Reply All
This is primarily intended for people corresponding with me via
spambayes@python.org.
Those that have will have noticed my signature generally includes these
lines:
---
Please always include the list (spambayes at python.org) in your replies
(reply-all), and please don't send me personal mail about SpamBayes. This
way, you get everyone's help, and avoid a lack of replies when I'm busy.
(Recently modified to include a link to this page). Here is an
explanation of what that means, why I am asking you to do this, and
how you can do it. If you don't understand a term here, please check
the list at the end for a definition, or use
Google's "define" facility to
get a definition.
What does this mean?
What this means is that I would like you to send your reply to the
spambayes@python.org
address, rather than (or in addition to)
my own address. I would also
like you to send any new queries in the future to that same
spambayes@python.org
address, and not to me, even though I might have helped you in the past
(unless I specifically ask/offer you to do so).
Why should I do this?
There are four main reasons, two of which are in the .sig:
- I get plenty of email, like lots of other people. One way that I
manage the volume is to have it automatically filtered into appropriate
folders/labels based on a set of rules. These generally work well, and
I don't need to resort to something like POPfile.
To help with this, mail to me about SpamBayes should come via the
appropriate mailing list, so that it will end up in the right place.
- I am far from the only person that can help with SpamBayes problems.
In some cases (like sb_imapfilter) I'm probably most likely to know the
answer straight away, but in others (like sb_filter) I'm very far down
the list. If you email the list, rather than me, you will potentially
get help from a much larger number of people. This doesn't just apply
to the first response, either - sometimes people will add helpful
additions to my responses, which I may not know about or have forgotten.
- Like just about everyone, I'm very busy. I try to keep up with
mail to
spambayes@python.org
as much as I can, but it's volunteer work done in what little spare time I
find myself with. In addition, I'm in New Zealand, which is several
hours ahead of the United States and Europe, where many SpamBayes users
are. This all means that it might be some time before you get a response
from me. This is especially the case if you haven't
asked a smart
question, or if I don't know the answer to your question, and have to
do some work to figure one out. There are many other people reading
the mailing list who can help, particularly with simpler questions, and
these people are scattered across the globe (and therefore time zones).
This means you are much more likely to get a prompt response if you send
mail to the list, rather than just me. This applies to follow-ups, too,
not just the original question.
- All mail to
spambayes@python.org
is automatically archived,
and this archive can be downloaded or searched (via
Google). People often try to find
solutions to their problems before emailing the list (and this is
highly recommended, since it doesn't take time away from new problems
and actual development). If messages go via the list, then other people
will be able to read them and use the information therein to potentially
solve their own problems. If messages go directly (privately) to me, then
that is not the case.
How do I do this?
The simplest possible way is to just click in the recipient ("to") area
of the composed email, and put "spambayes@python.org" (without the quotes)
in there, if it isn't already.
Many mail clients provide such a facility for you, usually called
"reply all", or "reply to all".
- Microsoft Outlook calls
this Reply to all, and a button for this is usually on the toolbar,
or you can get to it via the Actions menu or by pressing
control-shift-r.
- Microsoft Outlook Express calls
this Reply all, and a button for this is usually on the toolbar, or
you can get to it (Reply to all, here) via the Message menu
or by pressing control-shift-r.
- Qualcomm Eudora calls this Reply all and a button (it looks
like an envelope with two arrows over it) is usually on the toolbar, or you
can get to it (Reply to all, here) via the Message menu.
- gmail calls this reply to all
and you can click the link with those words to do so, or you can press 'a'
to do it.
Terms
In case you are not familiar with some of the terms used above,
here are links to some explanations (thanks to
Wikipedia):
Last updated 27th October 2004.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License
