The descriptions of the "In-Reply-To" and "References" email
headers were set in RFC822 (1982) and restated in RFC2822 (2001). Yes
decades. Really.
As another poster pointed out, threading is therefore maintained even
after someone changes the header, so in the long list of "MODERATED:",
the lineage of a thread is maintained.
The problem then, if someone starts a new question by changing
subject, their message could well be ignored. Often when sorting by
thread, the threads are collapsed, except those threads you expand to
read. So, if only the first message of a thread is "visible", the
changed subject is "invisible" until that thread and all of its messages
are expanded. This is why "hi-jacking" is considered a bad thing, and
not merely and issue of netiquette.
Some clients offer the ability to sort by subject as well as
thread. Thunderbird is indeed a more enlightened client than most.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Troll/Idiot [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Sunday, December 23, 2007 7:39 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [users] Mailing List netiquette (Was Outlines in Writer)
>
> Dave Craven wrote:
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Troll/Idiot [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 8:09 PM
> > To: [email protected]
> > Subject: Re: [users] Mailing List netiquette (Was Outlines in
Writer)
> > <snip>
> >
> > For those who are concerned about "hijacking", I suggest, as I have
> > suggested before, that they volunteer to update the guidelines.
> >
> > In the meantime, I suggest that more sophisticated email readers be
set
> > to follow threads by subject line when reading this list. If they
do
> > not have that capability, it seems they might be different, but not
> > necessarily more sophisticated.
> >
> Dan Craven's reply:
> > That isn't now email works. There are well defined standards that
> > clients such as Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. follow when told to "sort
by
> > thread/conversation". Embedded in an email header is the message to
> > which it is a reply. Merely changing the subject line does not
affect
> > this in any way. This is not something specific to this mail list.
It
> > is an adopted internet mail standard which has existed for decades.
>
> Thanks for the tutorial on how email works. I had to straighten out
> your post a little to distinguish between my post and your reply.
Maybe
> a problem with your email client not following adopted internet
standards?
>
> Thunderbird will sort messages by subject line. Some readers may not,
> and I don't object to people considering those less capable but "more
> sophisticated" programs.
>
> Changing the subject line on an existing post is common practice on
many
> lists, so I guess that makes it not something specific to this mail
> list. It is an adopted internet mail standard.
>
> I think it's better to recognize that there are differences among
> programs and try to be considerate of people using all them, without
any
> dogmatic assertion that one method is the only way.
>
> The internet is new enough that you can't really go back decades for
> useful precedents.
>
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