It seems timely to raise an issue about whether replies to messages
go to the list or are directed to the person who raised the query.
There is no hard-and-fast answer to the debate but if I raise the
issues, I hope you can use them to decide before you click on send!
These lists have the "reply-to" option set to List (as opposed to the
sender of the message). This was quite deliberate since most of the
list members are silent participants who gain benefit from auditing
the discussion and different points of view and may never intend to
participate. Also those in large Institutions can see that someone
else from the same place has replied and refrain themselves from
duplicating a response.
Some of the list messages are of the general form "What do you do
about X". It is argued that most people would welcome seeing the
general flow of responses as that is the sort of info for which they
join the list. Quite often the person who asked the question
volunteers to compile a summary and post to the list. In these
welcome cases the replies should go to them and not the list. I
sometimes put such summaries on the list web site for archive and
general use. See for example the list file link from:
http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/admin-student/
In some cases the answers will be of less general interest and here
people will reduce redundant list traffic by directing their reply to the
sender of the message. (Of course that assumes that everyone
knows how to tell their mailer where to reply to?)
Which course of action to take is up to you (but choosing the right
one would relieve some people of what is seen as unnecessary
traffic and relieve me of their comments!)
Comments (to the list?) are, of course, welcome.
Regards
Jim Whitaker
(List owner admin-ucas, admin-student)
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