[pmmail-list] A better explaination of the bug with PMMAIL attachments

[David Azarewicz]

On Sun, 23 Sep 2001 01:32:18 -0700 (PDT), Kris Sorem Sr wrote:

>At the same time, I have stated that if the user *competently* uses his
>tool by opening the message and its attachment BEFORE forwarding the
>message, there is no problem with corrupted data. This is the proper
>method, IMO, so the user is not excused. Additionally, I think, PMMail
>should not provide the forwarding option if a user RMB's on an unread
>message. I don't care to see and waste my time with a message the sender
>has not taken the time to review.

What happened to customer service here?  A customer (several in fact) reported a 
bug in which PMMail doesn't do what it is supposed to do.  What place do any of 
these *opinions* about how a customer should use the product have here?  The fact 
that a customer (several in fact) wants to use a product in a certain way is reason 
enough to make the product work that way.  If a customer wants to forward a 
message without opening the attachments, then fine, let him/her do it.  If a customer 
wants to forward a message without even opening it, then fine, let him/her do it.  It is 
really irrelevant as to whether you, or anyone else, thinks that is a good idea. The 
customer may have a very good and legitimate reason for doing that.  There is no 
way that you, or anyone else, can determine what is "competent" or "proper" for the 
customer.

As an example, I may have already read the message some time before, and now I 
want to forward it.  Why should I have to read it *again*?  (I may even have re-set the 
read flag. A perfectly legitimate operation provided in the pop-up menu.)  As for the 
attachments, the example of how I found the bug 3 years ago still applies.  I was 
distributing binary license files.  These files cannot and should not be opened by the 
e-mail client. But it was correct to distribute them by forwarding the e-mail message.  
In this case I did open the messages but I did not open the attachments, and the 
wrong attachments got sent.  Bouncing the messages was inappropriate because 
the header needed to show me as the sender.

I think we need to revisit the question:  Are computers supposed to make human's 
lives easier by conforming to how humans want to work, or are humans supposed to 
make computer's/programmer's lives easier by conforming to how computers work?

David
-----
David Azarewicz  david@deltasys.org
http://www.deltasys.org/david

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world
The unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to himself
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
 - George Bernard Shaw