From: "Bart Schaefer" <schaefer@candle.brasslantern.com>
Message-Id: <970425052009.ZM22285@candle.brasslantern.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 05:20:09 -0700
In-Reply-To: <17303.861969198@munnari.OZ.AU>
Comments: In reply to Robert Elz <kre@munnari.OZ.AU>
        "Re: From the Chair: How Reply SHOULD Work" (Apr 25,  9:53pm)
References: <17303.861969198@munnari.OZ.AU>
To: Robert Elz <kre@munnari.oz.au>
Subject: Re: From the Chair: How Reply SHOULD Work
Cc: Detailed Revision/Update of Message Standards <drums@cs.utk.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On Apr 25,  9:53pm, Robert Elz wrote:
} Subject: Re: From the Chair: How Reply SHOULD Work
}
}     I only want to
}     be inclusive about what actions are permissible, to avoid the appearance
}     that anything not mentioned is not permissible.
} 
} That's backwards.   If nothing at all is said about what a UI should
} allow

The problem is that "nothing at all" is not what is said.  Something is
said; to wit, it's said that the reply-to field means that replies should
be sent to those addresses.  That's going to be taken as "what a UI should
allow" even if it's not meant that way.

This is the only case I can think of where the definition of a field has
any direct connection to the actions of the recipient, so it needs to be
treated carefully.

} However, once you say that X and Y and Z are OK, you are, by implication
} saying that everything else is not OK, or why wouldn't you have listed the
} others too?

Exactly.  (Which is also why I don't want to list the others, just make a
general statement that they exist and should be allowed.)

} So you think we ought have in 822bis words that say that it has to be
} possible to delete messages, and read them, and compose new messages,
} and ...

If there were a Deletable: field and a Readable-By: field, defined to
say that the sender instructs the recipient to behave such-and-so, then
yes.  However, since there's only Reply-To: defined that way, that's the
only thing we need to be concerned with.

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