[OS X TeX] My Soap Box

[Gary L. Gray]

On Feb 10, 2011, at 5:53 PM, Ross Moore wrote:

> The best way to avoid "breaking the law" is to understand and
> appreciate why it is there in the first place.

Dick, Ross, and Other Interested Parties,

While I completely agree with Dick's frustration and I agree that we need to be gentle with those who start a new thread by replying to an existing one, I do think that it is important that we point out what these people are doing wrong. I have many times not seen an important message because it is buried in a hijacked thread.

With that said, I will change the wording on the List Reminders and Etiquette page to reflect Dick's input. I will change the first item to:

Please do not start a new thread by replying to a message from another thread. Even if you change the subject, most email clients will mark your message as belonging to the original thread, which will mean that it may not be seen by your intended audience. You must write use the "New Message" command to start a new thread (in Apple Mail, that can be found under File > New Message or by typing command-N).

I can also put a header on every message that specifically states that a new thread should not be started by replying to an existing thread, but this may make people crazy. What do you think -- should I add this info to the top of each message?

Gary