a non
design choice. But sometimes it is not. Now I agree that the toolbar
cusstomization is a good thing.

> What is being written here is a complex email client, supporting many
> mailbox formats and aiming to support tons of options like filtering,
> multiple identities, multiple servers and so on. You can't seriously
> believe
> that this can be done with just a handful of prefs options!? We don't
> need
> M$-bloat, but as simplitic an interface as we have now will be too simple
> for the task at hand. Side effects, buried deeply in the docs or, even
> worse, undocumented will only lead to confusion.
> 
> There must be a default SMTP server, and it must be in prefs.
> There should be no side effects associated with changing from no identity
> support to identity support or from one default identity to another
> There should be an error message if the default SMTP server is left
> blank,
> unless not built for SMTP
> As a compile time option, builds for non-SMTP should not have SMTP server
> entry fields.
> A different SMTP server should be selectable for each identity. This
> should
> have no side effects, either.

Agreed.

> Looks good so far. I would add an option to learn associations. In my
> particular case, the identity needed for a reply is _always_ determined
> by
> the _sender_ (or from) header.
> When "Always confirm selected identity on send" and "Exclude explicit
> rules"
> are both set, the confirmation dialog would only pop up when I am mailing
> to
> someone I have not written to before. So, if a checkbox "[x] Remember
> this
> selection as a rule" is added to that dialog, Balsa could, at the user's
> discretion, learn such associations.
> Reasonable defaults for the mtach field would be the From or Sender field
> of
> the original message in the case of replies, or the To: address on
> freshly
> composed email.
> This new rule should be offered for editing in the same dialog used to
> edit
> manually entered rules, to insure consistency.
> 
> The sequence would be thus:
> Click "Send"
> Confirm Identity dialog pops up
> Click "Remember..."
> Add Rule dialog pops up, filled in with defaults.
> Edit, then click OK

This remember me somethings (in Evolution). This could be done. For
incomming mail filtering too as soon as an integrated solution will be
there (a gui for procmail i hope).

Christophe

-- 
Christophe Barbé <christophe.barbe@online.fr>
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