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Archiver > ILHENDER > 1998-04 > 0893652025


From: Peggy Carey <>
Subject: Re: [ILHENDER-L] Fw: Mailing Lists
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 21:40:25 -0700


Gail Kilgore wrote:
> Here is what I found out about the return to author on this
> list.
GAil,
Thanks for posting the data below! I have always wondered how it works.
I've been on several LISTS only to unscribe because the messages got so
they were personal between several people, with no obvious data of
possible interest to all who were on the list.

I've written you bef re: my feelings....there is a difference between
data of interest to many/all than a reply to John Doe that his Uncle is
related to you. Now, if you post the Bio of John Doe will be found on
whatever, that could be of interest to many. Posting the Bio on a
webpage is best & give directions to finding it. The person who posted
to the list on Sat addressed you personally for help, he should have
addressed you not the list! I know many knowledgable genealogist who
will not get on the list anymore because of the way the list
get......thus, the benefit of their years of knowledge is lost.

My big gripe is that the list owners send pages of directions to adhere
to, but usually don't back up their statements (as they are taking care
of so many lists they don't have time to moniter) as to how to interact
with the list! Only one list did I see the statement "your data will not
be posted if you do whatever".....

Most of the lists I've been on reposts to the list and not to the person
who wrote the request. It is only some query pages I find that you click
& it goes directly to the person.

So, I can see where there is heated debate in the global mailing list
community!!
Peggy

> > Hi, Gail --
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 23, 1998 at 07:31:35PM -0700, Gail Kilgore
> wrote:
> > > I don't know who to direct this question to and it does not
> > > pertain to my hosted sites but a list that I am on, the
> > > . Normally when you receive a mail
> from
> > > someone and you want to reply to them and you hit Return to
> > > Author and it goes back directly to the author but on this
> list
> > > when you reply it defaults back to the list and everyone
> gets
> > > your private personal message. Is it something in the way
> the
> > > list is set up or what could the reason be?
> >
> > It's an option that listowners can turn on and off: whether
> to
> > direct replies back to the mailing list by default or to let
> them
> > go back privately to the original poster by default.
> >
> > This remains the subject of heated debate in the global
> mailing
> > list community. The reason for turning it on is to encourage
> > answers as well as questions to be shared on the whole list
> -- if
> > someone asks a question of general interest, but only
> receives an
> > answer in private, no one else benefits from the answer. On
> the
> > other hand, setting replies back to the list by default
> causes
> > exactly the sort of confusion that you encountered, where a
> reply
> > you thought was private turns out to be public.
> >
> > So we leave this option turned off by default, but make it
> > available to listowners as they see fit. If you submit a
> polite
> > objection to the listowner, they might reconsider their
> choice.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Tim Pierce
> > RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative
> > volunteer sysadmin and general hacker
> >
>
> ==== ILHENDER Mailing List ====
> Visit the Henderson County USGenWeb Homepage!
> http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilhender/ilhende.htm

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