As mentioned, below is a summary of the earlier points in this topic, and new thoughts, on letting a user reply privately to a post.
“Reply To Sender” Feature
- feature is about pure email users; online users can use flag to private message
- feature shouldn’t disclose email addresses
- feature should force a PM to the user via email; see details below
- feature will notify the recipient according to their PM preferences; default is email) (currently supported; no change needed)
- recipient can respond via site or by email response (currently supported; no change needed)
- sender field would include Username noreply@example.com (currently supported; no change needed)
- subject line would start with [Message] (currently supported; no change needed) or possibly [Private Reply] followed by [Topic Name]
Email Client
- User selecting “Reply” or “Reply to All”) in their email client should respond to the post on the site, not via PM (currently supported; no change needed)
Email Message
- Current footer of email is “[Visit Topic] or reply to this email to respond.” (currently supported; no change needed)
- Add: “You can also reply privately to the user.” with a mailto: link to trigger the feature
- Feature would populate email client send field with [User Name or Full Name] (according to site settings) and send email to replies+;asjdf;alskjdfa@example.com] (just like PMs work currently)
Note: This would also clarify that the current “reply to this email to respond” language is not the same as replying privately (which can be confusing to users as currently implemented).