David - Thanks for the history on this.

All list members - I use Microsoft Outlook for my mail reader. I see a means
of setting up rules for incoming messages that meet specific criteria (e.g.,
from the list server address), but I don't see a "don't send the out of
office response" option to apply to this condition. I'd be grateful if
someone who uses Outlook could give me advice on how to set this up so that
list doesn't get the "I'm on vacation" response."

Keith Karn
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: David Wooding [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2002 7:09 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [EM_LIST] inappropriate replying to the whole list...


Dear list members,

Re: list operation ("replies to list" v "replies to sender" and
autoresponders) - so please delete this email if you aren't interested!

I'm the list owner of [log in to unmask] Having missed the
opportunity to jump in at the start, I thought it best to wait until the
flurry of emails about "inappropriate replying" had died down and people had
had their say.

The issue of whether replies to list posts should default to list or sender
is a difficult one with good arguments on both sides. Some list members will
recall that a list referendum was held in February 1999 and that the
overwhelming majority (81%) of respondents opted for "reply to list" (see
archived posts at:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9902&L=eye-movement&T=0&F=&S=
&P=2235
and
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind9902&L=eye-movement&T=0&F=&S=
&P=3925
for more information).

While this process was reassuringly democratic, it does mean that the
minority who prefer "reply to sender" can occasionally find list emails
rather irritating. I would ask those people to be patient (we don't want to
lose you!), and would urge others to be careful to post information which is
of benefit to the list as a whole. Apart from the occasional 'slip', I
personally think the list gets it about right. It has more discussion than
other lists, but that can be a good thing.

I am happy to review this situation by holding another referendum if there
is sufficient demand, but I would ask that emails on this subject (and on
anything related to the operation of the list) be addressed to me at
[log in to unmask], rather than to the list. My feeling is
that it does not look as though popular opinion has changed to any great
extent.

Finally, regarding auto-responders, PLEASE do not set up autoresponders to
reply to list posts. Your fellow list members do not want to know that you
are lucky enough to be on holiday! Recently, people have set up
autoresponders which do not reply to the list, but to the original sender of
the list post. While this is an improvement, it is still unlikely that
someone posting to a list with 700 members will want to know that some
individuals on that list are "out of the office but will read your email on
the road".

Best wishes,

David
[log in to unmask]

--
David Wooding ([log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask])
Applied Vision Research Unit (http://ibs.derby.ac.uk/avru/)
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Derby, UK
[working from home]

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