[SunHELP] List Policy on "reply-to" headers, the final word.

[Bill Bradford]

On Tue, Apr 24, 2001 at 01:35:49PM -0000, Dave Garten wrote:
> Amen.  I second Jan's comment.  It is just plain 'painful' to reply to an 
> individual on these lists.  Thats counterintuitive.

The new list policy on *for-sale ads* stands. We realize that people
using elm as their mail client might find this policy counter-intuitive.
however, due to potential liability issues, all traffic *pertaining to
the sales of goods* must be sent as per the requests made.                      
                                                                                
That's the official, polite version.                                            
                                                                                
The unofficial, unpolite version is this:                                       
                                                                                
1. We (Amy and I) cannot be held responsible for the sales of 
goods/equipment which is bartered on these lists (other than 
stuff I'm selling myself, of course).  While most of the vendors 
and secondhand dealers who wander around these lists are aboveboard 
and honest (hi Fred, hi Jim) unfortunately the same cannot be said 
for all. We would rather not get sued/lose our house/have the cats 
starve or be held responsible because someone got screwed on a hardware 
deal by an unscrupulous hardware-pusher. 
 
2. If you cannot send a personal email saying "i have x part" to the one
person needing it instead of sending an email that says "i have x part,
email me' to 400+ people, then you need to have a remedial course in 
logic and ethics. SunHELP doesnt exist to pump your business and line
your pockets; heck it doesent even line MINE.  (I end up "in the red" 
most months on the costs to run this site and provide the mailing lists, 
but I keep doing it because I *like* to provide it.)
                                                                                
3. If your mail client (specifically elm) makes it inconvienient to 
reply to the sender alone, may we suggest you choose a different mail
client (mutt or pine comes to mind as a possible solution).

http://www.mutt.org
http://www.washington.edu/pine/

Again, if anybody has any questions or comments on this policy, please
email me - and I suggest private mail, as to not clutter the lists.  For
the forseeable future, the normal lists (sunhelp/rescue/geeks/packrats/
sparcbook/etc) will remain "reply-to-list", as it facilitates discussion,
while the sales list will be reply-to-sender.

Bill

-- 
Bill Bradford
mrbill at mrbill.net
Austin, TX