Indecipherable From field

[V-Man]

I use my SG account mainly for newsletter subscriptions. I find that usually the From field is really messy, eg messages from Download.com are received like this:

From:
+download+vikshah+b0f8e93519.CNET_Netwo ... ourmet.com <+download+vikshah+b0f8e93519.CNET_Networks_Member_Services#newsletter.online.com@spamgourmet.com>

I understand this is to allow my real address to be concealed, and this isn't a problem. However the display name (before the part in angle brackets) is probably more munged than it needs to be, making it awkward to read in my client's From column. It would help if the format was changed to

From:
CNET_Networks_Member_Services@newsletter.online.com <+download+vikshah+b0f8e93519.CNET_Networks_Member_Services#newsletter.online.com@spamgourmet.com>

Is this feasible?

[PikaPi]

Why not put the sender-address masking in the reply-to field, instead of putting it in the "From" field. It makes for a more aesthetically pleasing reading...

[josh]

Something has to go in the From: spot, though -- it's pretty much got to be the redirected address, doesn't it?


It would be a pretty small code change to use the orginal address as the display name for the redirected address. My only fear is that if we make that change, a bunch of people will think that things stopped working (because they'll see the display value, and maybe not the redirection address) and freak out. What do you think?

[SysKoll]

I think they'll freak out.

[V-Man]

Can you not just warn everyone about this change by sending a one-off email to all users? It seems a shame to avoid such changes that could improve the service just to avoid any initial misunderstanding.

[josh]

4.5 years, no email -- the vow! the vow!

[SysKoll]

We can start by putting this in a news items, with a suitable delay, if there are no objections.

[Pkchukiss]

Or maybe it can be implemented as an advanced option initially, maybe making an appearance to users in the no-brainer mode to allow them to practise and get used to it, before announcing a system wide upgrade?

I am sure users would be happy with a less mangled From: field in their e-mails.

[V-Man]

Makes sense to me, Pkchukiss.