[erlang-questions] 'reply-to' header in this mailing list

[Michael Turner]

Does anyone have any statistics on this question? That is, what percentage
of mailing lists "do it wrong"? It's counterintuitive to me that  a "reply"
on this mailing list is only to the individual. "Reply" is "Reply to the
list" on every other mailing list I'm currently on, and on almost every
mailing list I can remember being on. But perhaps my lifetime mailing list
membership doesn't approach statistical significance.

Although it may get me accused of "blindly following the herd," let me
assert it anyway: arguments from "intuition" in commonly used software
interfaces only work when you have statistically significant user support
for them, not some purely formal, rule-based argument for your *personal*
intuition. What's "intuitive" to one person may be counterintuitive to many.
As pointed out long ago, "intuitive equals familiar":

  http://www.asktog.com/papers/raskinintuit.html

And, as pointed out even longer ago, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin
of small minds." (Emerson.)

<http://www.asktog.com/papers/raskinintuit.html>Perhaps to some people, a
mailing list is like a noticeboard in a mostly-empty hallway. My mental
model of a mailing list corresponds more closely to a conversation in a
classroom. When you reply to an open question or comment in such a context,
you cannot help but be heard by more than one person; most likely you'll be
heard by everyone in the room. You actually have to make a special effort
(i.e., lean over and whisper in an ear, or pass a note) to be sure that your
reply is private. I think this corresponds pretty closely to the intuition
of the average mailing list user. But erlangeurs may be different, I don't
know.

-michael turner


On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 8:45 AM, Richard O'Keefe <ok@REDACTED> wrote:

>
> On 18/05/2011, at 3:07 AM, Alexander Krasnukhin wrote:
>
> > Yes, yes. I've got this. People from telecom will always rely on
> standards instead of people expectations. Good. Right. Understandable.
>
> That sounds a bit sarcastic.
> The thing is that the Erlang mailing list behaves *EXACTLY* the way I
> expect
> a mailing list to work.
> I expect "Reply All" to reply to everyone on the list.
> I expect "Reply" to go just to the author.
> I expect it to work the way mailing lists always used to work.
>
> The standard in this case is not arbitrary, but part of a coherent
> design to ensure a straightforward user experience.
>
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> http://erlang.org/mailman/listinfo/erlang-questions
>
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