Colin,

The manifesto of vicug-l is sent to all when they join the mailing list.
it says in part:

Unlike most mailing lists, VICUG-L is a dialogue, rather than a
discussion or a chat list.  This means that the list exists mainly as a
means of sharing and exchanging information, news, innovations, trends,
and reports on local service, educational programs, organizing efforts,
and advocacy activities.  VICUG-L is a network--a means of locating
resources, finding answers, and developing strategies for learning and
mastering adaptive
technology.

given this focus, we wanted to make it as simple as possible for people
to network with each other, establish peer relationships, and provide
individualized solutions without necessarily creating a lot of list
traffic.  This is why the default reply goes to the person rather then
the list.

the approach became necessary after most blind people switched from
Unix-based mail handling software, such as Pine, to windows mail clients.
The Unix software was more configurable and the defaults helped create
the online communities that we value today.  In the case of Pine, users
are prompted if they want to reply to the person, the whole group, or
both.  the popular windows mail programs, Outlook, Outlook Express, and
Eudora are packed with features and expect the end user to choose the
right command or option in the program, such as reply or reply to all
(sender and all recipients).  These programs often require end users to
read manuals more often and more thoroughly than with the Unix systems.
Newer users may not be familiar with selecting, deleting, and pasting in
text in the header fields of an e-mail message.  Experienced users don't
want the hassle.  Therefore, the list is configured for the Windows mail
programs so the reply and reply to all functions work as intended by the
software developers.

Kelly


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html