Message-Id: <199601021714.MAA07528@info.cren.net>
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Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 12:18:44 +0100
To: John Gardiner Myers <jgm+@CMU.EDU>, drums@cs.utk.edu
From: conklin@info.cren.net (Jim Conklin)
Subject: Re: Header to label lists 

At 11:18 AM 12/30/95 -0500, John Gardiner Myers wrote:
> ...  Error messages must be directed to the
>envelope return address.  Period.  Mailing lists direct error messages
>by changing the envelope return address during list expansion.

  I agree!

>
>I have heard numerous people claim a need for a header to identify
>that a message has undergone list expansion, but I have yet to hear a
>clear, rational statement of what problem such a header is supposed to
>solve.

  Two reasons come to mind, John:
1. People (human users) want to know for a variety of reasons if a message
is coming from a list or is individually addressed, and they frequently
want to know which list is sending the message.  They may use this
information to manually filter and set priorities.  (Yes, I know that it
can, in principle, be deduced, but in practice that's not always easy,
especially for non computer folks.)
2. Software needs a simple way to identify list mail so as to avoid sending
vacation notices, possibly to do automatic filtering by list, and possibly
to prioritize mail.  Making this easier will improve the handling of list
mail and encourage agent developers to do the right things.

Jim