[Haskell-cafe] [OT] A nice organized collection of threads in Haskell-Cafe

[Albert Y. C. Lai]

Andrew Coppin wrote:
> Thunderbird has a long-standing bug in that new posts having the same 
> subject line as some other post that happened many years ago get added 
> to that thread. It's really most irritating. :-S

I have investigated. A bit of skepticism goes a long way. Never be taken 
in. So, for the record:

In Thunderbird if you click "Write" (not "Reply" or "Reply All"), the 
headers are according to the semantics of "Write", i.e., no 
"References:" or "In-Reply-To:". Insofar as headers, this is correct 
behaviour.

When Thunderbird gets a post (from your "Write" or from outside) with no 
"References:" and "In-Reply-To:" header, but with "Subject:" same as 
existing posts, it still displays them together as a thread. But this is 
just a display trick - "References:" and "In-Reply-To:" are not fudged. 
Evidently, this is a measure against non-compliant posts. Furthermore, 
this is configurable. In the config editor, look for 
"mail.strict_threading".

The presence of the setting implies that the programmers know what they 
are getting into. There is a tension between following the rules and 
inter-operating with those who don't follow the rules. This is not a 
bug; this is a conscious compromise. And you can change it.

Changing the setting doesn't change the threading structure of existing 
posts - the decisions made back then were recorded. (There is also a way 
to delete that, along with lots of other meta-data: delete the 
appropriate .msf file.) The setting is effective for posts seen henceforth.

I can't blame you for being not observant. Afterall, this is precisely 
what I'm alluding to with "everyone can haz PC", or rather, the way Bill 
Gates executes it. Everyone becomes superficial, everyone just looks at 
what's displayed on the screen - or rather, fictionized on the screen - 
and jumps to conclusions.

Never be taken in.