From: "Bart Schaefer" <schaefer@candle.brasslantern.com>
Message-Id: <970417112424.ZM24443@candle.brasslantern.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 11:24:24 -0700
In-Reply-To: <970417105749.ZM24373@candle.brasslantern.com>
Comments: In reply to "Bart Schaefer" <schaefer@candle.brasslantern.com>
        "Re: Replying to a mailing list and Reply-To" (Apr 17, 10:57am)
References: <4539.861261738@munnari.OZ.AU>  <4626.861268390@munnari.OZ.AU> 
	<970417105749.ZM24373@candle.brasslantern.com>
Reply-To: schaefer@nbn.com
To: Robert Elz <kre@munnari.oz.au>
Subject: Reply-To as a restriction rather than a redirection
Cc: drums@cs.utk.edu
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On Apr 17, 10:57am, I wrote:
} Subject: Re: Replying to a mailing list and Reply-To
}
} The Reply-To header contains the set of addresses to which the sender
} desires the recipient to direct those replies that would otherwise have
} been directed to the sender's address.  Reply-To has never indicated a
} preference that replies not be sent to any other addresses (e.g. To, Cc).

Note that the above interpretation is the only possible one in the case of
the most common use of Reply-To, an example of which is this very message.
I habitually point Reply-To at my ISP maildrop rather than to my personal
machine.  This is most definitely *not* the *only* address to which I feel
it is appropriate to send replies; it is the address to which replies *to
me* should be sent.

If the following interpretation were applied:

} } All that rfc822bis should be saying about Reply-To is that it
} } is used to contain the complete set of addreses that the sender
} } believes are appropriate for replies to this message.

then I would be forced either to include the To and Cc recipients in the
Reply-To, which is an even worse misstatement of my intentions; or I would
be forced to forego the Reply-To field entirely, which could cause replies
meant for me personally to go astray.

-- 
Bart Schaefer                             Brass Lantern Enterprises
http://www.well.com/user/barts            http://www.nbn.com/people/lantern