Newsgroups: comp.mail.mush
Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!dgbt!rick.doc.ca!calvin.doc.ca!andrew
From: andrew@calvin.doc.ca (Andrew Patrick)
Subject: Re: Determing mail reply address?
Message-ID: <1991Feb1.153142.6424@rick.doc.ca>
Keywords: mail headers, reply_to_hdr
Sender: news@rick.doc.ca
Nntp-Posting-Host: calvin.doc.ca
Organization: Communications Research Centre, Ottawa
References: <1991Jan31.203213.21271@cbnews.att.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 1991 15:31:42 GMT

In article <1991Jan31.203213.21271@cbnews.att.com> djb@cbnews.att.com (David J. Bryant) writes:
>
>From what I can tell, there are several mail headers that contain information
>useful in determining the reply address for a message received (Sender:,
>Reply-to:, Return-Path:, From: and From_).  Not all of these are provided
>by mail agents I know and use, though 'mush' is capable of adding header
>lines like Sender: and Reply-to:, and can be told in which order to check for
>these fields in formulating the reply address.
>
>Two (compound) questions, then:
>
>1) What is the "standard" order in which these fields should be checked to 
>   formulate a reply?  (In other words, what should I set reply_to_hdr to
>   be?)  If there's not a standard, is their a best choice you mail gurus
>   would recommend?  Is mush's default setting the best one for me to use?

I have had the most luck with:

set reply_to_hdr='reply-to from return-path sender from_'

>
>2) Which of these fields should I set using mush's my_hdr command?  I can,
>   for example, set the Sender: header to be my preferred send-to address,
>   but is that better than setting Reply-to:?  Are either (or both) of these
>   fields guaranteed to be untouched by mail agents, or is it the case that
>   one (or both) may be re-written at will by mailers through who my mail
>   passes?

I just set the Reply-To header:

my_hdr Reply-to: andrew@calvin.doc.ca

-- 
Andrew Patrick, Ph.D.       Department of Communications, Ottawa, CANADA
andrew@calvin.doc.CA
                    "The interface IS the program."