On Tue, Jan 15, 2002 at 09:03:23PM +0100, Eric Smith wrote:
> According to Charles Cazabon on Tue, Jan 15, 2002 at 09:35:44AM -0600:
> > Gary Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > > On Tue, Jan 15, 2002 at 03:39:14PM +0100, Eric Smith wrote:
> > > > Occasionally, I Cc an email and the recipient of the Cc assumes
> > > > that the email is directed to them (and not just copied to them).
> > > > Is it possible to add an attribution-like line similar to:
> > > >
> > > > This is a copy of an email sent to <main_recipient>
> > > >
> > > > Would be nice to have this for Bcc (and bounce) as well.
> > >
> > > It seems to me that a much better long-term solution would be to
> > > politely explain to these recipients when they make this error, the
> > > meaning of the To and Cc fields. This would also save them from making
> > > the same mistake with mail from others besides yourself.
> >
> It dont seem that way to me.
> Email is a commercial tool, not just a techie medium. People do not
> (want to) squint at headers, even things obvious to you and
> I, like To: or Cc:
> If a bit of programming can make things _more_ obvious, the my
> view is that it is a good thing.
But To and Cc are not techie concepts. Cc means "carbon copy" and has
been a part of office memos since carbon paper was invented. These are
simple concepts used for a long time in the workaday world and now
applied in a very direct, straightforward manner to the "new" medium of
e-mail.
If people aren't going to pay attention to the To and Cc headers, what
makes you think they are going to pay attention to any other header? If
some recipients have trouble grasping these concepts, then it would
probably be more effective to include an introductory paragraph in the
body of the message where it can be spelled out in plain English (or
whatever language is appropriate) and where they're sure to see it,
something like,
This memo is really directed to Bob and Susan, but I'm sending a
copy to Mary and Roger as well just for their information.
Gary
--
Gary Johnson | Agilent Technologies
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | Spokane, Washington, USA
http://www.spocom.com/users/gjohnson/mutt/ |
