[R] Replying to replies in the forum

[Marc Schwartz]

> On Apr 5, 2017, at 11:41 AM, Tunga Kantarcı <tungakantarci at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> OK I cannot figure this out clearly in the guidelines of posting. When
> I reply to a message I should out "Re:" in front of the subject line
> of the original post. So if the subject line of the original post it
> is "this is a post", then I should use "Re: this is a post" in the
> subject line, for my reply to appear under the original post, and not
> in the forum as a new message.
> 
> But then I cannot figure out what subject line I should use to reply
> to a given reply. That is, suppose the original subject line is "this
> is a post" and there are replies under the post, and that I want to
> reply to one of the replies. How I specify in the subject line so that
> my reply appears under the reply of a certain person? Or do I have to
> use the reply features of gmail?
> 
> Meanwhile, why the guidelines is implicit about this?

Hi,

There is an R Posting Guide here:

  https://www.r-project.org/posting-guide.html

which is a good place to start.

Generally, if you want to reply to a post and keep the thread intact, always use "reply-all" and that will keep thread participants copied, the post sent to all list subscribers, and the posts in the public archives for future use. 

Most e-mail clients (stand alone or web based) will add the "re:" prefix automatically, if not already present.

Threads are not kept intact in the list archives based upon the subject line alone, even though some e-mail clients may do so. This is why there can be a change in the subject line when using reply-all and the reply post will be kept with the original thread.

If, on the other hand, you create a new e-mail and just use "re: the original subject line" in the subject, that will start a new thread in the archive.

Don't use "reply" only to a post, unless specifically asked, as that will only copy one person, not the list nor the archives, and the communication will only be between you and that person, which is frowned upon.

Regards,

Marc