Re: [Emacs] request: better subject lines

[ken <gebser@mousecar.com>]

On 05/02/2017 09:41 AM, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
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> On Tue, May 02, 2017 at 08:52:45AM -0400, ken wrote:
>> On 04/30/2017 11:39 AM, Carlos Konstanski wrote:
>>> If you're like me, you get a whole lot of spam. You need to scan the
>>> subject lines in your INBOX to decide what's spam and what's ham. If you
>>> have to open an email to decide because the subject line is
>>> inconclusive, that's bad.
>>>
>>> The subject lines for this mailing list need to have a [thing] injected
>>> so that it's obvious that it is email for this list. Note my example in
>>> the subject line of this email. Please?
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Carlos Konstanski
>>>
>> I agree.  I'm much less likely to delete without reading those
>> emails which follow your suggestion.
> Folks,
>
> I'd suggest you learn to use what is there. ....

I've heard all these arguments/instructions before.  They are neither 
comforting nor persuasive.  Also, I've been managing five mailing lists 
for about ten years, all of which have [mailing-list-name] descriptors 
(and many more other mailing lists earlier for fewer numbers of years), 
and absolutely *no one* /ever/ complained, or even mentioned anything, 
about those descriptors. Heck, I'd guess over the past thirty years I'm 
been a member of easily a hundred different mailing lists, and never 
have I heard a complaint about those paltry few helpful characters 
appearing in list mail Subject lines.  So what problem does eliminating 
them meant to solve?

Secondly, I use Thunderbird and, personally, am not at all challenged to 
create a mail filter.  (I've done this also using other, less 
user-friendly mail software long before Thunderbird existed.)  But there 
was a time, a long time ago, when I was new to mailing lists and it was 
definitely a challenge.  The whole concept of a mailing list was foreign 
and a mystery.  There are still people today who are new to mailing 
lists.  There always will be.  Those are the people I am relating to, 
people who have a problem or question, are told to join this or that 
mailing list, somehow manage to find one, wade through the steps to 
subscribe, aren't sure they're subscribed, not even sure what 
"subscribed" means, then eventually (hopefully) find "it's working" for 
them (sort of)... then someone on that list gives them further 
instructions on properly managing their mail.  Yes, it's probably no big 
deal for many here to set up and manage mail filters, and they're quite 
proud they can, and so expect everyone to do the same.  The fact is, not 
everyone can... not everyone wants to bother.

Third, let's put the responsibility shoe on the other foot.  Why don't 
we put the descriptors into all list mail and those who don't want them 
can set up filters on their systems to take them out?

Finally, computers and software are meant to make life and things 
easier.  A lot of tech people, and it seems especially Linux people, 
don't get that.  They appreciate and love wading through the complexity 
and seem to want others to as well.  But there are people who aren't as 
much enamored with all the technology and have other priorities... 
writing, for instance.  Isn't that supposed to be what emacs is about?