recipient for new mails preset to current newsgroup

[Ralf Sternberg]

Binary package hint: thunderbird

When tool button "Write" is clicked while reading a newsgroup, the recipient is automatically set to that newsgroup. Thanks to this feature, it happened to me more than once that I posted a private mail to a newsgroup because I forgot to set the correct recipients. I think that this is a usability issue because:

1. Usually, the recipient fields are empty and when you forget to set them the mail can't be sent. Thus, it is hardly possible to write a mail to a mistaken recipient. But the described feature provokes these mistakes.

2. The currently selected folder is not a reliable clue for the context. Often users switch to the mail client from any other application with the intent to write a certain mail. There can be a newsgroup folder selected just by accident.

Proposed solution: Either drop the present feature entirely or prepend a dialog before creating the new message:
  [ ] Write new mail
  [ ] Write new post to newsgroup x.y.z

Version: 2.0.0.12+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.7.10.0

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Sun Mar 30 14:34:19 2008
Dependencies:

DistroRelease: Ubuntu 7.10
NonfreeKernelModules: vmnet vmblock vmmon
Package: mozilla-thunderbird None [modified: /var/lib/dpkg/info/mozilla-thunderbird.list]
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: thunderbird
Uname: Linux kelvin 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Tue Feb 12 07:42:25 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

[Daniel T Chen (crimsun)]

Is this symptom still reproducible in 8.10 or 9.04? Have you tried a snapshot of TB 3.0?

[Ralf Sternberg (ralf-sternberg)]

I currently use Ubuntu 8.04.1, Thunderbird 2.0.0.18 (20081125). The behavior is reproducible in this env.

[Victor Vargas (kamus)]

Since this report have a long time without activity, could you check (if is possible) in latest Ubuntu Karmic version if this issue is still happening? Thanks in advance.

[Ralf Sternberg (ralf-sternberg)]

I'm currently running Ubuntu 9.04, Thunderbird 2.0.0.23 (20090817).
The reported behavior is unchanged.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for thunderbird (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]