Re: posting replies (was "well I suppose..)

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

You get two bad choices with mailing lists. The default can be set so that 
replies go only to the sender. Most discussion is then killed, because 
unless someone pays special attention, the reply goes only to the person 
who posted a specific comment. In a large enough community, enough noise 
gets through so that this isn't such a big issue. In a community where 
people are almost always mindful, the same is true (but then the question 
is obviated). Using the current defaults, when people (myself, to my 
serious embarrassment, included) don't pay attention, private e-mail can go 
astray.

Faced with two bad choices, on _this_ list, replies default to the list. 
It's not a mistake. It is a deliberate choice. There are many ways to 
better design e-mail clients so that people send messages where they are 
intended. That is beyond the scope of this list.

Not everyone chooses scylla over charybdis. My own attitude is that when 
one is faced with two bad choices, it is time to rethink the question. I've 
had a new system nearing deployment for a couple of years. In my very 
copious spare time, it will be available sooner or later and will offer a 
web option to those who would rather sidestep this (and other) bad choices 
in terms of participating. I've been working with online community for 
nearly 20 years now. I may be wrong, but I've had a lot of years to work 
out how and why I think things work best in given circumstances.

I heartily agree with everyone who complains that there should be a better 
way of working things.

ari

Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/

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