Replying in mailing lists

Question

How do I properly reply in mailing lists? For example, I have subscribed to a mailing list [e-mail] using my email address [e-mail].

When [e-mail] posts to this mailing list [e-mail] I get a mail. Now, to sort threaded conversation, I've read that mailing lists use In-Reply-To header. But this in-reply-to header does not seem to be available from my email web application.

I can click on the proper mailto:[e-mail]?Subject=Re: subject&In-Reply-To=<[e-mail]> link in the mailing list archives, but that fails to open my web email properly. I can click on 'Reply' in my email, which tries to send a reply to [e-mail], or I can click on 'Reply all', which in addition to To field adds a Cc for [e-mail].

How do you properly reply in this thread and how does the mailing list should know the reply position in the seemingly absent In-Reply-To field?

Answer 1

You are asking about two separate things – whether a message is part of a thread/conversation (References:, In-Reply-To: headers) and to whom a message is sent (To:, Cc: headers) are completely independent from each other.

how does the mailing list should know the reply position in the seemingly absent In-Reply-To field?

It's actually always present when you use any of the "Reply" buttons. That doesn't mean it will be visible and user-editable. In most cases there is no need to show the message-ID as you already have a visual indication that you're replying (e.g. the original message is shown or quoted).

I've tried replying on one message, but it didn't show up in the archives. Probably because it got sent straight to the guy I was replying to and not through the list

You can know the result before you send the message – just look at the From: and Reply-To: headers of the original message. And perhaps more importantly, at the To: and Cc: fields of the reply you're about to send.

• Some mailing lists add a Reply-To: header pointing back to the list's main address. In this case you use "Reply" and the new message will have the mailing list as its To: destination.

• Some mailing lists don't have a Reply-To:, but transform messages such that the From: header points to the mailing list. In this case you also use "Reply", and you'll again have the mailing list in the To: field.

• Finally, some mailing lists don't change the messages at all – they have the original sender in From: and the mailing list in To:. In this case, you have two options:

  • Use "Reply to all" if that's the only choice. This will direct your reply to both the list and to the original author's personal address. Sometimes this is acceptable or even desired (e.g. when some participants of the conversation aren't list members) and sometimes it's considered rude. In any case you should pay close attention to which addresses you're sending the reply to.

  • Use "Reply to list" if your mail app has such a button. This will ignore the original sender address, and will direct your reply to the list. (If there is no such button, you can achieve the same by clicking "Reply to all" and then manually deleting/copying/pasting the correct email address into To:.)