[Air-L] Change of default reply setting on air-l

[Cristina Lopez]

I'm glad someone finally took up the safety and privacy issues. I also 
would prefer the default to be replying to the list.

Earlier Charles said:

    All of this raises the central worry that there exists a good
    possibility in
    the long run of the list that someone will indeed post to the list a
    note
    intended for a particular individual, but one containing very
    sensitive /
    confidential information, the publication of which on list could
    easily have
    disastrous consequences for the individuals involved, and perhaps
    others.
    Worst-case, some of us are concerned that this might make AoIR legally
    liable / open to suit.

...and also commented on the embarrassment of sending an e-mail to the whole list when you mean to send it to one person.

I think it's a long way from mild embarrassment to lawsuit. Personally, when I see someone unintentionally send a message to the entire list, I remember having done that myself once or twice. I sympathize because I've felt that embarrassment myself. And having done that myself in the past, I am more careful when it comes to replying to any message posted on a list. 

Moreover, while we've talked about comparing results with both reply options, what about more seriously investigating the liability issue if that's a reason for changing the default. If someone decides to sue, would they be successful? Would AoIR be held accountable if someone posts information that is sensitive and/or confidential? Would changing the reply default address the issue, given that it's easy enough to forward an e-mail? Although normally I'm not a big fan of personal responsibility or caveat emptor arguments, I have to say that it seems reasonable enough to expect people not to send anything truly sensitive or confidential via e-mail. While it's easy enough to treat e-mail as a private medium, it really isn't. But if liability is a concern, I wonder if it's enough to send out a notice when people sign up for the list, advising them about reply options and about the risks involved in including sensitive information in /any/ e-mail. 

Cristina Lopez, Ph.D.
Senior Educational Technology Consultant
Office of Information Technology, Digital Media Center
University of Minnesota
117 Pleasant St., SE
212 Walter Library
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612.626.6639



Steve Cavrak wrote:
>
> On May 10, 2009, at 8:28 PM, Marj Kibby wrote:
>
>> If your mailing list is for class discussion, then set the default 
>> 'reply to' to the mailing list. Use the list 'signature' to advise 
>> your students that replies go to the list and give your own email for 
>> private replies.
>>
>> There were/are good reasons for this advice.
>
>
> As a other folks have suggested, the "reply to list" has a nice side 
> effect of creating a sense of place or community; this very discussion 
> shows how valuable members of this list find that sense.
>
> On May 10, 2009 11:43:48 PM EDT (CA), Charles Ess wrote:
>
>> This will eliminate emails, intended to be sent privately to another 
>> member of the list in response to a list post, being accidentally 
>> broadcast instead
>> to ca. 2,000 list members. - and thereby entering our uneditable 
>> archives on Dreamhost.
>
> While I can appreciate this concern, I doubt that much safety will 
> result from the new rules.
>
> Just this weekend we heard of Jérôme Bourreau Guggenheim, a French 
> television employee, who's "private" email to an MP ended up on his 
> boss's table and got him fired. [/.ed at In France, Fired For Writing 
> To MP Against 3 Strikes, Posted by kdawson on Sunday May 10, @08:03AM, 
> from the nous-sommes-desolees dept., 
> http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/09/229217]
>
> ---
>
>
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