Reply/Reply All distinction not working

Question

When I do a Reply instead of a Reply All when responding to a message from a mail list or listserv Mail responds to the list or listserv address instead of the address of the individual who sent the message to whom I want to respond privately.
Is there some way I can get this to work?
Thanks,
Eric Weir

Answer 1

The issue is caused by the list software setting the Reply-To: header field in the email. I run a lot of lists, and never enable the list software forcing replies back to the list, as it causes no end of accidental replies that were intended to be private landing on lists. I subscribe to some lists where people insist on setting this, though. Where possible I bring the emails in via systems where I can alter the emails before they get into a mailbox for retrieval, but that's not always possible.
So like you, I'd like a solution to this. Mail.app provides the necessary hook, insofar as mail rules allow the running of a script as part of the action upon match. I am looking for someone who has the skill with applescript to write a script that will remove the Reply-To: header from a message. If such were written, then using it from a rule would solve your problem (and mine too).