Replying to an  e-list message is just like replying to any email message, except that you must be very careful to check where your reply will go.

When e-list owners set up their lists, they decide where replies go. 

• If the e-list has been set up for discussion, replies to messages will go to the e-list, which in turn will be distributed it to everyone subscribed to the e-list. 
• E-Lists set up to distribute information from a central source ('announcements') may be configured so that replies go to the person who sent the original message.

Some email programs, like Outlook, can be configured to override the setting for an e-list’s reply function. For example, if the e-list is set up to reply only to the sender, but you tell your email program to “reply to all,” your local setting overrides the e-list’s setting and your reply goes to the e-list as well as to the sender. If the e-list is a discussion e-list, it will send the members a copy of your reply. If the e-list is an announcement e-list, then it will reject your reply back to you saying you do not have permission to post to the e-list.

When replying (especially when replying to the list), it is considered polite to delete the parts of the original message that aren’t needed in your reply. This helps keep the overall size of the message small.

Reply to an E-list Message

1. Choose the reply command for your email program.
2. Check the To, Cc, and Bcc fields to see where the reply will be sent. Edit these entries as necessary so that the reply will go only to the recipients you intend.
3. Edit the subject line as necessary to be informative.
4. Edit the quoted text to make your message as short as possible, including only the relevant text from the original message. In some cases there is no need to include any quoted text.
5. Type your reply.
6. Double-check all parts of your message (recipients, subject line, quoted text, and new text).

After you’ve done all that, it’s safe to send your message.