Re: [Evolution] Mailing list filters

[Pete Biggs <pete biggs org uk>]

> > It depends on the mailing list settings.  There is a per user setting on
> > many mailing lists of "Avoid duplicate messages".  With that you don't
> > receive the list copy if you are listed in the To: or Cc: headers.
> > Which is good, because you don't get two copies; but it's bad because
> > the *only* copy you receive doesn't have the list headers on it, which
> > breaks filtering and "Reply to list".  And if the list is moderated for
> > non-subscribers (or whatever), then you receive, and possibly reply to,
> > a message before the rest of the list sees it.
> >
> > That's why I dislike being directly sent replies to mailing list posts.
> > It breaks things for me; it makes things difficult for me.  And I can
> > explicitly say I don't want it to happen until I'm blue in the face, but
> > it won't make any difference to anything, people will still keep doing
> > what they think is "the only way it should be done" - or more likely
> > what is most convenient for them.
>
> FWIW I've added you as another use case in
> http://david.woodhou.se/reply-to-list.html
>
> Thank you for helping me to refine it.
>
> In summary, then: If you reply-to-all, then some people will get a
> second copy of the list message, which might annoy them a tiny bit. But
> if it does, it's usually trivial for them to tell the list software not
> to send them a copy when they're already in the To: or Cc: headers.
>
> If they do *that* then they might receive some "list" traffic in their
> INBOX instead of the list folder. Which they can also trivially fix by
> changing their filters to match any messages which are To: or Cc: the
> list even when they didn't actually come via the list (which is
> traditionally considered a false positive but in this case is exactly
> what they want).

Not that it particularly matters, my server-side filters already filter
the Evolution list on To: and Cc: headers because I couldn't rely on the
list headers. I have a choice you see - either I get things in my Inbox,
which is full enough as it is, or I get non-list originated mail in my
Evolution folder.  Neither of which are ideal.

But the primary downside, which you have omitted, is that the received
message does not have any of the list headers, because it didn't go via
the list.  So you can't "Reply To List" at all and you break everything
to do with list handling.

And no, Pete is most definitely not happy in the scenario you have
added.  I think you should correct it to "Pete is grumpy because someone
sent him the email directly, but he manages to cope with it because he
knows there's nothing he can do about it".

> On the other hand, if you *don't* reply-to-all, and restrict your reply
> to only the one list that you happened to receive the mail from, then
> you may cut all kind of other people out of the discussion entirely. And
> there's nothing at all they can do about that.

My experience of the mailing lists I use is that cross-list posting is
vanishingly small as is CC'ing external "experts".  YMMV but that
argument cuts very little ice with me.

P.