Re: [Evolution] Mail merge?

[gnome <kiwirider777 gmail com>]

On Fri, 2020-10-09 at 18:26 +0100, Pete Biggs wrote:


> Mail merge as a process was always a function of office, not mail,
> applications. It's not something that non-business people ever do so
> I'm not surprised that people are not that familiar with the concept.

I'm not a business person, and I use it often. I've also taught many
other non-business people how to use it on TB. 

It's really not hard, and while I suggest they use "send later" and
check the messages in their outbox, I've been using it once or twice a
month at least since at least 2014 and have not seen an error yet, not
in my emails nor the hundreds I've had from others who also use it. 

> At least with
> an office application you can check before mailing out a few hundred
> sheets of paper that it's correct - with email, you don't even get
> that
> chance.

Even Evolution has a "send later" function (I think - it's not as clear
as in TB), where the emails are stored in an outbox and sent at a later
time. At least with TB's Merge plugin it prefers to send in that
manner. You can send as many emails as you want, until you click on
"send unsent emails" (or switch to 'online' from offline mode) nothing
will go out. 

It's also quite easy to accidentally put every one in "cc" or "to"
fields instead of BCC, and accidentally give every one each others
email addresses - for me that would be a major failing, and under my
country's privacy laws could actually get me fined, even as a private
person.  

> Personally, if I want to send individual messages to multiple people
> I use a shell script.

Lots of us have moved on from scripts, and there are whole generations
coming behind us who aren't interested in or experienced with such
things. Me? on TB I visit my address book (card book plugin which makes
TB's useless default one a bit closer to Evos much better default
address books :) ), ^click each person I want the message to go to,
click "write" and fill in the details, then click on the "Mail Merge"
button in TB's menu bar. If I am feeling really brave (which is normal
after years without issue) I click on "send now". If the email contains
some really private stuff and I want to be sure of who it is going to,
I use "send later". 

I've taught elderly relatives to use Merge with ease. I've got them
happily using Linux for daily stuff. But I'd not even begin to consider
getting them to access a terminal let alone use shell scripts!

>   If I did it very often I would look at dedicated
> bulk mail programs.

Lots of us would do it otherwise, hence the desire to see the same
functionality in Evolution. I don't do "mass" as such, I think the
largest number I've sent to is 20 or so family and friends members,
usually only around 5-10 depending on the topic