Mailing list replies

[Paul Aurich]

On Sep 9, 2009, at 02:34, David Balazic wrote:
> Mark Doliner wrote:
>>
>> Just a few tips:
>> * Users do not have to be subscribed to this mailing list in order to
>> post to it.
>
> The listinfo page (URL in footer) does not say so. I don't think  
> anyone
> would go search your message first and then (not) sunscribe. I believe
> most will go to that page, read how to subscribe and do it. This is
> pretty
> common issue with mail lists. The info whether it accepts posts from
> non-subscribers in not published, at least not in the obvious places.
> So sometimes I post and wait for either a rejection message or that
> my message appears in the archive. As both can take hours if not days,
> I usually subscribe first.

This has been discussed previously, but the support address is listed  
in the Help->About dialog in Pidgin (where I suspect most people get  
to it) and up until the most recent release, the text did not  
explicitly reflect the fact this was a public mailing list address.

I personally do not think most people subscribe to the mailing list to  
post issues; I doubt even most of the people who get to the list via http://pidgin.im/support 
  do so (I'm also an embittered pessimist).

In any event, the mere fact that users need not be subscribed to the  
support@ mailing list to post an issue is reason enough, to me, to ask  
people rendering assistance to explicitly list the user in the To or  
CC of their emails.

>> When replying to a user's email please ensure the user's
>> email address is listed in the "To" field.
>> * Replies to this mailing list by default go to the user who sent the
>> email.  We've talked about this behavior in the past and do not plan
>> on changing it.
>> * You're encouraged to use "Reply All" or "Reply List" for the
>> majority of your responses so that future generations of Pidgin users
>
> Just a note: The vast majority of users have no "Reply List" button
> in their MUA. (at least not in default configuration)

I accept the fact that users seeking support in a back-and-forth will  
not always reply to the list. Surely, though, the small minority of  
people who respond to support inquiries can be expected to maintain a  
CC to the list on emails.

Another reason to explicitly CC the list is that it makes it clear  
that a user's issue has been addressed.

~Paul