Prompting users for "Cc:" in Mail after message composed is confusing

[Dave Gotwisner]

In article <4383 at auspex.auspex.com>, guy at auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) writes:
# Subject: Prompting users for "Cc:" in Mail after message composed is confusing
# Index: ucb 4.3BSD-tahoe
# 
# Description:
# 	If the "askcc" flag is set, "Mail" will, after you've finished
# 	composing the body of a message and typed "." or ^D, prompt you
# 	for a list of carbon-copy recipients.
# 
# 	A lot of users unfamiliar with this behavior will think that if
# 	they type "." at this point, "Mail" will send their message off.
# 	Well, they're right, in a sense, *but* it will also attempt to
# 	send a carbon copy to user ".", and probably fail.
# 
# 	Either "askcc" should ask at a more opportune point, such as
# 	after "Mail" asks for a subject and *before* you compose the
# 	message, or a new option that does that should be provided.
# Repeat-By:
# 	Arrange that "askcc" is set on a lot of accounts used by
# 	people not familiar with this quirk, and watch the bounce
# 	messages pile up in the postmaster's mailbox(es).

I like this feature, and don't consider it a bug.  The mistake is to give
new users intelligent .mailrc files (which would have askcc set).

Where ASKCC (as it currently is) is REAL useful, is when you are typing a
letter (for example, to a customer) and put more into it than you originally
intended, and decide, while composing, that you want to forward a copy of your
response to your customer service department, department head, etc.  Since you
probably did not plan on doing this when you started your article, having it
ask before you start is (usually) insufficient.  (If you did know, you would
probably have invoked mail with the multiple accounts from the command line.)
Having it ask on exit is a REAL useful reminder, asking me "do I want to carbon
this response?" before actually sending the mail.  Of course, without relying
on askcc, I could do a ~h or a ~c, but I shouldn't have to.

I have never seen mail going to the postmaster's mailbox.  Shouldn't an
unknown destination be trapped by the mailer and response be sent back to
the mail user (if I mailed fred at uunet.com, and there is no account
fred at uunet.com, I, the invoker of mail, get mail back.  Root doesn't, or is
this some feature of 4.3 TAHOE?).
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Dave Gotwisner					UUCP:  ...!unisoft!peritek!dig
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