CC on reply not intuitive

[ewal]

When replying to emails with several original recipients I would expect that the original 'From' should be used as the 'To' in the response and all the other recipients placed in the 'CC' field. However in Fastmail's new interface it does not. I can't recall if the 'classic' interface the behaviour was correct (I think it was).

When replying to an email with existing 'CC' values then replying all works just fine.

Small annoying item which I always have to correct. I hope Fastmail will change this soon.

[sflorack]

Originally Posted by ewal

When replying to emails with several original recipients I would expect that the original 'From' should be used as the 'To' in the response and all the other recipients placed in the 'CC' field.

Outlook (the email application) behaves the same way. I don't think this is a problem for most.

[n5bb]

I don't see any problem. The Fastmail web interface acts just like you configure it in Settings>Mail>Preferences>Writing>(show advanced preferences)>When replying. The available settings are:

• Reply to everyone in the conversation by default
• Just reply to the sender by default

If you use the first setting, you will see a Reply to All button in the upper right of the message, and the two buttons Reply to All and Reply to Sender at the bottom left of the message. The Reply to Sender choice replies only to the sender, and ignores the CC addresses.

If you use the second setting, you will see a Reply button in the upper right of the message, and the two buttons Reply and Reply to All at the bottom left of the message. The Reply choice replies only to the sender, and ignores the CC addresses.

The Reply to All choice places the sender in the To field of the reply, and the other original To (and CC) addresses into the CC field of the reply.

You can override the default reply setting and make other choices by using the More button in the upper right of the message (adjacent to the Reply to All or Reply button).

All of this appears to provide replies as you like them. You just may need to use the other default setting, the bottom buttons, or a choice in More.

Bill

[sflorack]

Bill, I don't think he was referring to difference between Reply and Reply All. FM (and Outlook) maintains the original TO/CC values.

For example, if I receive an email from Bob who addressed it to myself and Nick, and CC'd Mitch, replying would:
TO: Bob, Nick
CC: Mitch

ewal is thinking that replying that same scenario should:
TO: Bob
CC: Nick, Mitch

[n5bb]

Originally Posted by sflorack

...For example, if I receive an email from Bob who addressed it to myself and Nick, and CC'd Mitch, replying would:
TO: Bob, Nick
CC: Mitch

But that is not what happens when using the Fastmail web interface. If Bob sends such a message, here are the original message headers:
From: Bob
To: ME, Nick
Cc: Mitch

The Reply to All button sends a reply as follows:
From: ME
To: Bob
Cc: Nick, Mitch

The Reply to Sender button sends a reply as follows:
From: ME
To: Bob

Originally Posted by sflorack

...FM (and Outlook) maintains the original TO/CC values...

That is incorrect. In my example above, the original headers were:
From: Bob
To: ME, Nick
Cc: Mitch

If the original To/Cc headers were maintained, the reply message would not be returned to the sender but would be sent to myself, Nick, and Mitch (but not Bob, since his address was originally in From). The headers would be:
From: ME
To: ME, Nick
Cc: Mitch

But the actual reply headers are quite different. The message is sent To the original sender, not sent to myself, and all other addresses are in Cc as follows:
From: ME
To: Bob
Cc: Nick, Mitch

Originally Posted by sflorack

... ewal is thinking that replying that same scenario should:
TO: Bob
CC: Nick, Mitch

And as I said, that is exactly what happens. I tested this several times -- it's pretty easy to test. There is no problem! The general rules are:

• The reply To field is set to the original From address. So there is only one address placed into the To field (the original sender address).
• All other addresses found in the original To and Cc (except your delivery address) are placed in the Cc field.
• Bcc doesn't change these rules. There is no Bcc field in the received message -- all the Bcc does is allow the sender to specify the envelope address so that a copy of that message arrives in your Inbox, but your address is not in any headers when received by others in the addressing fields.

Bill

[n5bb]

Outlook (by default) does not set the reply headers like I described for Fastmail. The rules seem to be:

• The original message From address is placed into the reply To field.
• Addresses in the original To field (other than your address) are also placed in the reply To field.
• Addresses in the original Cc field are placed in the reply Cc field.

So the reply To field is different from the original To field, but addresses are not moved from the original To field to the reply Cc field (as done by Fastmail) but in some cases are left in the reply To field.

Bill

[sflorack]

You took my "maintains the original TO/CC values" a little too literally. Clearly I wasn't referring to the delivery address.

Originally Posted by n5bb

But that is not what happens when using the Fastmail web interface. If Bob sends such a message, here are the original message headers:
From: Bob
To: ME, Nick
Cc: Mitch

The Reply to All button sends a reply as follows:
From: ME
To: Bob
Cc: Nick, Mitch

Not sure why we're seeing different results, but I just tested this, as well. In the example, Nick does not get moved from the TO line to the CC line. It's exactly how you describe Outlook's default behavior in your next message:

Originally Posted by n5bb

Outlook (by default) does not set the reply headers like I described for Fastmail. The rules seem to be:

• The original message From address is placed into the reply To field.
• Addresses in the original To field (other than your address) are also placed in the reply To field.
• Addresses in the original Cc field are placed in the reply Cc field.