[R-sig-ME] Modifying the subject in replies

[Philippi, Tom]

Not that Doug needs my defending him, but in a reply to the list it is simple enough to edit back out the [External] or [Forged] tag your email system inserted in the subject line.  That can be done in corporate/government gmail and corporate/government MS outlook, so I suspect in more user-centric systems, too.

I think the trick is to remove anything before either [R-sig-ME] or "Re: [R-sig-ME]" depending on whether you are replying to a reply.
Momentarily, we'll see if I got it right...  (if so, perhaps add this to the posting guidance?)

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: R-sig-mixed-models <r-sig-mixed-models-bounces using r-project.org> On Behalf Of Dan McCloy
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2020 10:44 AM
To: Douglas Bates <bates using stat.wisc.edu>
Cc: R-mixed models mailing list <r-sig-mixed-models using r-project.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [R-sig-ME] Modifying the subject in replies

While I agree that breaking message threading is annoying and users should not wilfully change subject lines, I would like to note that what you are asking is analogous to asking people to turn off their virus scanning software. My email client does not add [FORGED] to subject lines, but it does give me a big red warning at the top of your message, Doug, saying "This email has failed its domain's authentication requirements. It may be spoofed or improperly forwarded!" It is likely that the [FORGED] message is meant to convey the same warning to users of other mail systems / clients. This may or may not be under user control. In sum: this problem may ultimately be the fault of the list's mailserver doing something non-standard, and may not be within the power of the individual subscribers to alter.

-- dan
Daniel McCloy
https://dan.mccloy.info
Research Scientist
Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences University of Washington

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Thursday, March 26, 2020 8:51 AM, Douglas Bates <bates using stat.wisc.edu> wrote:

> There are several messages on the list now that have a subject line 
> starting with
>
> [R-sig-ME] [FORGED]
>
> If your mail client is adding the `[FORGED]` to the subject line I 
> would appreciate it if you stopped its doing so. One of the first 
> rules of interacting on a mailing list is "Don't change the subject 
> line". Most mail clients thread messages according to the subject line 
> and by changing it you ensure that the conversation is spread over 
> multiple threads instead of a single thread. Changing the subject line 
> to include alarming and incorrect characterizations of the message is 
> first class bush league stuff. (And, yes, "first class bush league" is 
> a contradiction in terms.)
>
> [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> R-sig-mixed-models using r-project.org mailing list 
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-mixed-models

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